SkinnyPack at the head of the pack in DuPont Awards 2015

Injection-molded of polypropylene, this hybrid tub combines the advantages of flexible film with the rigidity of a molded frame, scoring sustainability points along the way.

Hybrid plastic tub for salsa
Hybrid plastic tub for salsa

Hybrid plastic tub for salsa takes top honors
This year’s 2015 Diamond Award Winner involves one brand owner’s leap of faith in a unique innovation in plastic packaging. The hybrid plastic tub, made by injection molder IPL Inc. was described by DuPont Award judges as the kind of thing that “highlights the world of possibilities that exists for packaging.” In November 2014, Austin, TX-based fresh Mexican salsa maker Ana’s Foods became the first to package its products in IPL’s SkinnyPack™, an injection-molded polypropylene container that combines the advantages of flexible film—lightweight, flexible, and printable—with the benefits of a strong, rigid plastic frame.

The collaboration began in June 2014, when Ana’s was approached by IPL with a prototype of the SkinnyPack. “We were looking for new packaging to replace our deli-style tubs,” says President/CEO of Ana’s, Anna Olvera-Ullrich. At the time, the company was using two container formats: a standard, 16-oz round in-mold labeled tub and a 12-oz single-use deli-style tub with hand-applied labels. While the 16-oz rounds met Ana’s requirements, the 12-oz tubs often leaked and “did not look very appealing,” says Olvera-Ullrich.

The SkinnyPack not only offered Ana’s greater shelf appeal for its product, but it also provided them with a more eco-friendly package. The container is manufactured by fusing a multilayer 2.36-mil adhesive-laminated film, constructed of PP/ink/PP, to four rigid PP posts, resulting in a square/round shape, or “squround,” that allows for graphics on all four sides. The lighter-weight package uses 54.8% less plastic than a rigid tub and, being constructed completely of PP, is 100% recyclable. The format is also stackable, resulting in cost reductions in shipping and stocking.

“We immediately liked the look of the new tub and felt that it had the potential to replace our existing tub with something that would really attract customers’ attention on the shelves,” says Jim Ullrich, Senior Vice President of Ana’s. “We also appreciated the minimal use of plastic that made it extremely eco-friendly.”

Far from being daunted by the prospect of being a guinea pig for the SkinnyPack, Ana’s welcomed the opportunity to be the first user. “We felt that it could give us a marketing edge over the competition,” says Ullrich. “We knew it wouldn’t be smooth sailing, since it was a new design and hadn’t been tested in the real world of commerce, but we were confident that IPL and our company could work through potential problems.”

One challenge was redesigning Ana’s label graphics to fit the complex shape of the SkinnyPack. While remaining the same in concept, the front-panel logos and wording as well as the nutrition facts panel had to be changed in size. Another panel was used to highlight the container’s use of “less plastic,” while the UPC and “Manufactured for Ana’s Foods” copy from the old tub were moved to the bottom of the container. The four-color IPL label, which fills in between the “legs” of the tub and completes the bottom of the container, is converted by Precision Press.

Filling of the new package presented no issues however, as the SkinnyPack uses a standard, 409-dia lid, allowing it to run on existing packaging equipment. The format is also compatible with both pocket and conveyor belt systems.

Ana’s engineered the tubs for both its 12- and 16-oz sizes, at a cost that is virtually on par with its former containers and lids. Reports Ullrich, “The end result is that we’re only paying a penny more for the twelve-ounce SkinnyPack tub and ready-to-use lid.”

In October 2014, just before launching the SkinnyPack on shelves, Ana’s conducted a survey of its consumers on the new container. Reports Olvera-Ullrich, “Eighty-seven percent said they liked the design, using phrases such as ‘cool,’ ‘unique,’ ‘interesting,’ and ‘I especially like the less plastic.’ Eighty-five percent said the design would attract their attention enough to possibly make them want to buy the product. One said, ‘The shape makes me want to eat the salsa right out of the tub; it reminds me of a molcajete [the traditional Mexican version of the mortar and pestle].’”

