Package Design - April 2011 by ST Media Group International

PACKAGEDESIGNMAG.COM

APRIL 2011

Bringing It Back Home

Perdue reemphasizes its family farm heritage ALSO:

Microsoft Unveils Touch Mouse Building Brands with Small Budgets Past Eras Inspire New Ludenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choosing a Contract Packager

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CONTENTS

APRIL 2011 VOL. 9 NO. 3

COLUMNS 14 DESIGNER’S CORNER by Rick Barrack Creative package design for young brands can overcome a limited marketing budget.

18 COVER STORY 18 The True Perdue

FEATURES 22 Soft to the Touch Lessons of History

42 INDEX OF ADVERTISERS 44 GLOBESPOTTING by Lynn Dornblaser A two-layer label provides peace of mind for parents medicating their young ones.

Q&A: Driving Efficiencies Two xpedx designers always recommend a 10,000-foot-high perspective.

Replace fear with confidence when searching for the right contract packager.

FRONT PANEL

42 DATEBOOK

It’s Crunch Time

Ready When You Are

The latest innovations in label technologies, label stock, finishing, and die-cutting.

Research reveals the branding risks of lightweighting plastic water bottles.

FROM THE EDITOR

38 NEW PRODUCT FOCUS

Luden’s mines the past to rediscover the brand’s unique, trusted sweet spot.

10 SNAPSHOTS

Microsoft’s computer accessory packaging finds a modern blend of lifestyle and functionality.

by Wendy Jedlicka Game-changing sustainability innovations often begin as lessthan-perfect solutions.

DEPARTMENTS

by Patrick Henry The iconic brand reinvigorates its fresh-from-the-farm heritage and “renovated” homestead.

16 SUSTAINABLY SPEAKING

CORRECTION In the March issue, an article about the packaging of Beau Joie Champagne misidentified the controlling partners of brand owner Toast Spirits LLC. The partners are Jon Deitelbaum and his wife Brandis. We regret the error.

THIS MONTH ON PACKAGEDESIGNMAG.COM

ON THE COVER Perdue’s new

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packaging also helps shoppers quickly find the variety they seek.

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APRIL 2011

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Good Reflections

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FROM THE EDITOR

BY RON ROMANIK 11262 Cornell Park Dr. Cincinnati, OH 45242

Welcome Changes T

he primary goal of a package design “refresh” of an established brand is to lure new customers while making the change seem natural to existing customers. The most loyal fans of any brand can be easily put off by a design change, but how much and for how long is debatable. Or, one can ask, is that small percentage even worth worrying about? More likely, though, there’s a part of that loyal fan inside all of that brand’s customers, both current and former. Rekindling interest in the brand then comes down to artfully executed package design that connects with consumers as a blend of the past, present, and future. Two features in this issue examine the delicate balance of modernizing “heritage” brands—Perdue and Luden’s. The risk involved in making a significant break from the past may be lessening each year. Because of the frequency of package design changes that occur these days in the supermarket, consumers are less thrown off by any redesign—as long as it’s an evolution and not a revolution. If the parent brand is strong and the package change retains the core elements, consumers accept these changes as just business as usual. If this is true, then choosing core elements during a product launch—like a catchy, appropriate, and memorable product name—is even more important for the long-term success of a brand. Consumer behavior in the modern era is certainly a moving target. Predicting shoppers’ expectations of a brand or package may be a futile attempt in the end, but most redesign initiatives still try to identify a brand’s prototypical consumer and address that person’s needs. It may be more advisable, though more complex, to segment target consumers into categories such as loyalists, occasional users, brand-neutral shoppers, etc. In segmenting potential users of a product, one strategy of getting a brand or product off and running is targeting “early adopters” both on the retail shelf and through the Internet. Among the advantages of engaging early adopters is that they’re often more social than the rest of the population, what Malcolm Gladwell called “Connectors” in his book The Tipping Point. A more important advantage for designers is that early adopters are also usually active consumers who are eager to provide feedback to make the product, package design, or brand better. Best,

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APRIL 2011

Ron Romanik

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ron Romanik ron.romanik@stmediagroup.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Patrick Henry pat.henry@stmediagroup.com ART DIRECTOR Laura Mohr laura.mohr@stmediagroup.com PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Linda Volz 513-263-9398 linda.volz@stmediagroup.com SALES DEPARTMENT PUBLISHER Julie Okon 317-564-8475 / Fax: 513-744-6909 julie.okon@stmediagroup.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER John T. Lyons III 770-955-2923 / Fax: 610-296-1553 john.lyons@stmediagroup.com CORPORATE STAFF PRESIDENT Tedd Swormstedt DESIGN GROUP DIRECTOR Kristin D. Zeit CUSTOMER SERVICE/SUBSCRIPTIONS 800-421-1321 (U.S. and Canada) 513-421-2050 / Fax: 513-421-5144 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. EST customer@stmediagroup.com www.stmediagroup.com REPRINTS / E-PRINTS / PLAQUES Mark Kissling 513-263-9399 mark.kissling@stmediagroup.com

PACKAGE DESIGN (ISSN 1554-6772) is published 10 times annually by ST Media Group International Inc., 11262 Cornell Park Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45242-1812. Telephone: (513) 421-2050, Fax: (513) 362-0317. No charge for subscriptions to qualified individuals. Annual rate for subscriptions to non-qualified individuals in the U.S.A.: $48 USD. Annual rate for subscriptions in Canada: $76 USD (includes GST & postage); all other countries: $98 (Int’l mail) payable in U.S. funds. Printed in the U.S.A. Copyright 2011, by ST Media Group International Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for product claims and representations. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Package Design, P.O. Box 1060, Skokie, IL 60076. Change of address: Send old address label along with new address to Package Design, P.O. Box 1060, Skokie, IL 60076. For single copies or back issues: contact Debbie Reed at (513) 263-9356 or Debbie.Reed@STMediaGroup. com. Subscription Services: PD@halldata.com, Fax: (847) 763-9030, Phone: (847) 763-4938, New Subscriptions: www.packagedesignmag. com/subscribe.

