Patent Application
20200375337
Manicures and pedicures are considered by many to be an affordable luxury, and are widely enjoyed by both women and men. The manicure and pedicure industry in the United States, as of 2018, had approximately $8.3 billion in revenues. On average, in the United States in 2018, a deluxe manicure cost about $30 and a deluxe pedicure cost about $48. Thus, due to the relatively modest price of manicure and pedicure services, in view of their perceived position as a luxury service, there is a continuing need to develop products for the salon and spa industry that are cost-effective for the salon owner, efficient and easy to use, time-saving for the technicians performing the services, all while being visually appealing, thereby enhancing and supporting the perception of manicures and pedicures as a luxury service.
As with any beauty treatment, cleanliness is extremely important, and with respect to pedicures, this is particularly so. In general, spa pedicures are performed by a technician while the pedicure customer is seated in a specialized spa pedicure chair. The average spa pedicure chair includes a basin at the foot of the chair for washing the customer's feet. Most spa pedicure chairs have some form of water filling mechanism, such as an unobtrusive spigot, and a water draining mechanism, such as a drain connected to the building plumbing. Some spa pedicure chairs also have a water jet mechanism, to recirculate water or add bubbles. This water recirculation/bubble action is considered pleasant by many customers and serves to disguise the existence of debris, such as toe lint, dirt, and dead skin, in the basin during and after the customer's feet are washed. However, even with this action, it can be difficult to accomplish this disguising function. Some spas attempt to overcome this by pouring a quantity of bath salts into the basin, to color the water and add a pleasing scent, such as mint or lavender, to the basin water.
While providing a pedicure, many professional pedicurists, sometimes referred to herein as technicians, also provide skin-care for their customers, to soften, moisturize or otherwise improve the health and beauty of the customer's feet and lower legs. These skin-care products, sometimes referred to herein as beauty products, are many and varied, are often in the form of gels or liquids, and typically include an exfoliating scrub, a skin softening mask, and a moisturizing lotion.
At many salons, the skin-care products used in pedicures, as well as bath salts, are often purchased separately, in bulk or multi-use packaging. This bulk packaging, often in gallon jugs, may be unsightly and take up limited space in a spa or salon, and at the same time may be unsuitable to provide display or point of sale advertisement of the service provided.
The bulk packaging also affects how sanitary, effective, or pleasing to the senses the skin-care product may be. In bulk packaging, the skin-care or beauty product may become contaminated from repeated contact with technicians, and with the environment, as a result of being accessed many times as technicians serve out the contents of the multi-use packaging on a repeated basis. Beauty and skin-care products stored in multi-use packaging may also suffer from a reduced shelf-life due to repeated exposure to the environment each time a technician accesses the contents of the multi-use packaging. The beauty or skin-care product may accordingly also suffer from reduced quality, a diminished aroma, and may become stale.
The application of beauty and skin-care products from multi-use packaging may also be imprecise, as there may not be a way to administer a consistent application of product to each user. Each technician may have his or her own idea of how much beauty or skin-care product is appropriate for an application for each given customer. This may make it difficult for a spa owner to provide a standardized and consistent beauty or skin-care treatment to its customers.
Currently, when using skin care products that come in bulk packaging, many technicians use one of three approaches. Some pedicurists simply scoop product from the bulk container, in view of the customer, and apply it directly to the customer's skin. This is often unappealing to the customer and suffers from the sanitary issues discussed above.
Other pedicurists leave the customer alone, going to a store-room to transfer an amount of the desired skin-care products that the pedicurist plans to use for that customer, from the bulk container to a bowl or dish, which is then taken to the customer's pedicure chair. While this is somewhat more appealing, it can result in the customer being left alone for a period of time, and it does not address the other issues identified above.
Finally, still other spa owners will have technicians spend non-customer time to “pre-pack” estimated amounts of skin-care products from the bulk containers into sealable bowls, jars or other small containers, e.g., “Tupperware-like” containers, which can be selected from a shelf and then brought to the customer's pedicure chair when needed.
