“We were seeking a premium design, differentiated versus the competitive set, that would fit within the brand equity,” explains Craig Hamilton, Armor All Brand Manager.
One of Armoured AutoGroup’s requirements for the design was “premium aesthetics to display a beautiful formulation that offers outstanding performance,” he adds.
Designed by Berlin Packaging’s Studio One Eleven division, the 48-oz PET package for the car care product that launched on store shelves in December 2013 was created, the firm says, “to visually suggest the product’s power to protect vehicles against the elements” as well as highlight the product’s pearlescent polymer formulation, which minimizes the water left on a car after rinsing.
According to Studio One Eleven, the look and feel of the bottle was inspired by protective sporting gear, armored vehicles, and high-performance automobiles, with contouring that adds movement and enables easy, ergonomic pouring. The 48-oz, non-handled structure features a shapely silhouette with dynamic line work, a clear body that lets the pearlescent product show through, and a black overcap that is seamlessly integrated with the bottle profile.
Among the polypropylene cap’s features: It is distinctively designed with an asymmetrical shape, it protects a standard, 38-400 CT closure, it covers the bottle’s fill line, it can be used to dose the formula, and it carries an embossed Armor All logo.
To help boost the package’s size impression on shelf, a shield-shaped label panel is indented that shifts volume to the bottle’s perimeter. However, Studio One Eleven reports, “despite all of the sculptural detail surrounding it, the label panel still supplies a large billboard area with sufficient space to communicate product benefits.”
To manufacture the components, Berlin Packaging chose three of its best manufacturing partners to produce the parts based on overall cost, quality, lead time, and logistics.
As Hamilton relates, the biggest manufacturing challenge related to the project was “the compressed time frame for design and development in order to launch the product on time.” He adds, “Berlin’s extensive manufacturing network, design expertise, and product management skills allowed us to build two new tools and coordinate all three components for a successful, on-time launch.”
