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Stepping up for the 'little guys'

Small manufacturers are driving a lot of innovation in beverage aisles. They’re leaning on co-packers to provide the ‘value-addeds’ that make their brands financially viable.

PERFECT MATCH. By finding a contract packager that meets its exacting requirements, Clear Beverage takes extraneous costs out of
PERFECT MATCH. By finding a contract packager that meets its exacting requirements, Clear Beverage takes extraneous costs out of

If product manufacturers look beyond obvious benefits and take additional time to determine exactly what they want in their packaged goods, and then overlay those parameters with the range of packaging services available, they can maximize the value of contract packaging. 

One place to measure just how successful this sort of thinking can be is beverages. It’s a section of the store where many competing products battle fiercely for share of shelf. In this harsh environment, the odds for success are long for a small, regional brand. Success depends not only on a product that consumers will buy, but also on a brand owner’s ability to squeeze every extraneous cost out of the supply chain. Small beverage companies typically don’t operate their own product lines, so their success hinges a great deal on finding a co-packer that can meet their exacting specifications.

One example of just how contract packaging enhances the bottom line for a small beverage marketer: Clear Beverage Corp., Las Vegas, NV, found a co-packer that was willing to share some upfront risks with its customer. United Packaging Group (UPG, www.unitedpackaginggroup.com), Colton, CA, fills the product formula, handles all aspects of packaging, and then manages distribution for Clear Beverage’s Kid Fuel Naturally Flavored Water Beverage.

Finding such a good fit in a contract packager was challenging on many levels, explains Tony Rago, Clear Beverage CEO. After purchasing the brand from another product manufacturer, Clear Beverage conducted consumer research and learned that consumers didn’t identify with either Kid Fuel’s stock bottle structure or the packaging graphics. The decision was made to go to a custom-shaped PETE bottle with a full-body shrink label featuring colorful animated characters. These elements create adventure in delivering messages of fun and product nutrition that appeal to kids 4 years to 10 years old and also win parents’ trust in the product, Rago explains.

Versatility required

Rago needed a contractor that could blend, fill, and package Kid Fuel—and also had some other precise specifications.

“When you do your search, you go from a very long list of bottlers to a very short list when you add factors such as the need for a shrink tunnel,” Rago says.

Rago operates with what he describes as a “regional business model.” His approach centers on an 800-mile radius around the packager. “That becomes a market for us,” Rago says.

Within this relatively small circle, Clear Beverage conducted all its packaging research and redesign work with Brand Engine (www.brandengine.com). From within this well-defined market, Clear Beverage also purchases all the product ingredients and packaging materials for Kid Fuel. The bottles, featuring a pinched waist and resembling sports-beverage containers, are blow-molded at UPG. “It’s a definite value because I don’t have to ship air freight with empty bottles to my packer,” Rago notes.

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