In certain instances, the second two approaches can result in wastage, when the pedicurist transfers more skin-care product from the bulk container than is necessary for the treatment for that particular customer. In other instances, the second two approaches result in an under-treatment, in which the pedicurist does not have enough skin-care product for a particular customer, and then either shorts the customer or has to make another trip to the storage closet to obtain more product. Finally, these two approaches occasionally result in further contamination of the product contained in the bulk container, as unscrupulous pedicurists and spa owners have been known to return un-used portions of skin-care treatments to the bulk container, to be served out again to a subsequent customer. Thus, it would be advantageous to have a packaging solution that enables a technician to select a single package, with multiple ready-to-use beauty products inside, which a customer can see are unopened, and therefore both visually pleasing and guaranteed to be sanitary.
It is generally believed by the Applicant that, when a spa product is visually appealing, and can be presented to a customer at the time that the customer is deciding what services to purchase, the customer is more likely to purchase the visually appeal product/service, and/or to purchase more products and services than the customer might otherwise buy when presented with only a written menu or an oral explanation of services offered by the spa. Thus offering a visually appealing product related to a spa service can also enable a spa owner to achieve higher sales.
Bulk or multi-service packaging may also make it more difficult for a spa owner to keep track of its consumable skin-care product inventory, when it may not be sure how many servings may be found in the multi-use packaging. A spa owner may also have to make large initial investments in bulk multi-use packaging of beauty and skin-care product, and thus, may also be hesitant to make similar investments to try new products and service that may also require upfront costs.
Attempts have been made to address these issues, but prior art solutions still have problems and drawbacks. For example, US Patent Publication 2018/0027945, by Applicant Voesh Corporation, and entitled “Beauty and Skin Care Treatment Product and Method” is directed to a single use system for providing a manicure or pedicure treatment. The discussed Voesh system includes a number of foil packets, resembling large fast-food condiment packets, each of which contains a pre-determined, but unspecified, amount of a skin-care product, e.g., a packet of scrub, a packet of mask, and a packet of lotion. Each packet is labeled with instructions indicating the order in which it is to be used during a manicure or pedicure procedure. Further, all of the packets are stacked in a single box, to be sold as a unit.
This Voesh system has a number of drawbacks. First, the use of packets is unappealing to customers, because to use the beauty product contained therein, the technician must tear open the packet and then squeeze, to squirt out the product, much like a fast-food restaurant condiment packet. The torn-open-and-squeezed packet then has product residue dripping from it, and must be immediately discarded. Alternatively, if the technician uses only a portion of the product at a time, e.g., by applying some of the packet's contents to the customer's left foot, and wants to set the packet aside until the technician is ready to apply product to the customer's right foot, the torn-open and dripping packet will fall on its side, often oozing product, and thus leave product residue wherever it is placed, such as on the technician's work station or the arm of the pedicure chair, requiring later clean-up effort. Second, with the Voesh system, the squeeze packets can make it difficult for the technician to access as much, or as little, product as needed or to use an application tool, such as a brush, sponge or pad. Third, with the Voesh system, unless the technician exercises care in tearing and squeezing the packet, the product can squirt out uncontrollably, onto the floor, the chair, or even the customer's clothing, causing wastage and an unsightly mess. Fourth, with the Voesh system, technicians and customers cannot clearly see each of the packets through the outer package, and may not understand the number of steps in the treatment, the particular skin-care products provided, or other information printed on the packets for ease of identification and understanding. Finally, the Voesh system does not include a bath bomb.
Thus, there exists an unfulfilled need for an improved beauty or skin-care treatment that allows delivery of a pre-measured amounts of beauty or skin-care product contained in single-serve packaging and collected together as a multi-step treatment, that may overcome these and other concerns.
The various embodiments of the present pedicure kit package system has several features, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of the present embodiments as expressed by the claims that follow, their more prominent features now will be discussed briefly. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled “Detailed Description,” one will understand how the features of the present embodiments solve the problems discussed in the Background and provide the advantages described herein.
In a first aspect, a disposable single-use pedicure kit is provided, the kit includes an exterior package, where at least a portion of the exterior package is transparent, a bath bomb and a cup including a predetermined quantity of a beauty product between 10 grams and 100 grams, and a non-re-sealable closure seal that seals the predetermined quantity of the beauty product in the cup, and where the bath bomb and the cup are contained in the exterior package and where at least a portion of the bath bomb and at least a portion of the non-re-sealable closure seal of the cup is visible through the transparent portion of the exterior package.
