Sampling is no longer a simple promotional gesture, but a key strategic tool to connect with the consumer, drive conversion, and move towards a more sustainable model. Sampling Innovations Europe redefines "try before you buy" with innovation, consulting, and a vision for the future.
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What is the great mission that guides Sampling Innovations Europe in this new era of "try before you buy"?
The truth is that nowadays, sampling is much more than a test format. Samples are already an active part of their sales strategy and product portfolio. In fact, at Sampling Innovations Europe (SIE) we not only offer sampling and testing formats, but single-dose and mini-size formats for retail are increasingly demanded by our clients.
This happens, because the consumer increasingly has a greater expectation and wants to make a more efficient and secure purchase. Trying before buying, is a classic, what changes is how brands manage to differentiate themselves at this key moment.
Our mission continues to be to help perfumery and cosmetic brands design, package, and present Sampling campaigns, sales kits with mini-sizes, and small-format retail products fully aligned with their positioning, packaging strategy, and marketing objectives. Our commitment is to accompany our clients throughout this entire process, proposing solutions that connect, surprise, and boost their sales. This requires us to be agile and adapt to offer the best solution, generating a positive impact on the channel, the consumer, and the environment.
- What will set trends this 2026 regarding sampling?
Innovation and sustainability are the pillars on which to build. And they have been for a long time. These macrotrends are where strong bets have been placed for a long time. Innovation is done step by step, we have a good base and this year we will have advances in the most sustainable materials, with a prominent presence of more advanced monomaterials (with greater barrier) and supports with a greater presence of paper fibers, which increase sustainability performance. Another area of innovation is industrial, generating more productive efficiency with new investments to improve delivery times and costs, all while reducing carbon emissions.
A more disruptive element will be the sale of samples to test the products at a strategic price that allows covering the cost of the campaign and encouraging the client to request these test doses, especially in the online channel it is working very well. We have different proposals for this, generating adequate and attractive presentations for this purpose that makes investments in Sampling more directly.
Our commitment obliges us to invest constantly for continuous improvement, with investment focused on these new developments and materials. Brands seek innovation in eco-responsible solutions, produced with recyclable monomaterial, PET PCR or paper. The design is oriented towards lightweight packaging, logistics optimization and the reduction of the carbon footprint. Each sample becomes a declaration of environmental commitment. We cannot forget that samples help to make purchases more directed to the real need of the consumer and with this we manage to avoid tons of product waste that are not used after purchase because they do not satisfy the consumer's expectation.
- How is a Sampling strategy developed? Why is it important to develop everything together?
At Sampling Innovations Europe we do not understand the sample as a simple test, but as a strategic moment for the brand. Our work begins long before entering production: we analyze with the client the desired objective of the campaign, the type of consumer it is aimed at, which channel will predominate and the desired impact. All this implies listening very well and being able to interpret how to complement that initial idea that the client presents to us. From there, we design the experience, not just the packaging, and we can already see how each of the different phases affects the project. One of the important parts will be to define how we deliver the sample to generate a good return. We discuss this in more depth from our consulting service.
Throughout this entire evaluation, our team accompanies the brand very closely, for the development of the project, proposing solutions that connect, surprise, and drive the purchase decision. From creativity, format proposal, material selection up to the execution and activation at the point of sale, we work so that each sample is relevant, memorable, and efficient.
Every project is a new challenge, no matter the size of the campaign, we look for the most suitable solution in terms of design, sustainability, cost-efficiency, positive impact for the final consumer, and assured delivery times. And we do it in a totally personalized way, working hand in hand with the client.
- Recently, they have also presented the consulting service for sample campaigns, what return have they had during and what do they consider to be the strong points in which they expect to position themselves?
From our beginnings we offer a comprehensive service. A 360 service that goes from conceptualization to production and distribution at the point of sale. A service that we have perfected thanks to our experience and the consolidated understanding of our clients' needs, precisely based on the know-how obtained from the many sampling campaigns designed over the years.
We propose the consulting service based on an analyzed vision of client accompaniment, specially seeking how to rationalize costs and optimize efforts and resources thanks to a global strategic design during the year.
There are real opportunities to synchronize several events and reduce costs. All this analysis is offered by our sales specialists and is a clear differential value that works very well.
In our portfolio we have truly distinct proposals to be able to select the best one for each need and campaign. Proposals that we always manufacture in-house, thus controlling the entire production chain to thus guarantee the entire process and final quality.
We manage all productions from our own facilities, offering a wide range of finishes and differentiation to brands. We offer the secondary packaging of the product, from small wallets for vials or thermoformed pearls to presentation boxes for discovery sets or coffrets, or an olfactory label dispenser. All these elements are fundamental in the brand image that one wants to convey, in addition to being powerful communication elements to transmit values and a premium image that always attracts the consumer.