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FRONT PANEL

Spoilage Alert! Could early food-freshness indicators establish a standard for future technologies?

ow do you really know if the meat or produce you have in the refrigerator is still fresh? After all, it most likely had a long and varied journey from the farm to your fridge. Several companies have already developed highly functional freshness indicators for various food applications. Fresh Check, It’s Fresh!, and OnVu are leading technologies in this field, some gaining a strong foothold in North America and Europe. OnVu time-temperature indicators (TTIs), developed by BASF’s Ciba and Freshpoint businesses, can be calibrated for the different spoilage behaviors of various foods and beverages. In initial commercial application (shown below), OnVu has used a thermometer as the symbol of food freshness. If the bulb of the thermometer is blue, the food is still fresh. If it turns light gray like the outline of the thermometer, the food is likely spoiled. Martin Angehrn, business manager at BASF Future Business, explains that the colors are currently defined by the technology and functionality, but the shape and meaning of the icon were chosen carefully to be self-explanatory across many cultures. Lin Wilson, principal at the Funnel Inc. design firm, which specializes in functional icons, explains that global universality is not always an easy task. The challenge is to simultaneously narrow down an icon’s essence and widen its audience. Add to that the fact that consumers have different definitions of freshness depending on the product, and the task becomes even more daunting. So what’s the best way to communicate the message universally? Wilson suggests that a “literal” representation might feature a hand holding food near a mouth with the ubiquitous “no” symbol (a red backslash inside a red circle). He also notes that when a color “degrades,” like the OnVu blue, users understand that as “lessening”—as in “less fresh.” One universal that has grown to be a standard without regulation or a promotional campaign is a common “fragile” illustration. Though the wine glass with a crack has many manifestations, the message is always immediately clear. The “Mr. Yuk” poison symbol (shown above) is another example of an icon that has grown of its own volition. Dr. Richard Moriarty created the poison icon to replace the Jolly Roger skull-and-crossbones symbol because the Jolly Roger was the mascot for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wendy Courtney Brown, then a 4th grade student at Liberty Elementary in Weirton, WV, won a contest for the final design. Mr. Yuk, Wilson notes, certainly passes the critical test of an effective icon. Will a 3rd grader immediately understand: “Don’t eat it”? OnVu TTI label

april 2011

DESIGN REWIND

FAST FACT

0.02

Percentage of groundwater withdrawals in the U.S. used for bottled water production, according to the International Bottled Water Association (www.bottledwater.org).

An Rx Cure for Curity In 1940, designer Ruth Gerth was given free rein to redesign the packages of the Curity cheesecloth brand, owned by Kendall Mills. She decided to retain certain elements of the most recent packaging because “they had exerted a noticeable influence over buying habits.” Gerth believed that the Kendall “K” and the cross pattern, used in different packaging formats, had become virtual trademarks. She let the cross pattern dominate the new package design and even combined the cross with the K. Similar to the crossed Rx symbol used to indicate pharmacies and prescriptions, the new K further enhanced the brand’s health associations.

PACKAGEDESIGNMAG.COM

So Over Overconsumption Rob Walker’s weekly column for the New York Times Magazine, called “Consumed,” tries to identify and explain emerging consumer trends. His book, Buying In, explores stories that reflect on how consumers’ relationships with brands have changed in recent years. One of the theses of the book is that consumers can control the meaning and direction of a beloved brand as much—or more than—the company that creates it. Another thesis is that today’s consumers feel, consciously or not, that their own individual identity is formed by the choices they make. The book features many detailed case studies of product and brand successes and failures that illustrate his well-defined points in an accessible, efficient writing style. In one excerpt, Robert Kalin, the founder of Etsy.com, the successful online store for handmade accessories, explains the rising trend of “DIY-ism” and the shift away from mindless overconsumption. Kalin says: “It’s not just ‘You are what you eat.’ It’s, ‘You are what you surround yourself with.’” (Available at www.randomhouse.com; $25.)

QUOTE

“None. It isn’t the consumers’ job to know what they want.” PHOTO COURTESY OF APPLE

— STEVE JOBS, WHEN ASKED WHAT CONSUMER AND MARKET RESEARCH GUIDED THE IPAD’S CREATION. (SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES, JANUARY 2011)

Bringing Home the Bacon These bacon strips were recently “stripped down.” The Oscar Mayer brand has introduced a new package design for its relatively new line of Readyto-Serve Bacon. The design retains a number of fundamental brand cues while reducing the size and impact of graphic and text elements. The question in every package makeover, of course, is what to keep and what to leave behind. What was left behind that maybe shouldn’t have been? Is the new design a breath of fresh air? Is such a major redesign advisable for such a young product line? PD

BEFORE

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APRIL 2011

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Ready, Set, Hydrate A new “athletic” drink redefines the specific niche it occupies between sports and energy beverages.

IV founder Nancy Street is an athlete, mother, and businesswoman who naïvely brewed the first batches of LIV athletic drinks in her kitchen. She was less naïve in expecting her initial launch packaging to go the distance for the brand. The original LIV Organic containers were clear bottles that displayed the four flavors—lemon, berry, orange, and citrus passion. Though the drink was visible through the bottle and provided an extra hue to the package, it also presented a problem. Product testing revealed that sunlight caused the organic ingredient colors to fade over time. Street turned to TANKindustries, a design firm in New York City, to address this problem and create a more energetic design to capture the attention of a wide range of athletes, health-conscious adults, and active kids. After touring a number of supermarket shelves and speaking with athletes and kids, it became clear the old design didn’t quite meet the aesthetic demands for this active audience and its unique place as the only ready-to-drink USDA-certified drink for athletes. An early decision was to use a shrink-wrap label over the entire bottle both to protect the product from sunlight and to provide greater shelf impact. TANKindustries founder Jason Falk explains how the pale colors were chosen to be as far away as possible from neon sports drinks. “Our goal was to make it professional but not let it fall away from consumers’ eyes,” he says. The unusual 12-oz. bottle size (in PET by Amcor) may have been a harder sell to Street, but early indications from retailers are that the differentiation makes sense on shelf. Portion control is also attractive to athletes, but there was one other benefit of the size that surprised some. Street knew that schools were moving to require smaller portions, and that the 12-oz bottles are a perfect size to compete against soft drinks in school cafeteria vending machines. Falk used the extra communication space of the full-shrink label (printed in gravure; five colors on PETG shrink film) to convey important product information in a fun, straightforward manner. The label is packed with sports action verbs at top and bottom in various font sizes and layout directions. “It’s a call to action for the actual sport,” Falk says. “This is about athletes.” Other details include a fuel pump infographic on the back that reads “pure fuel for your body” and “6 ingredients, 0 garbage.” Street explains that the relaunch wasn’t just about design; it was about understanding the whole drink market and current shopping behaviors to deliver a compelling story. “Consumers now spend more time with the product, reading the label and checking it out,” says Street. “Some of our athletes reported it tasted better, though we made no BEFORE changes to the product formula.” 10

april 2011

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Retail Revolution Retailers find that Mountain’s t-shirt-shaped boxes are the right fit.

