The most unique of the new wave of battery packaging comes from Leap Energy and Power Corp., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The package shape mimics that of the battery.
Shunning blisters, thermoforms or any SBS cardstock, Leap™ batteries are instead packaged in plastic tubes. The tubes are extruded by Tulox Plastics (Marion, IN), using Eastman Chemical’s (Kingsport, TN) Tenite® cellulose propionate resin. The six-count, 1 ¼’’ dia x 4 ¼’’L tubes for AA batteries carry a suggested retail price of $5.40 and the 1’’ dia x 4’’ 8-pack for AAA batteries is $6.70.
The batteries were introduced in August 2000 in Canada, and in September in the U.S. Sacramento, CA-based Tower Records stores sell them from a custom point-of-purchase display. The distinctive rectangular display tower has circular cut-outs on its sides to accommodate the battery tubes.
The only common ground Leap has with other battery packaging is that it is reclosable, thanks to a friction-fit polyethylene closure injection-molded by Tulox. The tubes are full-wrap labeled with a clear pressure-sensitive polymeric substrate printed in seven colors by CCL Label (Rosemont, IL). A p-s sticker and tamper-evident shrink band complete the packaging.