In an embodiment of the first aspect, the kit includes a plurality of cups, including a first cup containing a predetermined quantity of water-soluble scrub, a second cup containing a predetermined quantity of mask, and a third cup containing a predetermined quantity of lotion.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the predetermined quantity of the beauty product in the cup is approximately 20 grams.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the bath bomb further comprises a preformed solid composition comprising a mixture of a powered base, a powdered acid and a powdered binder.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the preformed solid composition is formed in a sculptural shape.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the bath bomb is scented and the sculptural shape is indicative of the scent.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the plurality of cups all have the same interior volume.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the majority of the exterior package is transparent.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the cup has an inverted frusto-conical shape.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the cup has a cylindrical shape.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the cup is generally square in horizontal cross section.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the cup is generally rectangular in horizontal cross section.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the cup is generally trapezoidal in horizontal cross section.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the kit also includes a tray with a horizontal supporting surface, a plurality of vertical supporting surfaces, an aperture in the horizontal supporting surface, where the diameter of the aperture is large enough to accommodate the cup and where the cup is positioned in the aperture.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the tray is removable from the exterior package.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the tray is approximately two-and-one half inches wide, one-half inch deep and six-and-three-quarters of an inch tall.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the non-re-sealable seal of the cup is made of layers of aluminum foil, Polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”), and Polypropylene (“PP”).
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the cup is made of PP.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the exterior package is made of PET.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the exterior package is between one-half and three inches deep, between one and four inches wide, and between six and fourteen inches tall.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the exterior package is generally one inch deep, two-and-a-half inches wide, and approximately nine inches tall.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the bath bomb is 55 mm×53 mm×22 mm at the widest, tallest, and deepest points along each axis respectively.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the non-re-sealable seal includes printed information visible on the top of the seal and a tab protecting outwardly from a top edge of the cup, where the tab has a first edge and a second edge, and the tray has a horizontal supporting surface and a plurality of vertical supporting surfaces, and an aperture in the horizontal supporting surface, where the diameter of the aperture is large enough to accommodate the cup, and where the cup is positioned in the aperture, with the tab oriented such that, if the cup is rotated in a first direction during transport and handling, the respective first edge will contact the inside of the exterior package and thereby generally prevent further rotation in a first direction, and further such that, if the cup is rotated in a second direction during transport and handling, the respective second edge will contact either the inside of the exterior package or a second adjacent cup and thereby generally prevent further rotation in a second direction, whereby the printed information on the cup will be maintained in an orientation that is readable through the transparent portion of the exterior package.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the interior volume of the cup is between about 0.5 and 5 fluid ounces.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the interior volume of the cup is about 1.3 fluid ounces.
In another embodiment of the first aspect, the kit has a bath bomb enclosure area defined by a first edge of the tray, a first interior side of the exterior package, a second interior side of the package, a front interior side of the exterior package, and a back interior side of the exterior package, where the bath bomb further comprises a first side of predominant visual interest, and where the bath bomb is positioned in the bath bomb enclosure area, such that the bath bomb enclosure area contains and orients the bath bomb such that at least a portion of the first side of predominant visual interest is visible through the transparent portion of the exterior package, and further such that the bath bomb cannot shift during shipping and handling so that the first side of predominant visual interest is no longer visible through the transparent portion of the exterior package.
In a second aspect a disposable single-use pedicure kit is provided, the kit including an exterior package, where at least a portion of the exterior package is transparent, a bath bomb, and a plurality of cups, each cup including a predetermined quantity of a beauty product between 10 grams and 50 grams, and a non-re-sealable closure seal that seals the predetermined quantity of the beauty product in the cup, with printed information visible on the top of the seal and a tab protecting outwardly from a top edge of the cup, where the tab comprises a first edge and a second edge, and a tray positioned inside the exterior package, the tray including a horizontal supporting surface, a plurality of vertical supporting surfaces, a plurality of apertures in the horizontal supporting surface greater than or equal in number to the number of cups in the plurality of cups, where the diameter of each of the plurality of apertures is large enough to accommodate one of the plurality of cups, where each of the plurality of cups is positioned in each of the plurality of apertures in the tray, where at least the printed information on the non-re-sealable closure seal of the cup is visible through the transparent portion of the exterior package, where, such that for each cup, the tab oriented such that, if the cup is rotated in a first direction during transport and handling, the respective first edge will contact the inside of the exterior package and thereby generally prevent further rotation in a first direction, and further such that, if the cup is rotated in a second direction during transport and handling, the respective second edge will contact either the inside of the exterior package or an second adjacent cup of the plurality of cups, and thereby generally prevent further rotation in a second direction, whereby the printed information on the cup will be maintained in an orientation that is readable through the transparent portion of the exterior package, and a bath bomb enclosure area defined by a first edge of the tray, a first interior side of the exterior package, a second interior side of the package, a front interior side of the exterior package, and a back interior side of the exterior package, where the bath bomb further includes a first side of predominant visual interest and where the bath bomb is positioned in the bath bomb enclosure area, such that the bath bomb enclosure area contains and orients the bath bomb such that at least a portion of the first side of predominant visual interest is visible through the transparent portion of the exterior package, and further such that the bath bomb cannot shift during shipping and handling so that the first side of predominant visual interest is no longer visible through the transparent portion of the exterior package.