Choose Carefully A Doritos Canadian packaging campaign asks consumers to make the call on its next new flavor.

on’t like the flavor? Doritos will take it off the shelves for you. In fact, Doritos recently introduced two new flavors in Canada with the promise that one would be terminated at the end of the campaign. For the past three years, Doritos has worked with Toronto’s Shikatani Lacroix Design to create packaging for a consumer-feedback campaign, each year with different rules. This year, Canadian consumers are asked to choose which flavor—“A” or “B”—should live on and which should be removed from store shelves. Flavor “A” is Onion Rings N’ Ketchup and Flavor “B” is Buffalo Wings N’ Ranch. Canadian Consumers can also submit an ending to the unfinished Doritos commercial that aired during the Superbowl. The grand prize is $25,000, 1% of future sales from the winning flavor, completion of the unfinished commercial, and the exclusive opportunity to become part of the Doritos 2011 brand team. The campaigns target the Doritos demographic—13- to 29-year-olds—with intriguing calls to action. For the 2011 “The End” campaign, Shikatani Lacroix went for an alarmingly stark effect with black and white packages that demand “You Decide.” “We’ve ignited consumer’s curiosity,” says Jean-Pierre Lacroix, president of Shikatani Lacroix. “It clearly stands out on shelves.” Diane Mullane, senior account director at Shikatani Lacroix, explains that each success has challenged the firm to come up with a new twist for the following year. “Now, the consumers are looking for it,” she says. For an in-depth look at Doritos’ previous consumer-feedback campaigns, including package imagery from the 2009 and 2010 campaigns, go to www.packagedesignmag.com/Doritos. 12

APRIL 2011

n this case, what you see is what you get. When The Mountain Corporation wanted to expand their retail presence in non-traditional t-shirt-selling environments a few years ago, they devised a system that was efficient to implement and appealing to both retailers and shoppers. One piece of the puzzle was developing a retail kiosk that could stock 140 shirts in a 2 ft x 2 ft area. The second part was designing a t-shirt package that could retail from a hook and be low-maintenance. Michael McGloin, creative/licensing director at The Mountain Corporation, explains that the patented t-shirt-shaped box the company created fit all of those goals. A chain of truck stops that showed interest in the concept got the ball rolling. “It’s been a long growth process,” says McGloin. “It’s not easy; the process of it is such a pain that it would hinder anyone else doing it.” The sleight of hand that not everyone notices right away is that the single-piece box is mostly label, with the front label completely covering the front of the package. The labels are die cut and printed on demand on a Xerox printer, and a glue machine applies the labels to the front and back of the box before hand-filling and hand-assembling.

Retailers immediately liked the fact that opening the box cannot be accomplished without attracting attention, making it pilfer-resistant, and the fact that no one has to refold the shirts or continually restock the product. One retailer adjustment was to include a cut out rectangle on the back so shoppers can touch the t-shirt. But the retailer request that McGloin still can’t get over is that shoppers be told what is in the box. It seems to have stuck, though, as most labels now have a circular logo that confirms: “One perfectly folded adult t-shirt inside.” PD

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DESIGNER’S CORNER

By Rick Barrack

Big Impacts on a Budget Creative package design can overcome a limited marketing budget when growing young brands.

nce upon a time, a major new product launch required a significant marketing effort and mega-bucks in order to make an impact in the supermarket aisle. This effort included not only a strong identity and great packaging, but also POP displays, viral marketing, ad campaigns, promotions, and the like. All this has changed, however, with the advent of the Internet and the evolution of viral marketing, pop-up stores, and technology-based promotions. Today, it’s entirely feasible for someone with a great idea and very little money to go straight to market based on the strength of a brand’s product idea and packaging alone.

Jones has continued its edgy package-design strategies throughout its growth, most recently teaming up with The Onion satirical newspaper.

april 2011

Small brands that thought big How many of the products you use on a daily basis actually built their brands through television advertising? In my household, everyday products like Annie’s Mac & Cheese, VitaminWater, and Pirate’s Booty are examples of brands that achieved growth without major TV campaigns. The challenge for today’s emerging brands is that their packaging needs to do a heck of a lot of heavy lifting in order to generate sales. It’s an extremely exciting—and also daunting—challenge. By relying on strong design and informative copy, more brands are following in the footsteps of now-established, once-upstart brands like Annie’s Homegrown and Jones Soda that had very limited marketing budgets. These brands gained mainstream popularity through packaging that strongly conveyed their key benefits, stood out from the competition, and spoke directly to their target markets. They relied on word of mouth—not major marketing dollars—for their brands to catch fire. Annie Withey and Andrew Martin started Annie’s Homegrown in 1989 by applying their natural cheese-sauce recipe to a line of stovetop macaroni and cheese dinners. Discovering a niche, this additive-free product line spoke to families who wanted more natural choices and were willing to pay the almost 20% premium markup in cost. The packaging reflected Annie’s ethos of giving back to the community and aligning itself with environmental efforts. Brightly colored boxes made from post-consumer recycled paper featured the kid-friendly Bernie the Rabbit, and told of life on Withey’s organic farm in the Connecticut countryside. Right beneath Bernie are the words “Totally Natural,” giving parents the vote of confidence they need to purchase the brand. In addition, homespun letters from Annie herself speak directly to customers. Like Annie’s, Jones Soda started small in 1996 with a single product, eye-catching design, and little marketing support. Its allure was all in the

The YZ (wise) brand is relying on package design and a minimal web presence to build a viral brand that proactively fosters good health.

packaging, which featured constantly changing labels generated and submitted by Jones’ own customers. This non-traditional tactic was used so that the public would forge an emotional attachment with the brand. To help break into the soft drink marketplace, Jones pursued what it calls an “alternative distribution strategy” to attract consumer attention, selling the soft drinks in venues such as clothing and music stores, tattoo and piercing parlors, and sporting equipment shops. Most recently, it joined forces with free satirical newspaper The Onion, which is popular with GenXers and Millennials, on a cobranded line of limited-edition sodas. Each 12-oz glass bottle features a black-and-white, newsprint-inspired label with a classic Onion headline and image. By putting its finger on the pulse of what’s cool, edgy, and slightly alternative, Jones has garnered a loyal following and managed to stay relevant.

