Gardeners get a friendlier fertilizer pack

Introduced in springof '96, the package is sourced by container distributor All-Pak (Buffalo, NY), which helped Agway assemble all the components. The handled container is extrusion blown of high-density polyethylene by Robb Container (Naperville, IL). The front-panel label, from Wisconsin Label (Algoma, WI), is pressure-sensitive polypropylene printed flexo in seven colors. It's topped by a one-piece 110-mm lined closure that's injection molded of PP by Magenta (Chicago, IL). The SidePour dispensing closure provides single-handed operation, with the lid opening to one of three positions for flow rate control while baffles molded into it help control the width of dispersion. Sold exclusively in the northeast at Agway garden center outlets, the 12-lb package of fertilizer sells for about $7.50. The new packaging materials caused little change in the firm's semiautomatic filling operation, but they do cost more than the bag-in-box package. Moore estimates an upcharge of about 60¢ per unit, a premium Agway views as a good investment in a value-added package that has helped boost sales by 15 to 20%.