In the descriptions that follow, like parts or steps are marked throughout the specification and drawings with the same numerals, respectively. The drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale and certain figures may be shown in exaggerated or generalized form in the interest of clarity and conciseness. The disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The present embodiments disclose and describe a pedicure kit and a packaging solution for a pedicure kit. The embodiments disclosed herein are intended to be instructional and not limiting to the scope of the claims, except where specifically set forth. Moreover, while the description focuses on a pedicure kit, it will be understood that this is non-limiting, and the kit, the packaging solution, could be applicable to manicures, or other beauty treatment products and procedures.
With respect to
The pedicure kit 10 also includes a “bath bomb” 14, sometimes referred to herein as a “pedi-bomb.” Preferably, the bath bomb 14 is a preformed solid composition comprising a mixture of a powered base, a powdered acid and a powdered binder. For example, without limitation, the powdered base may be sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), the powdered acid may be citric acid, and the powdered binder may be corn starch. This formulation of bath bomb 14, will “fizz” when immersed in water, thereby releasing its scent and/or essential oils, because the powdered acid, as it dissolves, reacts with the sodium bicarbonate to rapidly release carbon dioxide. It is believed that many customers will enjoy this reaction, and will prefer it to mere bath salts or mechanically-generated bubbles from a spa jet. Moreover, depending on the formulation and size of the bath bomb 14, this “fizz” can last for several minutes, and be enjoyed by the customer, thus allowing the technician time to engage in other preparations for that same customer or to address issues of other customers. Other formulations of bath bombs may be used. The bath bomb 14 may also include essential oils or perfumes, to provide a pleasing scent when the bath bomb is used in the water of the pedicure basin. The bath bomb 14 may also include Epsom salts, or other nutrients beneficial to skin or for the alleviation of pain and inflammation of the feet. The bath bomb 14 may also include dyes or coloration, to create a visually pleasing appearance in the exterior package, and/or to color the water in the pedicure basin when used.
The bath bomb 14 illustrated is formed in the shape of a sliced half of an orange, but may be any other form. In some embodiments, the bath bomb 14 is formed in a sculptural shape, such as a fruit, a sea shell, a flower, a candy, an animal, a geometric shape, a letter, a number, or a corporate logo. In the embodiment illustrated, the bath bomb 14 has a first side of predominant visual interest 16, e.g., the “cut side” of the orange. This first side of predominant visual interest 16 is preferably oriented toward the transparent portion of the exterior package 12, so that first side of predominant visual interest 16 of the bath bomb is visible by the technician or customer when the pedicure kit 10 is shown or displayed for selection by the customer when the customer is deciding what spa services to purchase. In some embodiments, the bath bomb 14 is scented and the sculptural shape is indicative of the scent, for example, the orange bath bomb 14 illustrated has a citrus scent. In further embodiments, the bath bomb 14 is colored and the color is indicative of the scent, for example the orange bath bomb 14 illustrated is colored orange and has a citrus scent.
In certain embodiments, the bath bomb 14 is 55 mm×53 mm×22 mm at the widest, tallest, and deepest points along each axis respectively, so that it may fit inside the exterior package 12 as shown, without being displaced or turned during shipment and handling, as discussed further below.