Words to the wise When CBX was approached to brainstorm ideas around an effervescent technology, we identified an opportunity to provide a differentiated product within the wellness supplements category. The resulting line, YZ (wise) All Natural Hydravescent Crystals, are powders added to water with the goal of fostering good health. By developing three product varieties as opposed to one, we avoided the type of pigeonholing facing single-benefit brands such as Airborne and Emergen-C. The YZ (wise) varieties are currently Immunity (Orange Mango Pineapple), Antioxidant (Raspberry Green Tea), and Digestive Health (Lemon Ginger). As you can tell from the names, YZ prod-

ucts are currently proactive, but the door is also wide open to venture into the reactive, or medicinal, category. But without a huge, or barely any, marketing budget, what to do? We decided to throw everything—the slogan, ad campaign, and concept— onto the box design (plus a nominal presence on the web). Since consumers had no history with YZ (wise), we couldn’t count on familiarity like established brands do; the packaging needed to tell the brand’s entire story. The YZ (wise) name is simple, memorable, and slightly gutsy, with a nod to today’s fast-moving, text-messaging culture. Seeing that the brand didn’t have money to advertise, we decided to bring a proprietary element to the packaging. The new “Hydravescent Crystals” term plays up the hydration aspect of the drink and combines it with the effervescent technology that delivers the nutrients and flavor. Because of this strategy, the overarching theme of bubbles—“Bubbles are Better”— informed both the box design and the copy. Time will tell, but YZ (wise) hopes to follow in the big footsteps of brands like Jones Soda and Annie’s Homegrown. You don’t need a Superbowl commercial-sized advertising budget to launch a new product, and we have the Internet to thank for that. Strong, innovative design, a solid handle on the needs of your target market, and some wise thinking are all it takes for today’s small brands to make big names for themselves. PD

Annie’s strong brand foundation was discovering a niche around a homemade, all-natural macaroni and cheese recipe.

Rick Barrack is chief creative officer and partner at the CBX design firm (www.cbx.com) in New York.

PACKAGEDESIGNMAG.COM

SUSTAINABLY SPEAKING

by Wendy Jedlicka, CPP

Disruption Is Good Game-changing sustainability innovations often begin as less-than-perfect solutions.

erhaps you’ve heard … or maybe you haven’t. Frito-Lay, part of Pepsico, has introduced a quieter version of its compostable SunChips bag, one that’s now comparable to a typical potato chip bag. The bag is still breaking ground as a serious effort at creating packaging that really could, one day, “go away” on its own. When the first SunChips bags hit the market, the ruckus about the bag’s noisiness drowned out the fact that Frito-Lay hadn’t created just another package for chips, but a complete game-changer. Chips and other snacks and beverages move across store shelves with lighting speed. Super-short product turnover cycles offer the opportunity for manufacturers to try new things to see what sticks and what flops. A willingness to do new things—and to be okay with failing every once in a while—is well worth the effort, and not just for the company positioning as a category leader. Being willing to investigate “disruptive” technologies and ideas has brought the human race to where we are now, both good and bad.

Being “bad” for good Plastic beverage bottles, for example, have become the norm because they afford breakage resistance and fuel efficiencies not possible with glass. This was a hugely disruptive technology, as glass had been the beverage transport of choice for hundreds of years. On the plus side, we’ve saved lots of fuel oil by moving plastic rather than glass. But now we’re stuck with oceans of bottles left unrecovered. According to the EPA, only about 27% of the PET and about 29% of the HDPE bottles find their way back into the materials stream. So the question is: What disruptive technology will replace plastic bottles? Or, better yet, rather than getting hung up on a linear materials replacement approach, why not find a game-changing new system to make recycling more attractive? SC Johnson is now teaming up with Recyclebank (www.recyclebank.com) to help reduce the consumer products giant’s environmental footprint. 16

april 2011

Not so loud! SunChips has unveiled its new and improved compostable bag.

SC Johnson plans to sponsor expansion of Recyclebank’s rewards-for-recycling platform into the grocery stores of more U.S. communities, offering specific reward incentives for shoppers to recycle Ziploc brand bags. The company’s goal is to help Recyclebank, in the new communities, keep approximately the same amount of other waste— including glass, metals, paper and plastic—out of landfills as the amount of potential waste, measured by weight, generated by Ziploc. If this plan is successful, it could completely change the way people view their castoff containers. This could also help push demand for waste recovery reform in communities that otherwise had none or were routinely performing poorly. Today, more than at any point in history, options are exploding exponentially. All you have to do is be willing to be a bit disruptive now and again. Being “bad” in the service of us all has never been so good. PD

Wendy Jedlicka, CPP, is principal of Jedlicka Design Ltd. (www.jedlicka.com), o2 International Network for Sustainable Design (www.o2.org), and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design’s Sustainable Design Certificate Program (www. mcad.edu/sustainable). Books include Packaging Sustainability and Sustainable Graphic Design, available at www. PackagingSustainability.info.

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The True Perdue

An iconic name returns to its heritage with handcrafted appeal. by Patrick Henry

teve Jobs. Martha Stewart. Sir Richard Branson. As entrepreneurs whose personal celebrity is all but impossible to separate from the public image of their companies, they have a common ancestor in Frank Perdue. Perdue, as almost nobody in the B2C professions needs to be reminded, was a visionary who took a commodity food product and branded it with himself—a stroke of marketing genius that would transform Perdue Farms from a modest family business into the third-largest poultry company in the U.S. Along the way, the look of its packaging has become so ingrained with shoppers that any attempt to change it might be seen as a high-risk game of “chicken.” 18

APRIL 2011

But that doesn’t apply to a brand that expects its packaging to evolve along with its ongoing efforts to optimize the quality and the customer appeal of the products inside. A redesign that went into effect this year respects both tradition and innovation as it supplements tried-and-true branding elements with carefully considered additions that articulate the renewed brand promise in full. The overarching goal, says Gail McWilliam, senior marketing director, Perdue Farms, was “elevating” the product with a graphical refresh. That message was to be delivered, adds John Bartelme, Perdue’s chief marketing officer, with a design that ascribed a “higher order of benefits and attributes to the product line.”

Perdue spent two years improving the overall quality of its products and certain attributes of each variety. The goal of the recent package refresh was to communicate new attributes well, differentiate from competitors, elevate certain brand offerings, and reemphasize the core brand equity of “Fresh from family farms since 1920.”

Message from a farmhouse Creative execution for the campaign came from Murray Brand Communications, a San Francisco brand design studio with extensive credentials in food and grocery channels. Tom Kane, senior design director, says that discussions with Perdue yielded three main objectives: 1) a simpler, cleaner look that evoked “fresh from the farm”; 2) a closer visual tie between the label’s distinctive farmhouse image and the Perdue logo; and 3) a prominent place for information about Perdue’s exclusive “process-verified” quality assurance program in a trustmark that would be easy for shoppers to see. SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) of the existing packages and their brand marks pinpointed what worked and what could benefit from being changed, says Kane. Murray Brand then prepared a series of “mood boards” that included collages of magazine clippings, website grabs, and other visuals illustrating the positioning values to be embodied in the new packaging. These pictures, says Kane, were of antique barns, old rural roads, and handmade

signs—scenes of authenticity that helped agency and client clarify the approach and crystallize ideas. John Murray, director of brand strategy and project management for Murray Brand, recalls that in the redesign, one question was how to communicate more fully the values and customer benefits that the picture of the Perdue homestead represents. The agency put the farmhouse on the label seven years ago in its first branding assignment for Perdue Farms. The image, from a painting commissioned by Murray Brand, depicts the Salisbury, MD, home where Arthur W. Perdue started the business in 1920 and where Franklin P. Perdue, the brand’s iconic pitchman, was born that same year. Located across the street from Perdue’s corporate headquarters, the house was renovated last year and now serves as a facility for meetings and other company events. Although it’s not open to the public, Murray says that it has become “almost a little museum to Perdue” and to the traditions symbolized in its packaging. The image of the farmhouse, Bartelme agrees, ”is a very quick way to say something without using any words.” PACKAGEDESIGNMAG.COM

