
Glass and PET âminiâ sizes of liquor bottles will have to make room for another format: 50-mL stand-up flexible pouches, a bottle-like âflexible flaskâ complete with a notched neck for easy tear opening and pouring.
After a successful test market in
âWeâre not just selling alcohol, weâre providing a fun and functional way to break out of the bottle that fits with an active and on-the-go lifestyle,â says Pocket Shot founder and owner Jarry Bachmann. âLooking at how market demand has exploded for single serve, on-the-fly convenient and easy-to-use products, I wanted to develop something that consumers want and can use anywhere.â
Bachmann calls his package the first new concept in alcohol packaging in
The 3-layer structure of PET/aluminum oxide-coated PET/polyethylene is produced and converted into premade pouchesâincluding an easy-open notchâby Amcor Flexibles Europe, part of Amcor (www.amcor.com). Decorated with three-color rotogravure printing, the pouch looks and stands upright like a bottle.
Graphics design for the pouch and a display carton were done by PackagingARTS (www.packagingarts.com). It also provides the 12-count carton that converts into a shelf display tray. Offset-printed in five colors plus aqueous coating, the 24-pt SBS carton features extensive perforations for easy setup.
âThe design is simple, yet sophisticated, something that we could put on the shelf and âtellsâ our story very quickly,â observes Bachmann.
Filling done at 20+ pouches/min
Contract filling is done by Frank-Lin Distillers Products Ltd. (www.frank-lin.com/services.html) using a made-in-Germany Laudenberg (www.laudenberg.com) Model FBM-10 filler/sealer owned by Pocket Shot. It fills the pouches through the top at 20-25 pouches/min, according to Bachmann, though it is capable of filling up to 35 pouches/min.
Bachmann is already looking into higher volumes in terms of a larger package size and faster rates, likely in a form/fill/seal format. There may also be mixed drinks in Pocket Shot pouches in the future, too, he adds.
A downside is that the productâs portability also makes it easier to pilfer. But a silver lining is that drawback also got the products moved to desired positioning near the register.
Bachmann also acknowledges feeling heat from groups including Mothers Against Drunk Driving. âAs far as weâre concerned, Pocket Shot is really not any more threatening than any other alcoholic product,â Bachmann responds. âSome industry people donât like it, but I think that will all change, because theyâre going to see more and more pouches in the alcohol business.â
Sold only in liquor stores, Pocket Shot retails for around $1.79 each. âOnce people see the product and feel it, theyâre sold on it,â says Bachmann.