FLEXIBLE PACKAGING

Rigid flexible: The eco-conscious Method brand introduced its Laundry & Dish Refill Pouch in a stand-up, spouted pouch with a difference: A high-density polyethylene spine built into the side of the pack adds rigidity to let consumers pour the product one-handed.

Easy-to-handle dressings: Kraft foodservice salad dressings replace drips and spills and improve eco-friendliness using a 1-gallon stand-up pouch with side gussets, handles on top and bottom and a rigid screw-cap. It’s also easier to store than the prior, rigid format.

New tricks for dog treats: Blue Bones Natural Dental Chew Bones are packed in a flat-bottom, stand-up, resealable window bag with oxygen and moisture barriers, a die-cut 'galloping buffalo' window and flexographic printing for display qualities approaching rigid containers.

Fetching flexible: More rigid than the standard flexible package, Malta Texo de Mexico’s Premium Ganador dogfood features four reinforced side-gussets to retain their shape on shelves whether stored horizontally or vertically. Flexo printing on a rich, black matte background helped it fetch an FPA Gold Award for Printing Achievement.

FLEXIBLE PACKAGING

New-gen soups: Campbell Soup revamped its consumer research process to appeal to the nontraditional, multigenerational, single-parent, and multicultural 'New American Family" with a striking, new line of microwavable pouches and new flavors such as Thai Tomato Coconut and Tomato Roasted Garlic Bacon.

Show and sell: Less is more for Geleteria Naia’s high-end frozen treats. Small labels and clear pillow packs let the product’s eclectic flavors – including St. George Single Malt Whiskey, TCHO Chocolate, Blue Bottle Coffee, Earl Gray and Pistachio – sell themselves.

FLEXIBLE PACKAGING

Single-serve pitcher: Shenyang Huishan Dairy of China followed its earlier pasteurized single-serve standup milk pouch with an aseptic version in 2012 that needs no refrigeration. The 240 mL (about 8 oz.) mini-pitcher features an air-filled ‘spine’ for easy handling.

Rugged individualist: LYO Expedition freeze-dried fruits meals, such as this pork loin in dill sauce, use a simple, rugged pouches built to weather harsh conditions for mountain climbers, sailors and other outward-bound target consumers.

FLEXIBLE PACKAGING

Freedom of choice: Heinz Dip & Squeeze Ketchup lets consumers dip their fries in the cup or alternately squeeze ketchup out the top of the 'bottle.' Multiple barriers double shelf life over the competition.

Respect your elderberries: In addition to legible labeling with clear product directions, easy-open foil lids on yogurts including Stonyfield Farm's show how labels and closures can inform and protect while catering to seniors.

LABELING

Super color and shape: SuperFruit Sangria’s pressure-sensitive labels with six-color printing feature brilliant splashes of color to reflect the organic pomegranate, acai, blueberry, and blood orange juices inside.

Regal Redesign: French champagne brand Canard-Duchêne debuted a 2011 vintage label redesign with strong tactile feel and distinctive color schemes for a luxurious presentation.

LABELING

Bigger Billboards: 2012 brings a new label application process and pressure-sensitive label material that accommodates complex curves for better branding up front and product information on the back panel.

Full-bodied color: Vibrant graphics on full-body shrink sleeves and cocktail glass-inspired shape helped boost sales for a summer 2011 Crystal Light Mocktails powdered drink promotion.

LABELING

Soaring salads: Simple, high-text labels helped sales soar for Borderfields cold-pressed rapeseed oil dressings. These three, new 2012 entries are part of a UK product rebrand that in its first year, doubled sales to 290,000 bottles.

Branding the private label: Jewson, a leading U.K. contractor supply chain, put vignettes of loyal, well-known customer Shane Wood on these paint pails — and the labels of 2,000 more products across 500 locations. Color coding, icons, and product information complete the picture of clear communication.

LABELING

Kudos for clarity: U.S. FDA regulators praised Merck for its Label Standardization Project, which included the revision of 34 container labels for better readability and product information to aid in reducing pharmacy selection errors.

'Revolution' in OTC labeling: Children’s AccuDial liquid OTC medications use a patented two-part label that can be twisted to reveal the correct dosage through clear windows. Why the need? Research shows that 72% of children are dosed inaccurately with OTC medications.

LABELING

Spinning the story: Aldi supermarkets private-labeled frozen chicken breast chunks eschewed traditional zipper-and-gusset packs for a paperboard canister modified to host a unique, full-body OPP label that rotates to reveal more information through a window.

Quality on the label: Roberts Dairy Foods' milk uses a new label to sell the benefits of milk that's fresh, local and subject to rigorous quality testing. New six-color, flexo-printed pressure sensitive labels tout quality with a 'splash' logo, Quality Chekd dairy seal and informative secondary messaging.

LABELING

Brand building benefits: A thermoformed polypropylene cup, form-fitting shrink sleeve label and pressure-sensitive film labels on top and bottom provide provide all-around coverage to sell and inform consumers in Poland about Benevita margarine's benefits.

Playing to brand strengths: U.K.-based Loddon Brewery restruck labeling on both the beer bottle body and neck to better emphasize its highly recognizable dragonfly image. New type treatment was also created to modernize the brand.

LABELING

RIGId PACKAGING

Striking under glass: An aspirational package, to be sure, Yves Saint Laurent’s Forever Youth Liberator anti-aging product line is radiant in fire polish, and shimmers with spray technology.

This is not a test: The Greek cosmetic brand Frezyderm inspires consumer confidence using a test tube-shaped container inside an airless bottle. The shape eases dispensing, as well.

RIGId PACKAGING

Less is more: Help Remedies' unique design is more than eye-catching; standardizing the package format across a full line of SKUs has reduced tooling inventory.

Girl-powered redesign: Inside the blister card pack, Mentholatum's new Softlips redesign makes a consistent appeal to sophisticated teens and young women.

RIGId PACKAGING

Bedtime snack: Miss Muffet & Co.’s novel book-shaped package sells the fairytale and nursery rhyme-inspired candy inside, which is wrapped in 95% renewable cellulose-based film.

Byte-sized RFID: U.K.-based Blue Skies brand ensures freshness with RFID time/temperature monitoring built into the package for instant access to product data during transit.

RIGId PACKAGING

Resource-reducing lid: In-mold labeling for premium dips accommodates high-res graphics, eliminates the usual foil seal/film membrane and is 100% recyclable.

Foiling the fakes: Colgate Palmolive’s holographic foils not only help their brands shine, they help the company keep one step ahead of today's increasingly sophisticated counterfeiters.

RIGId PACKAGING

Getting self-destructive: Schreiner MediPharm’s Pharma-Comb Void label is destroyed at initial use, and uses hidden 'opened' and 'used' messages.

Enhanced dosing: Prestige Brands’ PediaCare and Little Remedies acetaminophen products ensure proper kid-medicine dosing using a press-in-bottle syringe and a flow-restrictor.

RIGId PACKAGING

100% recyclable: Mars Drinks announced the fall 2012 debut of its first 100% recyclable Freshpack single-serve packs for the Flavia hot-drink brewing system. They use a single layer of fully recyclable plastic, and eliminating two plastic layers and a third foil layer.

Happy Earth Day! In time for the 2012 green holiday, Coca-Cola announced that its PlantBottle packaging was coming to Dasani water water and Odwalla single-serve juice bottles. (See p. 68 of this playbook for more details.)