Since being introduced in fall 2014, Ana’s Salsa in the SkinnyPack package has been picked up by a range of Texas grocery chains, including Randalls, TomThumb, H-E-B Grocery, Fiesta Market, Arlan’s Market, and Market Basket. Ana’s also ships its salsa to customers around the country. —Anne Marie Mohan

Squeezable mascara tubes squelch product waste
Unique squeezable mascara tube packaging is the recipient of a DuPont Packaging Gold Award for Excellence in Technological Advancement and Enhanced User Experience.

The hybrid package was developed by South Korea-based AmorePacific, a global cosmetics maker and marketer whose brands include Sulwhasoo, Laneige, Mamonde, Etude House, and innisfree. The package consists of a matte non-toxic silicone tube with a polypropylene shoulder joint and a built-in barrier pouch made of a lamination that includes aluminum foil. The construction is designed to extend product shelf life and enhance product delivery convenience and consistency.

With more traditional rigid/semi-rigid sidewall mascara tube packaging, the high-viscosity product tends to settle along the inner package wall over time, where it dries out and is difficult or impossible to extract. But when squeezed, the AmorePacific flexible tube packaging is designed to create shearing stress on the contents to keep the product softer as it is delivered in measured amounts to the mascara application brush. Product texture and viscosity remain stable through multiple uses over three months or more. So this packaging innovation extends product shelf life, enhances user dispensing convenience, and reduces product waste. It was commercially launched in April 2014.

The tube container mold is adaptable to other cosmetic products, offering significant potential manufacturing savings for a range of applications. —Judy Rice

Ultra-slim functionality
Launched in 2014 and available through retailers such as the CVS chain of pharmacies, Flight001, Bergman Luggage, and others, MiiSTS is a line of products in a uniquely compact carry-size format. The ultra-slim spray container, which comes in a windowed paperboard carton, looks more like a credit card than a bottle, and it’s designed to fit into pockets or fashionably tight jeans with virtually no bulge (see pwgo.to/1577). A total of nine products are in the line, ranging from glass cleaner to spot remover to hand sanitizer to sun screen. Industrial design firm HotpotDesign played a key role in this launch.

This bottle consists of four pieces: a top and bottom each injection molded of polypropylene and ultrasonically welded together, a spray pump assembly from an unnamed supplier, and an injection molded spray button that fits on top of the spray pump assembly. The welding challenges were significant, says MiiSTS CEO Alex Meyers. Ensuring tight welds on such thin containers is no walk in the park. “We had to perfect the correct high-temperature double-sided welding technique in order to effectively work with the polypropylene material,” says Meyers. The injection molding and welding are done by Kleen Concepts.

When the bottles arrive at the MiiSTS plant in Phoenix, AZ, they are manually placed in a carrier that holds six bottles in an upright position. The carrier moves down a short conveyor until it pauses beneath six filling spouts on a filling machine made by MasterFliex. Exiting the filler, pump assemblies are manually inserted. Then the carrier moves under a custom-made device that presses down on the pump assemblies to snap fit each one firmly into its bottle. This machine won’t go much faster than 50 bottles/min, so Meyers says this part of the puzzle is being looked into.

When the innovative containers first hit the market, decoration was by way of front and back pressure-sensitive labels. But these are just now being replaced by front and back pad printing on a two-up system from Deco Technology Group. “I never really liked the labels because they didn’t quite adhere smoothly to our bottle’s profile,” says Meyers. “The pad printing looks better, reduces labor time, and also cuts costs slightly.”

Pharmaceutical Innovations Report
Discover the latest breakthrough packaging technologies shaping the pharmaceutical sector. This report dives into cutting-edge innovations, from smart containers that enhance patient safety to eco-friendly materials poised to transform the industry’s sustainability practices. All from PACK EXPO. Learn how forward-thinking strategies are driving efficiency and redefining what’s possible in pharma packaging.
Learn More
Pharmaceutical Innovations Report
Annual Outlook Report: Sustainability
The road ahead for CPGs in 2025 and beyond—Packaging World editors review key findings from a survey of 88 brand owners, CPG, and FMCG readers.
Download Now
Annual Outlook Report: Sustainability