As if packed by hand Murray and Kane believe the new direction imparts a handcrafted look to the 150 SKUs that Perdue has chosen to refresh. The impression begins at the main panel—a space with the parchment look of handmade paper, a deckled edge, and a script typeface that resembles well-schooled penmanship. The painted farm scene retains its original look with a little refinement, now adjacent to the Perdue logo and the ribbon-like banner denoting the subbrand. Something else preserved from the original design, but given new emphasis in the refresh, is the “Perdue blue” that keynotes the packages chromatically. Now a black-ink overprint gives the blue areas the textured appearance of rustic burlap, a look that serves as the visual complement to the tagline that proclaims: “Fresh From Family Farms Since 1920.” Murray explains that yellow predominated in Perdue’s packaging until research showed that consumers responded more strongly to the brand’s use of blue—a color universally associated with trust-

The reorganization of the primary label allows for more prominent benefit messages while still providing all the essential variety information that shoppers need to find the product they’re looking for.

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worthiness and dependability. According to Murray, the blue also allows Perdue to color-block at retail relative to competitors who rely on yellow and red. “A huge thing a brand can do is to own a color,” he says. Perdue relies heavily on eye-tracking research, and Bartelme says that this method was used to refine Murray Brand’s concept for the package design launch. With the help of Perception Research Services, a specialist in eye-tracking techniques, Perdue measured the engagement of both shoppers and retailers in a geographically limited test market during spring 2010.

Reaching for reassurance Above all, Perdue wanted the packaging to reflect the company’s commitment to continuous improvement—the corporate policy behind the unique process-verified program that Perdue Farms has adopted in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A new feature, the seal denoting the program, is side-by-side with new lines of type that check off three related pieces of information about the wholesomeness of the product inside. The USDA-bearing seal, says Kane, gets an appropriately “official” look from the serif type of the agency’s initials and from the golden tone of the corn icon within the concentric ovals. The presence on the package of the USDA information, says Bartelme, “gives consumers added reassurance about the product.” Also offering reassurance is the pre-existing tagline that reads, “No Hormones or Steroids Added.” This is a somewhat unnecessary claim, since (as both the old and the new packages point out) federal regulations prohibit the use of these substances in poultry. But it’s an attribute, according to Kane, that other makers of chicken products have failed to leverage as a benefit statement. Despite the fact that steroids and hormones have been officially off-limits to chicken producers since the 1950s, says Bartelme, half of all consumers continue to believe that they are present in poultry. The USDA requires all packages to display the federalregulations-prohibit disclaimer, so this language, as a branding statement, isn’t unique to Perdue. What sets the company wholly apart is being the first and so far the only poultry producer to have adopted a process-verified program in cooperation with the USDA—a distinction clearly asserted by the oval emblem and its trio of benefit claims. Process-verified status, Bartelme explains,

u v w 1

The line-identifying banner that was more prominent on previous package designs now serves the line better as an identifier of secondary line extensions.

Subtle changes to the homestead scene create a more pleasant, summery impression, now raised to its proper status as a brand icon.

New, handcrafted touches include the

deckled edge, script product name, and parchment-like background.

BEFORE 4

Murray Brand created a more prominent USDA logo because Perdue was one of the first food companies to earn “USDA Process Verified” status.

is conferred by the USDA on food producers willing to submit their facilities to third-party audits that verify compliance with self-imposed best practices for product quality. With input from the USDA, Perdue has defined customer-benefiting processes for feeding, breeding, and preparing its chickens. These standards, stated on the new packaging, are examined and verified twice a year by external auditors.

Staying on message Perdue’s McWilliam says that as the new packages begin to fill the distribution pipeline, Perdue is communicating the refresh with in-store signage and point-of-purchase, newspaper inserts, TV spots, and other media. Although the refresh didn’t change any of Perdue’s existing packaging structures, the updated look will soon grace some new package designs that are being test-marketed for national release later in the year. Bartelme describes these offerings as “consumer preferred, and a bit more eco-friendly” in their construction and design. Adding new features to a well-established design isn’t something to be done merely for its

own sake, a principle that every brand of Perdue’s stature takes seriously. Bartelme admits that in adding the new elements, the company was a little fearful that they would get a patch job of unharmonious icons. But this worry was laid to rest by the natural order of viewing in the new layout, from the logo and the farmhouse down to the USDA oval and the process-verified claims. Careful attention was paid, says Murray, to giving this hierarchy the correct visual balance. For example, the process-verified elements—while important to place prominently—could not be allowed to overwhelm the Perdue brand identity. The sub-brand banners also were modified for proper fit with the other icons. Although it’s been only a few months since the new packages first started appearing at retail, their in-store effectiveness seems clear. McWilliam reports that the company has sales improvements that can be attributed to the new look. It’s all indicative of a methodical, no-nonsense approach to getting it right that Frank Perdue himself would have been the first to salute. As Murray says, “When you do the up-front work that we did, you limit surprises.” PD PACKAGEDESIGNMAG.COM

Soft

to the Touch

Effective computer peripheral packaging finds the right blend of lifestyle, technology, and functionality cues. By Larry Jaffee

ith software increasingly being electronically delivered, Hardware and peripherals are a rare opportunity for the Microsoft brand to make an impact on store shelves. In collaboration with its longtime branding and design agency FITCH, Microsoft recently rolled out new packaging for several lines of keyboards, mice, and webcams that redefines the company’s retail presence. James Sunstad, managing director of FITCH’s Seattle office, says that the relative independence of Microsoft’s computer accessories from the parent brand is both an opportunity and a challenge. Sunstad believes that Microsoft’s innovations in the category, such as the ergonomic split-angle keyboard, may have been overshadowed by the parent software brand. “Our job is to clean up the marketing message so that it’s easy to understand,” says Sunstad.

