How innovative can the Beverage industry become?

by Fernando Viso
Chainalytics

Last month, Anheuser-Busch announced plans to pilot its new Bud Light Vented Can in and around Louisville, KY.  MillerCoors launched its own version, the Punch Top Can for Miller Lite, last year.  Both companies tout that the second tab improves the flow of air in and out of the can, providing a smoother pour and enhanced taste.  I can imagine several compelling reasons for this type of enhancement, but whatever the case, it's interesting to me that Food & Beverage leaders have once again turned to packaging for product innovation.

Whether your average consumer makes a buying decision because they can detect a difference or they just like the coolness factor, packaging innovations continue to be a large driver in consumer goods industry.   I’m excited to see what other great ideas will come up in the near future and where the beverage industry will be in 5 more years.

Packaging: Want vs. Need

by Kyle Ous
Chainalytics


As I put together my shopping checklist last Saturday, I realized most of the goods I was planning on buying were frequent repeats on my list. So I thought to myself: "What is it about these products that keeps driving me to known aisles of the store and why do I continuously find the same items in my cart?" My buying pattern became apparent soon enough; product packaging was playing a gigantic role in the balance between goods I wanted and those I needed.

Of the items that made it on my list, I was surprised to see how many had some sort of innovative primary package.  In most instances, it was an easy to open and close feature.  Such convenience features allow products to be reused without adding an extra step to the closure or refrigeration process. But, given my location, I shouldn't have been surprised; the food and beverage industry is a recognized leader for packaging reusability. 

Advancements in resealability for shredded cheese is a classic packaging innovation example.

More interesting, perhaps, is what I realized about the items that I purchased that were not on my list.  Normally, I do not wander the store, but not wanting to make an extra trip, I decided to browse a few aisles for anything I may have forgotten.  By the time I had reached the cashier station, several items that I didn't need had found their way into my cart.  Case in point... 

It is too early to tell whether the "Punch Top" is the future or a passing fad like the Vortex bottle.

Clearly, the packaging made me do it.  I can recall many instances, similar to Miller Coor's new Punch Top™ can, in which I have chosen merchandise over the competitive set simply because the packaging concept was interesting or worth experimenting with.

Every package at a retail store has a unique blend of characteristics, including functionality, realistic image, design aspect, and aesthetic look and feel. If you're anything like me, then the outlook for the packaging industry seems promising considering all the new innovations that have demonstrated success in the marketplace today!

Have any package innovations changed your buying patterns?  Leave a comment to tell us about it!

It’s Not Plastic, It’s a Plant!

By Rob Kaszubowski, CPP- Chainalytics

Chooo chooo! What’s that, you ask? That’s the great sound of another company boarding the green train. Just last month, the HJ Heinz company announced that it would partner with Coca-Cola to use their Plantbottle™ for 120 million bottles of Heinz ® Ketchup.

Back in 2009, Coca-Cola launched its PlantBottle: a fully recyclable bottle that uses an innovative process to turn sugar cane and molasses into a key component for PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) plastic. Coke initially introduced the bottle in its Dasani® water and sparkling water markets and later with Vitaminwater® in 2010. Coca-Cola’s goal is to eventually convert all of their bottles to the plant based plastic by 2020.

Heinz said that the new material will increase its packaging costs; however they hope that it will give them greater flexibility to move away from the volatile price fluctuations of petroleum based raw materials.

Since the release of the PlantBottle, PepsiCo Inc. has decided to also board the sustainability train as well. In March, PepsiCo inc. unveiled the first ever 100% plant based bottle for their products.

With any kind of packaging change, numerous steps and measures need to be taken to assure a winning solution emerges in the end, so I’m sure these changes had been in process at these companies for some time. Just think of all the design, verification and testing that had to be done to achieve their final goal: bottle design, distribution and package testing, bottling line changes, etc.

Even with all this hard work, it’s great to see companies taking that first step forward to become a leader in sustainable packaging! The packaging consultants at Chainalytics are committed to increasing sustainability in packaging through innovation so contact us to see how we help your company board the train!

