Caracappa fires up innovation

Food & Drug Packaging, July, 2005 by Kate Bertrand

When-Roger Caracappa took a job-packing hexes at the Estee Lauder plant in Melville, N.Y., 33 years age, little did he the assignment would eventually lead him to the executive corridors of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc.

Having risen through the ranks of shipping, quality control, purchasing, package development and, for 22 years, marketing, Roger last year became the company's executive vice president, global packaging. He also is responsible for global quality assurance, merchandising, corporate store design and retail store operations.

Previously, Roger had been senior vice president, global packaging, for the company, with responsibility for all packaging activities of its 23 brands. In addition to the flagship Estee Lauder label, these include Clinique, Aramis, Origins, MAC, Prescriptives, Bobbi Brown and Aveda, as well as the fragrance/cosmetics licenses for Donna Karan/DKNY and Tommy Hilfiger.

A long-time leader among personal care packaging professionals, Roger earned the HBA Health & Beauty America Packaging Executive of the Year title in 2002. In addition, he received the Cartier Scholarship Honor Roll Award from the Fashion Institute of Technology for his work on the Cosmetic/Fragrance Action Council in 2000.

Since moving from an executive role in promotional marketing at Estee Lauder to the global packaging group in 1999, one of Roger's most noteworthy accomplishments has been the creation of an Innovation Center. An independent department within the corporate group, the Center fosters creativity in package development, design and execution.

"A key need for a company like The Estee Lauder Companies is to stay ahead of the competition in terms of innovative packaging," Roger explains. "Before our customer experiences our products, she experiences the packaging, and we have a responsibility to provide her with the very best."

With so many independently managed brands under The Estee Lauder Companies' umbrella, the company needed to "develop a process that allows us to feed in new concepts on a minute-to-minute, day-to-day basis. The Innovation Center fills that need," he says. The Center has been well received within the company, and significantly, "Competitors have looked at the model and tried to recreate it internally. That's flattering."

Roger takes pride in the packaging talent The Estee Lauder Companies attracts, and under his guidance, the company has established a professional development process for new hires in packaging. Recruited from the country's top engineering schools, recent graduates start in the company's package testing lab in Melville and later rotate into the package development function in New York City.

"This allows them to develop a strong foundation within package testing, and then have the chance to experience the fashion side of the business," he explains. "It's nice to see your people growing and making their unique contributions."

Roger's goals for the next year include not only a continued focus on packaging innovation but also paying even closer attention to his other areas of responsibility. He admits to a passion for quality, and his leadership role in quality assurance means the company's already high standards for packaging, products and service will continue to rise.

"My plate is full, and I'm loving it," he says.