Tracking impulses Also confusing the marketing message is the fact that the retail goals for each Microsoft product line are quite different. Packaging is more critical for a product like a mouse, which is often an impulse buy, 22

APRIL 2011

points out E.R. Brown, senior marketing communications manager in Microsoft’s Hardware business group. In contrast, 89% of webcam buyers research their purchase online prior to visiting a store. In the case of the new Touch Mouse, it was critical for the package design to convey the benefits of the device, which is hitting retail in June. Heavy promotion has already highlighted how the Touch Mouse can bring out new functionality within Windows 7, and the packaging backs that up. The box features an articulated paperboard flap with a built-in magnetic latch that, when lifted up, allows the shopper to see the mouse under clear plastic, but stays closed when not showing off the product. The backside of the folded flap also provides another surface—two inside panels—to provide more product information. “It gives the elegance of a closed box and allows you to discover what’s inside,” says Jill Geurts, a Microsoft structural packaging engineer and project manager for the Touch Mouse. Microsoft has become very environmentally conscious in recent years, and this is manifested in the use of recycled paper and interior plastic made

The Touch Mouse box features a magnetic closure that allows shoppers to discover the new functionality of the product made exclusively for Windows 7.

of post-consumer, recycled bottle-flaked content. Metallic ink, notes Geurts, is frowned upon these days because it’s not recyclable. Environmental considerations also figured into Microsoft’s move to more standardized packaging, which is appreciated by retailers seeking smaller carbon footprints. Microsoft works with many retailers on optimizing their in-store planograms, which detail product organization on shelf.

Retail rationalization Kim Van Allsburg, a FITCH senior account manager also in Seattle overseeing the Microsoft relationship, joined the agency in 2004 at a time when Microsoft was looking to standardize its packaging systems. Starting in 2008, FITCH began executing the packaging form-factors across the line, grounding design elements by instituting certain colors and graphics consistently applied within the client’s Hardware visual style. Considering that the Hardware division manufactures more than 1,200 SKUs, it’s quite an undertaking. “FITCH created a template—a master layout to be used for every package,” Van Alls-

MICROSOFT’S DESIGN BRIEF OBJECTIVES • Standardize Microsoft Hardware package design’s “formfactors” across the line • Evolve a systematic graphic and messaging approach • Provide cohesiveness and clarity across mouse, keyboard, and webcam lines • Create a highly recognizable, informative, and flexible visual identity system that provides continuity and a sense of family for the products • Keep the visual style grounded in Microsoft’s corporate visual style, while using certain colors and graphics that are unique to Microsoft Hardware • Maintain a strong brand presence for all Microsoft Hardware products • Develop a comprehensive and extendable visual language and packaging • Help Microsoft increase its Hardware retail sales

» continued on page 43 PACKAGEDESIGNMAG.COM

LESSONS OF HISTORY

Luden’s mines the past to rediscover the brand’s unique sweet spot on the line between medicine and candy. By Ron Romanik

re Luden’s throat lozenges medicine? Not exactly. Are they candy? No, not that, either. The brand instead occupies a narrow category niche that might be best described as “an everyday remedy for occasional ‘throat-tickle’ relief.” At retail, the growing domination of Halls and Ricola had precipitated Luden’s recent recession into the background and onto the bottom shelves. The brand was essentially disappearing from consumer consciousness. Though still a beloved brand with a deep history (founded in 1879!) and loyal customers, its cough drop boxes and bags were perceived as dated and “old world.” The brand owners brought in The Goldstein Group design firm, New York City, to renew the brand while still retaining the past. After the redesign, Prestige Brands (owner of the Chloraseptic brand) bought out Luden’s by acquiring the previous owner, Blacksmith Brands. A deep dive into the history of the brand, conducted by The Goldstein Group, revealed that 24

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Luden’s had two “heydays,” or periods of strong growth—in the 1930s and 1950s. The lozenges were a brand for the people, even supplied to World War II troops as part of their rations. Recent research indicated that consumers were aware of the history of Luden’s, which was both a blessing and a curse. Though there were many positive associations with the brand, there was also a feeling that it was well past its prime. Terri Goldstein, principal of The Goldstein Group, had a different take on where Luden’s had been and where it could go. She devised a strategy to mine the past for successful brand and packaging elements that could elicit “memories of a time gone by” in a way that would resonate authentically with contemporary consumers unfamiliar to the brand. As in the process of any package design refresh, the design of each element was guided by decisions about what to leave behind, what to keep, and what to reinvent.

Luden’s was worried for many years about what might happen if the retail bag format forsook its white heritage and took on flavor colors. The redesign attempts to turn the white often associated with generic, private-label retail packaging into an even stronger equity. A final tweak was reducing the size of the clear window and moving it to the bottom, so the package always looks packed with product.

What to Leave Behind

BEFORE

The biggest thing that Luden’s left behind was the unappetizing color on the carton of the “Original Menthol” cough drop flavor. This was not a shocking move, as every other Luden’s SKU was dominated by white, but it did serve as a bellwether of the brand’s significant break from the past. Other design elements that got the ax: utilitarian design, stagnant type treatments, emotionless presentation, poor flavor indicators, and the lozenge illustrations on the Original Menthol and Honey Licorice packages.

What to Keep One remarkable aspect of this project is how much was not left behind. A quick glance at the front panels of the new boxes reveals that every letter of every word on the old Wild Cherry, Honey Lemon, and Honey Licorice boxes was transferred to the new package design. The sole exception in the carton line was the name change of the menthol variPACKAGEDESIGNMAG.COM

w 1

“Uniquely Good!” is a completely new design element, though presented as authentically tied to the past.

The simplified top panel replaces an unnecessarily overloaded, distracting design.

new logo that modern consumers

y FROM 1959

The design trick was to create a would look at and say: “That’s the Luden’s the way I remember it.”

Three-dimensional digital renderings replace the illustrations to reinvigorate the taste appeal.

All of the old product descriptors and benefit statements were transferred to the new packages.

BEFORE

u v 1

Luden’s finally realized it was time to let go of the traditional menthol box color and unify under white.

Illustrations of lozenges were previously used because the company didn’t want to risk using a

w FROM 1930

confusing representation of the menthol flavor. 3

A small illustration of the previous package design helps ease loyal customers into accepting that a new formula did not accompany the new design.

BEFORE 26

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Instead of reinventing the Luden’s brand completely from ground up, the brand owner and The Goldstein Group felt that Luden’s had established and nurtured a number of very powerful marketing and positioning messages. These concepts include positive associations such as “Soothes Everyday,” “Quick Relief,” “Fresh Breath,” and “Tested Prescription.”

The 1930s and 1950s were two periods of strong growth for Luden’s. As this moodboard shows, the new Luden’s package design draws on design sensibilities from those eras that signal authenticity to contemporary consumers.

ety from “Original Menthol” to “Cool Menthol.” Goldstein also explains how keeping white as the brand’s core identity was never in question. When shoppers are looking for their brand at retail, she says, “Color is always first, shapes are second, symbols third, and words are last.” Another part of the package that was kept was the wax paper inside the box, which has long been an integral part of the brand experience. Keeping the wax paper reinforces the authenticity of the product and connects the new design to the past.

