Its main competition, also shelved in the air care section, is a two-color pillar candle with only a single fragrance, points out SCJ packaging research engineer Rodney Prater.
Sold in three varieties priced around $4.49, the candles receive an interactive marketing boost on the packaging side from specialized sleeving equipment from PDC-Europe (Austin, TX). Before the candle is sleeved, the PDC equipment die-cuts three holes aligned vertically on two sides of the tube of the film. The holes are in register with a different fragrance layer and permit consumers to sample the trio of fragrances individually.
“We required that the PDC-Europe equipment register the ‘scent holes’ precisely during every index, appropriately punch and remove the punched material, and apply and shrink beyond current line speeds to ensure future capacity on one sleeve applicator,” Prater says.
The heat-shrink sleeved material is a 60-micron copolyester blend film that Sleever Intl. (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) produces and gravure-prints in nine colors.
“We sought a film with reverse-printed inks that would withstand fragrance attack,” Prater says, “and would provide an excellent appearance when shrunk over the candle.”
A top and bottom labeler ahead of the sleever applies a circular pressure-sensitive bottom label and a preperforated clear plastic disk that protects the candle. Sleeving of the upright candles is then done in two stages by a Model 75 EMC machine at an undisclosed SCJ location. Maximum rates are said to be 180 candles/min, although SCJ declines to confirm that. —RL