Get Paid to Recycle

by Rob Kaszubowski, CPP - Chainalytics

Wouldn’t you love to get paid to throw stuff away? Well, now you can, thanks to Recyclebank. Recyclebank is a company that tracks and scans the weight of packaging you recycle each week, and then turns your recycled goods into points which you can accumulate to redeem later for anything ranging from magazine subscriptions to coupons to other fun freebies and deals.

Our community recently started using Recyclebank in 2010, and I’ve already cashed in my reward points for deals and coupons at local sporting goods stores, clothing stores and restaurants. We were pretty good at recycling before the program was started, but now we definitely have some additional incentive. Plus the whole neighborhood has really taken to the program, which now seems to make recycling fun and exciting! A recent release stated that 87% of households in my town are participating in the recycling program, up from about only 60% before the program started.

Recyclebank also tracks your personal recycling data to show just how “green” you are by identifying the number of trees and gallons of oil saved, just by recycling your water bottles, newspapers and glass bottles every week!

Recyclebank’s focus on the environment and educating consumers on recycling and packaging has definitely put a new, exciting spin on recycling. I can’t wait to see what kind of rewards my points will get me next!



Can't view the video, click here.

Miller Lite Vortex Bottle: Gimmick or Packaging Innovation?

by Rob Kaszubowski, CPP - Chainalytics

Mega-brewer MillerCoors is preparing to launch their latest and greatest packaging innovation, the Miller Lite Vortex Bottle, in the hopes of boosting its sales which have slumped recently. The newly developed bottle design has specially designed grooves in the neck to “help create a vortex as you’re pouring beer”.

The thought is that the Vortex bottle neck will create an influx of oxygen and create a fresher, better tasting beer. Now I’ve had a beer or two in my day, but I’m not sure how realistic that will be. My belief though is that the new vortex design will allow consumers to pour (or chug) beer faster – although the new design is not marketed in this way.

Some are calling it another gimmick, similar to the Coors Lite cold activated bottle labels that are printed with a thermochromatic ink which allows the mountains to turn blue in color when the package is cold enough to drink.

Whether you call the new Miller Lite Vortex bottle a gimmick or packaging innovation, it’s bound to cause a stir in consumers….and beer!

I’m sure the packaging geek in me will be curious to see this new technology and I’ll have to try one….or two!

Gizmo Twist Cap Makes Splash

Packaging Innovation or Short-term Craze?
by Rob Kaszubowski, CPP - Chainalytics
The Scotland based company, Gizmo Packaging, has recently unveiled its latest invention to the public: a bottle cap closure that allows the consumer to inject the liquid in the bottle with active ingredients, flavors, or vitamins. You simply twist the cap, and you can add a variety of flavors to your bottled water.

As our on-the-go lifestyles become increasingly busier, new packaging innovations have helped us maintain that speed. From microwave popcorn to squeezable tube yogurt to single servings of just about anything, each packaging advance shaves seconds (and maybe minutes) off our daily activities to allow us to spend a little more time with friends and family.

I too have jumped on the bandwagon of adding flavor packets to my bottled water, but am I really so busy that I can’t tear open a foil packet and pour the powder into the bottle? Plus, there’s always the chance that my attention deficit disorder kicks in and I twist all the caps at once in an entire case of water just to see the magical flavor injection take place. Also, how much extra would I be willing to pay for those few seconds of excitement?


I’m sure once this gadget makes it to the U.S. I will give it a whirl. Maybe this will be a new craze that catches on like some of the other great packaging innovations, and we’ll never have a reason to drink plain water again!

You can learn more at Gizmo Closures Website.

Breakthrough in Can Technology

by Eric Carlson, CPP - Chainalytics

Unfortunately, I’m one of those people who usually polish off my beverages from a can in pretty short order. I do know many who would like to take a few sips and then return it to the fridge. But until now, you would return to find your carbonated beverage flat and pretty lifeless.