What to Reinvent Goldstein explains that the redesign of the Luden’s logo builds on the most relevant parts of the brand’s heydays. The curve of the letters produces both motion and emotion, and a white “halo” is suggested by the framing, color-coded “underscore” that traces

a white border around the bottom of the letters. Goldstein was excited to have the opportunity to reinvent the flavor “stories” on the packages. The goal was to create extremely appetizing graphics that hearkened back to an era of soda fountains and dime-store candy shops. The quantity identifiers were also updated with an old-school sensibility, as the courier typewriter typeface suggests handmade, small-batch care. The boldest new design element is the banner announcing that Luden’s is “Uniquely Good!” Along with the new green-leaf apostrophe in the logo, Goldstein believes this pushes the brand’s natural, “good-for-you” positioning. Consumers may not immediately recognize the changes. But that’s not a problem, according to Goldstein. The real truth, she says, is a package “that looks the way it always should have looked.” PD

PACKAGEDESIGNMAG.COM

It’s Crunch Time Lightweighting of water bottles is at a critical juncture between sustainability gains and branding losses. By Jay Singh, Lynn Metcalf, and Jeff Hess

he global bottled water industry has reached $50 billion in sales, with the U.S. market increasing by nearly 250% since 1995. This exponential rise in global demand for bottled water and the slower growth rate of soft drinks indicates that the present on-the-go society is increasingly seeking bottled water as a healthier alternative. This trend will almost certainly continue, thanks to younger consumers who’ve been brought up drinking bottled water. Available only in glass bottles until the 1960s, water in clear plastic bottles (PVC and PET) fueled the recent portable water popularity boom. But the growth of the bottled water industry has slowed in the last two years due to a few factors. Increasing concern for the environment has affected consumer buying decisions, promotional campaigns have targeted bottled water as an unnecessary evil, and more consumers are looking for refillable options in daily water consumption.

Slimming down In response to these consumer trends, bottled water companies introduced lighter, “eco” bottles. The Beverage Marketing Corp. recently reported an average resin weight drop of 32.6% in the 500-ml single-serve PET bottles between 2000 and 2008, from 18.9 g to 12.7 g. Common eco-bottles on shelves right now are at weights of 9.5 g, 9.9 g, and 10.9 g. Estimates claim that each gram saved on a preform used for a market of 100 million bottles saves 100 tons of PET. The bottle isn’t the only component that’s slimming down. There’s also been a reduction in both thread finishes at the opening of the bottle and cap sizes. A common modification of the 28-mm stan28

april 2011

PWKS2011_29706_Package Design_Corpo.ai

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1:57 PM

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Bottled water brands must find a way to achieve both ecofriendliness and a perception of high quality. Though research subjects often ranked eco-bottles high on being “visually appealing,” some subjects also found them “cheap” and expressed low future purchase intent.

RESEARCH STUDY METHODOLOGY The research study conducted at California Polytechnic State University employed an unbalanced fractional-factorial, between-subjects experimental design with three brands and two levels of packaging—eco-bottle and non-ecobottle. Each of the 273 participants completed a preliminary survey that assessed his or her experience with the product category, familiarity with two of the top-selling brands of bottled water, perceptions of each brand, and attitudes about purchasing eco-friendly products. After a session where test subjects interacted with the bottles and noted their experiences, a second survey asked them to rate their experience with the bottles and brands, their purchase likelihood, and their brand perceptions. Finally, respondents participated in a virtual ideation session on www.Dialogr.com that elicited “top of mind” bottle and brand evaluations for the bottles and brands to which they had been assigned. Respondents posted their responses to one open-ended question in particular: “How would you compare your experience opening and drinking each of the two bottles of water in front of you, and what recommendations would you make to the brands of bottled water you tested here?”

april 2011

dard thread finish reduces PET 25% at the bottle’s opening. Consequently, the Corvaglio closure company, for instance, has introduced a new cap that weighs only 1 g, approximately 38% lighter than its predecessor. But the changes have raised new issues. To explore the implications of lightweighting on brands, the packaging and marketing departments at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA, undertook a survey-based research study of 273 subjects. (See sidebar at left for test methodology.) The goal was to explore how bottled water packaging influences customer satisfaction, purchase intent, brand relationships, preference, and loyalty. The subjects were surprisingly passionate about the importance of package design: They submitted 156 separate design ideas and recommendations. Our findings showed that lightweighting plastic bottles can result in negative consumer reaction to thin sidewalls, loss of product/package rigidity, poor confidence in package, and unstable opened bottles. The survey participants also indicated that while they expect water to be packaged in a particularly shaped bottle, those familiar designs can also be considered generic—and some consumers expect designs that are new, modern, or uniquely “cool.” This is statistically significant, as shown in the bottle comparison graph (above) and the high “visually appealing” score of newer eco-bottle designs. The findings confirmed that bottle shape can both attract attention and provide significant user satisfaction.

This “word map” summarizes the survey responses to the thin-gauged “eco” bottles. The font size is directly proportional to the number of times a word appeared in openended, qualitative survey responses. Even when subjects expressed positive motives for eco-bottles and helping the environment, the performance of the bottle elicited many negative associations.

Opening up discussions Test subjects’ comments about smaller bottle caps express hope for a middle ground between conflicting needs and expectations. Expectations include ease of opening, safety and security, perceived freshness and purity, and eco-considerations, while actual user needs include confidence in purity, ease of drinking, ease of reclosing, and consistent performance. Further testing of bottle cap variations might be able to narrow the gap. Of the total number of ideas contributed by respondents, a significant 34% included negative feedback on the thinner-gauge plastic used in ecofriendly bottles. A concern for the environment doesn’ t seem to override the negative reaction: Approximately one-third of the design ideas advocated a return to a sturdier, thicker, more rigid structure. Qualitative analysis seemed to suggest that, though not conclusive, some respondents appear willing to give up a little functionality in order to limit the amount of materials used in the packaging, but more find that tradeoff unacceptable because the package performs poorly and appears cheap. Ergonomic qualities noted included whether or not the bottle was easy to grip, hold, or handle; the ease or difficulty of opening the bottle; and the feel of the bottle in the user’s hand. Usability of designs covered issues such as bottle stability, whether or not the bottle could be opened and

consumed without spilling, and whether or not the bottle was sturdy enough to be reused. The general sentiment expressed was that manufacturers should be able to “make bottles eco-friendly without sacrificing performance.” At the first moment of truth, when a brand interacts with the shopper in a store, the interaction is instantaneous, influential, and ripe with branding implications. Some statistics have become part of the shorthand of retail package design. For instance, the human eye can recognize a product in one-sixth of a second, shoppers spend two-thirds of their time on the visual elements of the package, consumers purchase products they hold in their hands 80% of the time, and 70% to 80% of purchase decisions are made in-store. With myriad bottled water options now available, consumers are considering complex factors about their purchase decisions. While innovative designs are able to persuade the shoppers to pick up products within a scant few seconds, the second moment of truth, when the consumer interacts with the package during use, is equally—if not more—important. Because today’s consumers are increasingly design literate, they want to be spoken with—and not just spoken to. PD

