Tea in PET

Ferolito Vultaggio & Sons, Lake Success, N.Y., long recognized for the unique glass packaging of its AriZona Beverage line, is making a creative statement in the PET (polyethylene terephthalate) realm as well. Working with Constar, Philadelphia, Pa., the company has custom-developed 42-oz, long-neck, heat-set PET bottles for teas. The new bottles feature double-sided grip for ease of handling and pouring and are described by developers as an industry first for hot-filled beverages.

Initially, five flavors of AriZona teas are being marketed in the new packages: AriZona RxStress Caffeine-Free Tea, Asia Plum Green Tea, Diet Green Tea, Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey, and Original Lemon Tea. Constar.

Packaging for a Good Cause

Sutter Home Winery, St. Helena, Calif., is using wine packaging components to raise awareness of breast cancer and to fund research. In September and October, three million bottles of Sutter Home White Zinfandel will feature “Nomacorc” bright pink synthetic corks from Newpak USA, Benicia, Calif., and custom paperboard neck collars from City Graphics of San Francisco. The collars bear a printed message, inviting consumers to support breast cancer research with donations or by participating in a fund-raising walk. Sutter Home Winery is a national sponsor of the City of Hope's Walk for Hope Against Breast Cancer (see www.sutterhome.com for more info).

In addition to providing an additional shelf-attractive color component for wine packaging, synthetic corks also eliminate potential cork taint/odor problems that can occur with natural corks. NewPak USA.

Cartoon Graphics Call Kids to Milk

Galliker Dairy, Johnstown, Pa., is dressing up its 12-oz white HDPE (high-density polyethylene) bottles of flavored 2% milk products in 360-degree, heat-shrink PVC (polyvinyl chloride) labels with bright Looney Tunes™ graphics. Supplied by Seal-It, Inc., Farmingdale, N.Y., the labels team up each of the five flavors with a specific cartoon character: Vanilla/Bugs Bunny, Strawberry/Bugs and Loyola, Banana/Tweety Bird, Orange Crème/Wile E. Coyote, and Chocolate/Tazmanian Devil.

The glossy, full-body whimsical labels are rotogravure-printed in 10 colors and include nutritional facts information and bar codes. Seal-It Inc.

New Package Revives Old Favorite

Borden Foods Corp., Columbus, Ohio, reports great results repackaging its popular Wyler™ Soup Starter line and is adding some new flavors. Formerly marketed in paperboard canisters containing a separate small moisture-barrier pouch of stock/seasoning dry mix, the product was moved into custom stand-up double-pouch packaging last year. Borden has chalked up Soup Starter sales increases of 17% since changing its look.

In the new packaging, supplied by Curwood, Inc., Oshkosh, Wis., dehydrated vegetables, pasta and/or rice are contained in one side of the pouch, and the powdered soup stock and seasonings are contained on the other side. A separate web of film within the pouch segregates the two main ingredient mixtures, keeping them fresher and moisture-free, preventing caking. The outer pouch material is a polyester/Saran/sealant film structure printed by Curwood in 7-color flexo. A built-in front-panel viewing window enables consumers to examine pouch contents. The inner pouch membrane separating the components is a proprietary moisture-barrier coextrusion. The pouches are formed on a Klockner-Bartelt horizontal form/fill/seal machine specially modifed for the application. After the outer pouch is formed, spices are filled, the separating membrane wall is tacked in, the vegetables and rice/pasta are deposited and—finally—the outer pouch and tacked inner membrane are sealed together at the top. A tear notch at the seal edge enables consumers to peel open both pouch sections together and to drop the contents into boiling water. Curwood, Inc.