The Canmaker Magazine from Great Britain has awarded their 2008 Cans of the Year Awards top prize to a Ball Packaging Europe innovation called “Ball Resealable End” (BRE). The first application was for a Coca-Cola energy drink from France called Burn. In a similar move, Monster is launching a North America import that incorporates the BRE fea

ture.

To view all the award winners from 2008
http://www.spgevents.com/PressRelease.htm

http://www.canmaker.com/main/index.php

Serendipity & Ramune…

by Eric Carlson, CPP - Chainalytics

Coincidence can be a great opportunity to learn. My son Jack is taking Mandarin in high school and came home from a China Day field trip with a few unusual looking bottles of carbonated beverages. As a packaging engineer, I was immediately interested in the odd shape and unusual opening. Jack could not wait to show me how the bottle opened and proceeded to punch a marble through the top and INTO the bottle only to be captured in the narrowed neck. I could not wait to dissect the opening to learn more about this bottle and found that the marble stays in the top by a slight interference fit, but the seal is maintained by the internal pressure of the drink’s carbonation. I was determined to learn more about this, but was scheduled to go to an ASTM meeting the next day.

The next night I found myself downtown in Vancouver, BC surrounded by hundreds of Japanese restaurants, so I walked to a self described Japanese Tapas restaurant (I know … Tapas is NOT Japanese in origin). Enclosed in the menu was a paper describing a fundraising effort in which the restaurant was partnering with the makers of Ramune – a Japanese soda – and a picture of the bottle I just saw the day before! I looked around and saw that many of the tables had ordered Ramune to drink. Apparently this is a decidedly popular drink (outside the US anyway) and as a packaging geek, I was inspired to research more about the Ramune bottle.

A Google search returned Wikipedia as the first hit for Ramune. Wikipedia had a pretty complete description of the history of the name Ramune, the bottle design, the original designer & usages.

Ramune
Ramune is a Japanese carbonated beverage (original flavor is lemon or lemon-lime) and the name is apparently a phonetic mashup from the English lemonade. Wikipedia indicates that Ramune was popular with the Japanese Imperial Navy before WWII. Many flavors and producers are currently marketing soda generically known as Ramune.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramune

The Codd-Neck Bottle
The bottle was designed in England by Hiram Codd with a patent dated 1876. The distinctive Codd-neck bottle was designed for the fizzy drink market. The bottle was quickly adopted by the brewing & fizzy drink industries with strong market presence in EU & Asia. The bottles were originally filled upside down. Until recently drinking from the Codd-neck bottle was a little tricky. A new pinched in feature was incorporated to hold the marble away from the bottle opening for easier pouring & drinking.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottle#Codd-neck_bottles

Codswallop
To open a bottle of Ramune, there are a couple of techniques; slow steady pressure (not easy for kids) or the wallop. Of the many etymological roots of codswallop, one apparently comes from opening a Codd-neck bottle of beer. And considering that wallop is a 19th century slang for beer, and so it seems fitting that a walloping a Codd-neck bottle of beer could become codswallop.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codswallop

Jack Shows how to open the bottles





Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jWsxBqRYkc&feature=related

Heritage meets Innovation

by Rich Lindgren, CPP - Chainalytics

The new Maestro closure for champagne has been introduced through a partnership between Alcan and Champagne Duval-Leroy. This unique closure keeps the tradition of “The Pop” without a cork of any kind. The two biggest benefits are the safety of no more flying projectiles and no more worries of corks affecting the delicate tastes of many types of champagne.

The following video clip gives some great detail and pictures of the inner workings of this innovative closure.

From the video, it appears they are combining the properties of a metal crown closure often associated with beer and the newer style plastic corks that many wines have shifted to. It’s also noted that this closure can be wrapped or decorated with foils and other materials to preserve the romantic feel of many current champagne bottles.

The other thing I find very cool, is that they chose a very established and traditional flavor of champagne to partner with this innovative new opening feature!