Olay’s Easy Open Lid prototype paves way for inclusive skin care packaging

08 Nov 2021 --- Olay North America is introducing the Easy Open Lid, a limited edition prototype developed with and for people with disabilities, tapping into the demand for disability-friendly product packaging. The Easy Open Lid is designed with an easy-open winged cap, a raised lid (for extra grip), a high contrast product label and braille text.

The Easy Open Lid will be incorporated into popular Olay products: the Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream, Vitamin C + Peptide 24 Face Moisturizer, Retinol 24 Face Moisturizer and Collagen Peptide 24 Face Moisturizer.

“As a global brand, it’s our responsibility to ensure all consumers have access to products that serve their needs and fit seamlessly into their daily lives,” says Chris Heiert, senior vice president at Olay.

“However, we cannot do it alone, which is why we have chosen not to patent this lid and rather share the design widely with the beauty community. We hope others will join us in our efforts in making products more accessible for everyone.”

According to the brand, the Easy Open Lid comes when 15% of the world’s population lives with a disability. However, these individuals are often excluded from the beauty industry, both in representation and product offerings.

Ensuring an effective design
To create the design, the Procter & Gamble brand met consumers with various conditions, from dexterity issues and limb differences to chronic issues causing joint pain and vision impairments.

The team also worked with external experts and incorporated personal experiences from team members into the new product design.The Easy Open Lid will be available on Olay’s most popular jars to make the product more accessible.

“Accessibility makes things better for everyone,” says Madison Lawson, a journalist and model living with muscular dystrophy. Lawson is one of the key influences Olay worked closely with to bring this jar to life.

“Everyone’s been there where you get product on your hands, or you’re trying to open something and you can’t, so I think it’s cool this [The Easy Open Lid] is designed with us specifically in mind, but it also makes everyone’s life better.”

An example for industry
In addition to sharing the design widely with the beauty industry, Olay is offering the lid to consumers at no additional cost. It comes free with the purchase of one of the four Olay Regenerist Moisturizers.

By 2025, P&G, including Olay, has pledged to make its packaging more accessible for people with disabilities.

Inclusive packaging solutions
In the inclusive packaging space, Unilever recently unveiled its deodorant brand Degree designed for consumers with motor and visual disabilities. In September, Italian start-up SISSPre catered to visually impaired consumers by developing a QR code prototype that narrates olive oil package labels when scanned.The Easy Open Lid – Retinol 24 + Peptide (Credit: Olay).

Meanwhile, Kellogg’s, the Royal National Institute of Blind People and Co-op supermarket partnered to release cereal boxes designed for the visually impaired. The packaging detects smartphones and replays allergen and labeling information to the user.

Tracking Olay’s moves
Olay Body previously unveiled three-body lotion products featuring ingredients that hydrate the skin. The company also tapped into refillable products with its remodeling of the Olay Regenerist Whip moisturizer. The moisturizer now features a refill pod that fits into the jar and is made of recyclable polypropylene.

Edited by Nicole Kerr