Cosmetic packaging manufacturer Yuga is well-known for its lipstick components, but, as Thomas Chen, General Manager at Yuga explains, the Chinese company provides original design offerings for the beauty industry. The company's cosmetic and make-up offerings have struck a chord with many international brands, cementing the company's place firmly in the cosmetic packaging market.

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Is Yuga primarily a cosmetic packaging manufacturer or distributor?

Yuga manufactures cosmetic packaging. All of the products that we offer are original designs by our team which can take their inspiration from almost anything. We focus exclusively on the production of cosmetic packaging that provides benefit to the consumer, therefore enhancing the perceived value of the brand. Our customer base includes many international well-known brands as well as trading companies that choose our products because they have repeatedly seen that consumers like both the look and the functionality that our products offer.

As Yuga's General Manager, what do you do?

My primary role is to ensure that the company runs according to a well-organized system and I manage a lot of different areas to ensure that this happens. I spend most of my time working in Suzhou (China) and I also visit our facilities in Zhongshan City in Guangdong (China) when I'm involved with new component development and the corporate projects with our business partners.

Within my remit is company organization and the planning and development of corporate marketing strategy. Alongside this, I am also involved with production —new product design as I mentioned— and order management which often includes coordinating between clients and the sales team.

Yuga is well-known as a lipstick manufacturer. Is lipstick the company's principal focus?

The company was set up a decade ago, and at that time, the focus was on lipstick components because of the immense market demand. Over the years the company has developed the business, and Yuga has maintained its reputation as a major lipstick packaging provider. Lipstick propositions continue to be our flagship focus because of the professional technical team and engineering experts that work to support the development so well.

In our product catalog, you can see that we have a particularly extensive selection of different lipstick types supported by a stylish selection of other color cosmetic products including compacts, mascaras, cosmetic jars and lip glosses. Our color cosmetic product catalog is expanding to further cover the requirements for skincare and make-up, particularly in the area of compacts, and will continue to be expanded according to our company development strategy.

Why do cosmetic brands choose Yuga?

One of the features that makes us stand out from other cosmetic packaging companies in China and Asia is that we have a metal component facility that supports our entire component supply system. This enables us full control over accessory quality as well as production rate. We efficiently monitor every piece of material for different packaging parts and this is part of the reason that we are recognized as one of the leading and most credible suppliers in Asia by international companies.

Our facility was built with the entire production area focused on cosmetic packaging. It is clean, tidy, and most importantly a sanitary area, making it ideal for the cosmetic industry. The entire facility is a closed loop production process to ensure that any contamination between different departments is impossible. A pressurized room and a clean room are installed between individual production areas and this guarantee of cleanliness enhances our credibility. We also have a special injection machine cleaning device installed that cleans the air with active carbon before it is released. It's a special feature and important to recognize it because protection of our natural environment is something that can be overlooked by manufacturing companies.

Customer satisfaction is very important at Yuga too and we pursue this in four different inter-related directions:

Quality: Quality is fundamental in order to be a good supplier. Consumers regularly share their opinions of products —and when this is done on the internet, that opinion is available to be seen by people around the world— therefore the quality of a packaging product is integral to the image of the brand. If a product is poor, then the brand loses customers. Cosmetic packaging needs to look good from the day of purchase up until the end of its lifecycle, so quality is a requisite.

Price: Cost-effective pricing means that Yuga can ensure its products fit to customer budgets.

Delivery: Like quality and price delivery is important too. Our production is efficient which means that customers receive delivery of their products on-time as expected. Again, delivery is fundamental to brands as they are working to their own time schedules and our products are part of that schedule.

Customer service: Customer service is an important way in which Yuga differentiates itself from other color cosmetic manufacturers. From the raw design, technical support and all the way through production, Yuga ensures that its customers are satisfied and never hesitate to return to work on new projects.

As a company we ensure that we are always the better option because we offer full solutions from design, mold tooling, injection, decoration and printing, and assembly. Yuga's credibility as a trusted business partner is founded upon this and is the reason why we attract international brands to work with us.

How have market changes affected Yuga's business?

The company was set up in 2007 and began operation in 2008. Since I joined the team in 2010, I've seen the company grow rapidly and evolve. Within the cosmetic industry, many of the leading packaging companies have been facing immense transformation due to company mergers which in turn have had an effect on the decisions of packaging purchasers.

The top 3 Chinese packaging suppliers, Derjin, HCP Plastic and Shya Hsin, are our role-models in packaging industry, and two of them are currently undergoing a company reform right now. I can foresee this having significant effect on the industry and I'm optimistic about what will result as I think it will provide us with new opportunities.

How is Yuga reacting to these market changes?

We have focused on changes within our organization  in order to become a more "total cosmetic supplier". Changes have been implemented in R&D so that the team is managed more professionally, enabling us to work on new designs for scheduled release. We've also been streamlining the organization towards enhanced management for better design, absolute production quality and complete facility engineering. Implementing these enhancements has allowed better delivery control and quality assurance as we minimize possible risk and maximize profit.

Are any new designs scheduled for release soon?

There are som new designs with special cosmetic packaging features on the way shortly. We have filed patent applications for the new designs but will not be revealing further information until March, 2018. I can, however, tell you that these new designs incorporate technical updates and focus on improved functionality.

How do customers stay up-to-date with Yuga's new product offerings?

We have just launched yuga-tech.com, a brand new web site design. The site is easy to navigate and has been designed to be user-friendly with the visitor in mind, allowing them to interact with us effortlessly.

One of the best features of our new site is the 3D product gallery. This was built especially for customers that already have a long-term partnership with us. It includes our most popular products and provides a great opportunity for our business partners to optimize their packaging designs. The 3D product gallery enables visitors to see Yuga's cosmetic packaging in a whole new light as they can style a product with colors and finishes for a bespoke finish. Our customers can save both time and money by using this feature and then we can transform their vision into reality. It's really exciting as it means that our customers can review their ideas on screen in order to achieve their perfect packaging.

Click here to request access to Yuga's 3D studio

Our new products are always promoted to our existing customers first, offering them the opportunity to be the first on the market with the latest models. Product details are then released publicly later on.
In the past we have had issues with our original designs being pirated by malicious competitors at exhibitions, over the internet and through information available to them. We are now very cautious with regard to promotion and publishing information. We only used selected resource channels to enhance our public exposure to potential new customers and the design of our new web site gives us control over what we present as it presents what we want to show. For new visitors that require one-to-one packaging consultancy, it's as easy as completing contact information for our team to make immediate contact.

We attend different packaging shows each year, including Cosmoprof Asia, Cosmoprof Bologna and China Beauty Expo so that visitors from around the world will have the opportunity to find out more about our latest offerings.

What does the future hold for Yuga?

We are exploring market demands and looking at new opportunities in North and South America, so you can expect to be seeing us more in the Americas!

Closer to home we have two major facility updates planned for the near future. We are going to be expanding our production area with increased facility installations which will incorporate a much more updated and advanced production area in comparison to our current working environment. We are also upgrading our automation to maximize our production rate. Business is excellent and the upgrade will afford us to do even more creative and efficient work.