Hayden Products, Orchard win DSN/ECRM Buyers’ Choice Awards
Hayden Products won the Drug Store News/ECRM Buyers’ Choice Award for its Gelo Hand Soap Refill Pods at ECRM’s Everyday and Holiday Cosmetics, Fragrance & Bath Virtual Session held this month. Orchard was a finalist for its Volcanic Stone Roller.
The products were selected from dozens of entries submitted by participating suppliers. Buyers were able to evaluate each entry and cast their votes based on product packaging and innovation via the Drug Store News-branded Buyers’ Choice Awards section of the ECRM Connect platform.
“Sustainability is a big trend among beauty products today, and we see it reflected in both Buyers’ Choice winners,” said Craig Chmielowicz, ECRM’s senior vice president of health and beauty care. “The Gelo Hand Soap pods help reduce single-use plastic waste and the Orchard Volcanic Stone Roller is a reusable way of controlling shine from oils on the skin. Congratulations to both winners, and kudos for developing innovations that help both consumers and the environment.”
Gelo Hand Soap Refill Pods were developed to refill hand soap without the single-use plastics and packaging that usually accompany refilling. Consumers just fill the reusable bottle with water and drop in Gelo Refill Pods for low waste hand soap in seconds.
Gelo Refill Pods are made from plant-based ingredients and are free of sulfates, parabens, phthalates and toxic ingredients. The product is Leaping Bunny Certified Cruelty Free and the pods eliminate the need for single use rigid plastic containers. Since the pods don’t contain water, they drive reduced carbon emissions associated with transporting liquid hand soap. The dissolvable biodegradable Gelo Refill Pod technology helps reduce single-use plastic waste by 97% when compared with traditional hand soap refills, according to the company, which added that since launching, the brand has helped prevent over 1 million single-use plastic bottles from entering landfills.
“We were so excited to participate in the ECRM Connect session this year,” said Tom Kitzinger, vice president of sales at Hayden Products. “ECRM embraced the virtual format and the program was as productive, if not more productive, than previous in-person sessions. The ECRM team was always there waiting in the virtual ‘wings’ if we had any questions or needed assistance. Participation was terrific and the buyers were very engaged.”
Orchard, a full-service beauty company powered by Albéa and the Innovation Beauty Group, provides turnkey beauty solutions across prestige, indie, retail and mass. It has worked with some of the most well-known brands in the industry for nearly three decades. Orchard’s products include cosmetics, skin care, accessories and beauty tools, personal care, hair care, bags and gifts with purchase, travel retail, organic and natural products, fragrances, and home care.
The Volcanic Stone Roller, an oil-absorbing face roller that’s reusable and easy to wash, is made from real volcanic stone that helps to erase shine in an instant. Users pop the cap and it’s ready to roll for on-the-go touch-ups.