Read More on:
Send to KindleSporty pouch a U.S. first
Quirk says this pouch design is the supplier’s latest design a new sleeker version of a more squat pack that has been used in Asian markets.
Perfect match
“The packaging has to be unique advanced and high-tech just like our product” says Quirk. “We felt the pouch was a great ‘personality’ match to the product. It’s great packaging.”
According to Quirk Hydrade spent a long time negotiating with a number of U.S. and non-U.S. suppliers before making a final choice. The pouches will initially be manufactured in one country as preformed pouches shipped to another for contract filling and then shipped to the United States for distribution.
Filling done through the fitment is a cold-fill process explains Quirk similar to that for soft drinks. The spout in combination with the pouch design allows the drink to be sipped or squeezed.
Hydrade is negotiating to bring high-speed filling on-shore perhaps this spring Quirk says.
The Hydrade pouch measures just under 3’’ wide and stands 7 ¼’’ high with 2’’-wide gussets. The 8 ½-mm plastic fitment which is color-coordinated to the product variety extends about an inch above the pouch top. A small tamper-evident ring is at the base of the fitment. The pouch uses no inner seal.
The buried aluminum foil layer gives the pouches a high-tech silvery appearance. It also provides enough barrier—the resulting oxygen transmission rate is less than 0.15 cc/m2/atm—for an anticipated one-year shelf life Hydrade says.
‘Instant’ credibility
“We will be the first and only sports drink company allowed [by the vendor] to use this packaging in the United States” explains Quirk. “For a small startup company [the supplier] has given us a pretty good endorsement by allowing us to introduce it into the United States which they know represents a huge potential market for this pouch.”
Hydrade will be sold as single pouches for around $1.69 in locations including convenience stores PW is told. Quirk points out that the pouch has application for military use as well as other outlets that currently do not sell soft drinks such as sporting goods stores. Graphic design which mimics that of Hydrade’s previously introduced 20-oz and 1-L PET bottles available in select markets (see Jan. ’01 p. 65) is through the assistance of Sibley Peteet Design (Austin TX).
Hydrade will initially be available in four pouched flavors each with color-coordinated graphics and a matching color fitment. The front panel’s black-and-white background visuals are keyed to the particular flavor: Basketball with grape running with lemon-lime biking with fruit punch and soccer with orange.
Gussets gussied up
The company’s attention to merchandising details is also evident in the pouch’s 2’’-wide gussets which will carry circular product icons along with text that declares “That burst of bite is the revitalytes.”
These black icons will be highlighted by a color-coded “glow” effect again matched to the product variety.
Another well-executed detail is that the front-panel artwork is located on the top half of the pouch. Carolyn Koon senior vice president of marketing explains that when the product is merchandised in rows product recognition is improved more in this manner than if full-panel art had been used. “This makes the strongest on-shelf impact because it’s not obscured by the pouch in front” she says.
“Innovation is the real key in this category and we believe the pouch will serve as a packaging innovation for the company” Koon continues. “We also believe it will generate awareness and growth for the brand and our company.”
Comments(0)
Add new comment