Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England-based (en)10 provides alcohol awareness programs and technology to government, corporate, and retail sectors worldwide. Its Chube® product is a single-use, disposable device that provides a portable way to detect the presence of alcohol on an individual’s breath.
Recently the company approached Riverside Medical to help develop the packaging for Chube. Riverside Medical then turned to a multipage Fix-a-Form® label from Denny Bros. Riverside Medical is a maker of intelligent and innovative packaging solutions for healthcare products ranging from plasters to hip joints.
The six-page informational Fix-a-Form measures 35 x133 mm and wraps neatly around the tube, which drivers blow into to check if they are over the limit. Yellow granules inside the tube turn green if alcohol above the tube’s preset level is detected.
The tubes are packed in multiples in a blister pack—a concept devised by Riverside Medical in partnership with Denny Bros. The product, which also contains a reader card for grading the results of the tests, is now being distributed for widespread use in France.
According to a Riverside Medical spokesperson, the idea is simple but hugely effective. “When we were approached by (en)10 to help develop the packaging for the idea we immediately thought of Fix-a-Form [leaflet labels],” says the spokesperson. “It is widely known that it can accommodate any amount of text and images and be applied in almost any way to a product even one with hardly any surface area—in this case a thin tube.
“The French legislation introduced in 2012 impacts all drivers on French roads, including foreign passport holders and drivers of foreign vehicles. The breathalyzer market extends beyond France and the EU, and multiple language variations could be in development soon. We are very excited to see how the self-test breathalyzer market grows in the future.”
For legal reasons, every detector has to be accompanied by instructions for use, which are clearly printed within the main body of the leaflet label. Lot and expiry numbers are overprinted by Riverside Medical on the Fix-a-Form leaflet label as it is applied to the tube.
Riverside Medical is exploring future options for the replacement of patient information leaflets as the company continues to pursue other variations to carton packaging, including pouches and foil wraps.