- How can the use of artificial intelligence be incorporated into Sampling?
As in many sectors, artificial intelligence and digitalization have come to stay. And they are tools that, well used, can be of great help.
Smart Sampling is a clear example. It is an innovative platform developed by Sampling Innovations Europe that transforms the way brands and consumers interact through samples. A digital tool designed to improve the user experience, to generate greater engagement, and to offer brands valuable data on the return and effectiveness of their campaigns.
Smart Sampling, Sampling Innovations leads the digital evolution of sampling towards a more interactive, memorable and effective experience. Interaction is fundamental.
- Is sampling still a strong conversion driver, even in a saturated market?
Without a doubt. Sampling is not just a marketing tactic, it is a catalyst for more conscious and sustainable consumption. Testing before the purchase decision implies more intelligent and sustainable consumption. It must be understood that in a saturated market the best strategy is differentiation and that is where we can contribute our vision.
- What is the main concern of a company dedicated to sampling? Is regulation also a concern? How do they manage this uncertainty?
I would not speak of concern but rather of the need to do outreach. In recent years, sampling has been demonized a bit without taking into account that a mini or single-dose format is often more sustainable than the regular sales size, if it does not meet the customer's expectation.
Creating a positive impact is our manifesto and transmitting the challenges and commitments behind this manifesto is our duty. The value of a well-defined, developed, and executed sampling campaign is incalculable and brings significant benefits for all interested parties: for brands because it is a tool to gain visibility, build branding, and stand out from the competition. It encourages consumer trial and contributes to increasing sales, and for the consumer because mini formats help introduce new products. They allow trying, giving confidence and reducing the purchase of unwanted products, saving unnecessary expenses and promoting more conscious consumption.
- What objectives does Sampling Innovations set for itself in 2026?
Continue positioning ourselves as a reference company in the sampling sector and mini-size formats. As a strategic and reliable partner for perfumery, skin care, make up, personal care brands and, of course, laboratories with specific products. And precisely for this sector, in 2026 we want to strengthen our Medical Device Division and contribute all our expertise for this product segment. We have been working for a long time with multiple laboratories, some of them of recognized international prestige, complying with all specific requirements and regulations in all our processes and quality management indispensable for their products.
Furthermore, aware that our customer service orientation is one of our pillars, in 2026 we want to reinforce it even more. With this objective, we have created a new division under the SIE umbrella to serve emerging, niche or expanding brands that seek proposals with shorter MOQs and delivery times, without sacrificing, of course, the final quality of our products using our most standardized formats.
- With more than 30 years of history, what is the future of Sampling Innovations and what has been the secret to becoming a benchmark in the sector?
Work and commitment always listening to the needs of our clients and the sector with rigor, professionalism, and quality. Our approach involves continuing to reinforce what brings real value to brands: trial experiences that connect and convert. We want the sample to stop being an “extra” and to consolidate as a strategic tool within the marketing plan.
We are working on formats that allow prolonging the experience and accompanying the consumer for longer, especially in categories like skincare, where the texture, sensoriality, and results need more than one application to be appreciated. This is the philosophy behind solutions like thermoformed packaging or multi-use formats.
At the same time, we will continue betting on more sustainable materials, more efficient processes and integrating digital tools that allow us to measure, learn and optimize campaigns together with brands. This is something that our clients constantly demand.
And of course, and reinforcing our commitment to the client, investing in our facilities and machinery that allows us to increase our production capacity and our offer in decoration and finishes, in addition to allowing us to manufacture generating less waste and ensuring the client environmental respect and the best cost-efficiency.
We approach 2026 as a year to evolve sampling towards more complete, more conscious experiences aligned with what drives the consumer. All of this would not be possible without constant investments: in the last two years, we have expanded our R&D department and our production plant with new, more efficient machinery. Today we already have 3,000 m2 facilities, 15 packaging lines, and an annual capacity of 180 million units across different technologies. We highlight the expansion in filling capacity for perfumery vials with the automation of the entire packaging and conditioning process. This allows us to shorten delivery times and respond to the needs of brands with shorter deadlines for their launches.
We have classified rooms to provide better coverage for sensitive products. A commitment to quality and compliance with regulations and the highest standards required by the cosmetics, perfumery, and Medical Device products sector, backed by multiple certifications that we have and that endorse the processes.
This is our philosophy, to grow hand in hand with our clients to contribute equally to their growth. We are in a connected sector, where we all seek to improve day by day and we are in constant collaboration.