According to Vancouver, British Columbia-based Clearly Canadian, the bottle is hot-filled by a copacker at a facility near Toronto, under license from Canton, MA-based Reebok.
Empty, the polyethylene terephthalate bottle weighs 44 g. It’s injection/stretch blow-molded by Schmalbach-Lubeca (Manchester, MI). The tapered, ribbed bottle is easy to grip with one hand and easy to tote for the active, health-conscious consumers the beverage targets. According to Schmalbach, the ribbing replaces vacuum panels that are traditionally used to prevent hot-filled plastic bottles from collapsing due to internal vacuum pressure formed as the liquid cools.
A 2-mil polyvinyl chloride shrink-sleeve label is wrapped around the shoulder area. From Seal-It (Farmingdale, NY), the label is printed gravure in seven colors. The 43-mm bottle finish is topped with a clear polypropylene push-pull sport cap with induction-sealed tamper-evident liner, both supplied by Creative Packaging (Buffalo Grove, IL).
Suggested retail price ranges from $1.29 to $1.79 at grocery and convenience stores. Shelf life is nine months.
Enhanced with vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes, the Fitness Waters will be introduced in limited markets this month. Distribution throughout the United States and Canada is expected in ’02.