The pedicure kit 10 also includes one or more skin-care product cups 16, 18, 20. Each skin-care product cup 16, 18, 20, contains a pre-measured amount of a skin-care product 22, as illustrated in
Each cup 16, 18, 20 is preferably of the same size, same dimensions and same interior volume. However, in certain embodiments in which the amount of pre-measured skin-care product differs from one product to another, differently sized and shaped cups may be used. In the embodiment illustrated in
Each cup 16, 18, 20 may be made from any suitable disposable material that will not react with the skin-care product contained therein, will protect the skin-care product therein from exposure to air and light, and which can be sealed closed with a closure 32. In certain embodiments, the cups 16, 18, 20 are made of Polypropylene (“PP”).
The cups 16, 18, 20 may be of various shapes, including the inverted frusto-conical shape illustrated and described above, as well as cups that have horizontal cross sections that are, for example, cylindrical, square, rectangular or trapezoidal. When opened, each cup 16, 18, 20 has a relatively wide aperture 34 to provide the technician adequate room to access the skin-care product 22 inside, without squeezing or squirting the skin-care product 22. This relatively wide aperture 34 also allows the technician to access the skin-care product 22 in the cup 16, 18, 20 by using a brush, sponge, pad, or with a gloved finger. Each of the cups 16, 18, 20 preferably has a relatively flat bottom 36. This enables the cup, when opened, to be set aside by the technician, without the cup falling over and oozing or spilling product, as is the case with prior art packet systems. Moreover, the wide aperture 34, in combination with the relatively flat bottom 36, enables the technician to use as much, or as little, of the skin-care product 22 as needed or preferred by the particular customer, and further allows the technician to use the skin-care product 22 in sub-steps, e.g., first on the left leg and then on the right, without emptying the whole cup 16, 18, 20 first, as is often necessary with prior art packet systems, to avoid oozing and spilling.
Each cup 16, 18, 20 includes a non-re-sealable closure seal 32. The non-re-sealable closure seal 32 may be made from any suitable disposable material that will not react with the skin-care product 22 contained therein, will protect the skin-care product 22 therein from exposure to air and light, and which can be sealed closed at the time of manufacture, and opened by hand-strength when ready for use, as illustrated in
In some embodiments, the pedicure kit 10 also includes a tray 50. With reference to
In certain embodiments, when the tray 50 is used with the inverted frusto-conical shaped cups 16, 18, 20, the cups can still rotate during shipping and handling, thereby making the printed information 38 crooked, upside down, or otherwise difficult to read through the exterior package 12. This issue is addressed by embodiments of the cups 16, 18, 20 that include the non-re-sealable closure 32 that includes a tab 40 with a first edge 44 and a second edge 46, in combination with a properly sized tray 50 and a properly sized exterior package 12. Specifically, as illustrated, when this combination is used, where the cup 16, 18, 20 is positioned in the aperture 56, with the tab 40 oriented such that, if the cup 16, 18, 20 is rotated in a first direction, for example counter-clockwise, during transport and handling, the respective first edge 44 of the tab 40 will contact the inside of the exterior package 12 and thereby generally prevent further rotation in the first direction, and further such that, if the cup 16, 18, 20 is rotated in a second direction, for example clockwise, during transport and handling, the respective second edge 46 will contact either the inside of the exterior package 12 or a second adjacent cup and thereby generally prevent further rotation in the second direction. This combination further serves to hold the cup 16, 18, 20 in an orientation so that the printed information 38 on the cup 16, 18, 20 is readable through the transparent portion of the exterior package 12.
In certain further embodiments, the tray 50, in combination with a properly sized exterior package 12 and a properly sized and shaped bath bomb 14, serves to hold the bath bomb 14 in place so that the first side of predominant visual interest 16 is visible through the transparent portion of the exterior package 16. Specifically, the tray 50 and the exterior package 12 form a bath bomb enclosure area 70 defined by a first edge of the tray, a first interior side of the exterior package, a second interior side of the package, a front interior side of the exterior package, and a back interior side of the exterior package. When the bath bomb 14 is properly sized, with respect to the dimensions of the bath bomb enclosure area 70, the bath bomb 14 will be held in place so that the first side of predominant visual interest 16 is visible through the transparent portion of the exterior package 12. This is also advantageous, in that, assuming the bath bomb 14 is properly sized, the same template for the exterior package 12 and tray 50 may be used regardless of the sculptural shape of the bath bomb 14, e.g., a custom, form-fit packaging cut-out or area is not necessary for different sculptural shapes.
Although specific embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, those having ordinary skill in the art will understand that changes can be made to the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is not to be restricted, therefore, to the specific embodiments disclosed.