Jay Singh, Lynn Metcalf, and Jeff Hess are faculty members of the Orfalea College of Business at California Polytechnic State University (www.cob.calpoly.edu) in San Luis Obispo, CA. PACKAGEDESIGNMAG.COM

Q& A Driving Efficiencies

kevin southwick

Robert Workman

Kevin L. Southwick is manager of xpedx’s MidAtlantic Group design center in Pittsburgh, PA

Robert Workman is creative director at the Raleigh, NC, design center.

Small changes in package design can create compounded incremental savings in the supply chain.

t’s an incontrovertible fact: Less is always less … when talking about the bottom line. However, radical design changes aren’t always necessary to produce big savings, and examining the entire supply chain of a package can guide efficient package design that realizes incremental gains at every step. As the world’s largest distributor of printing papers and graphic supplies, xpedx has its business tentacles in nearly every aspect of packaging, from concept to shelf and everywhere in between. The company recently announced an expansion of its design services into seven networked Package Design Centers in North America. To gain insight into what’s happening on the front lines of efficient design, Package Design spoke with designers Kevin L. Southwick, manager of xpedx’s Mid-Atlantic Group design center in Pittsburgh, PA, and

Robert Workman, creative director at the Raleigh, NC, design center.

PD: What kind of information can a full packaging and supply chain audit provide that many brand owners might overlook? Kevin Southwick: A full company audit should include literally everything they do. For example, if they’re using a pallet pattern that’s not efficient, it’s often because no one’s really taken time to school them on efficiency. A simple review can recommend reducing the gauge of the box material, reducing the number of materials, or changing the pallet configuration. The goal of the audit is to create a compendium of what they can do more efficiently. For example, a simple-to-implement package design change that allows a

More retailers today are demanding specific design parameters and shipping configurations, making efficient package development a challenge. For instance, the Premier Pan Company recently introduced similar products in customized packaging for four national, high-end retailers.

april 2011

column-stacked pallet to replace an interlocked stacking pattern may produce significant shipping efficiencies.

What are the most common faults you see when first taking on a new client? Robert Workman: A lot of times companies reorder packaging based on “that’s the way it’s always been done.” We see many examples of packaging components that can be efficiently reengineered to add substantial value. They just haven’t been done because the economy is tight, and there’s fewer people doing more work.

What services are customers asking for that they might not have five years ago? Southwick: There’s a big shift in strategy. Today, being a service provider isn’t just about marketing and how can we provide our service; it’s about how we can help clients sell more of their product. Even in this day and age, a brand owner may not have marketing teams. So if you’re not trying in every part of the process to help sell more of the client’s products, then you’re not doing your job.

Large retailers have growing power to make packaging demands of vendors. How does this affect the way brands approach design or designers approach the work? Southwick: We’ve found that it’s advantageous to build a bridge with the

The Body Shop recently launched body and facial skin care solution kits developed exclusively for Sephora stores and Sephora.com. These products are a natural fit for Sephora’s clientele: women who care about ethical, high quality, beauty products. A single format drove both production efficiency and retail accessibility, and the structure engages shoppers with interactive features, extra panels, partial reveals, and a book-like opening experience.

company and work directly with a retailer’s marketing department throughout the entire process. A lot of the time, they simply don’t have the resources to manage a project and want someone to be an extension of the company.

What material replacement trends have resulted from the push for more efficient or sustainable packaging? Workman: The reduction of plastics in as many areas as possible seems to be the most prevalent trend. But finding the right materials for any particular job is a case-by-case basis that we reevaluate every day. Southwick: Many companies are constrained by what they can print or produce. Whenever possible, it’s helpful to look at projects while being completely material neutral. Then you can come to the project with the open precept of: How can you help your client sell more products while reducing materials and overall costs?

What about second-tier, private label, or value brands? Southwick: There’s still kind of a stigma to being a second-tier kind of brand. In this economy, many of these brands are looking at ways to enhance their presence when they go to market. Today that means all the packaging: primary, secondary, tertiary. If you can add one or two colors to a carton without adding incremental cost—and create a billboard presence for the brand—that’s a big deal.

Is the Walmart Sustainability Scorecard becoming endemic in all package design conversations?

What efficiencies on the printing side can brand owners realize without much effort?

Southwick: Many companies are tied into that supply chain in one form or another, and they’re being told to reduce everything. So you have to be a welcome participant in that process—or even lead the charge. Workman: Every situation is completely different, and every design project is unique. One trend that we run into a lot with consumer goods companies is that they are often segmented. There are multiple divisions creating different packaging for similar products. When we can take a step back and examine their packaging as a whole, we can consolidate sizes, streamline brand elements, and add value on a larger scale.

Southwick: The best way to maximize efficiencies and reduce cost is to build larger printing impositions or forms. Put everything that can run on one imposition on that form in like quantities, colors, etc. If there’s an on-demand color, align those impositions for combination runs and combination setups. A lot of clients aren’t necessarily aware, but if you can direct them in replacing PMS with more versatile GCMI colors on flexographic work, it’s not huge, but there are incremental cost savings there, too.

What are some ways to create shelf impact efficiently and without significant up-front investments? Workman: It’s important to use many products in like-sized base structures that are efficiently produced and assembled. However, added intrigue in paperboard, for example, can come from extra panels, unique curves and scores, and small incremental design tweaks that make the structure look different but work in a functionally holistic way. If the opportunity exists to create consumer interaction within budget, that is a great win for everyone.

Do you recommend starting the design process with structure or graphics? Workman: It’s really hard to look at one without the other. Great packaging works together in both structure and graphics. When they work hand-inhand, it really tells a great story. Southwick: I think there’s a misconception that all packaging starts with structure. I think that when you come with graphical content in the beginning, you can build or tailor the structure around it, and use materials to support that graphical content. Even when you start with a small budget, graphics have to be a part of the early conversation because you have to decide how you’re going to produce the final package. You can have better success starting with graphics than having to marry graphics with an existing structure. PD PACKAGEDESIGNMAG.COM

ready When You Are Here’s how to replace fear with confidence in the contract packager selection process. By Keith Loria

iven today’s economy and desire for greater sustainability, contract packagers are as in demand as they’ve ever been, as they can provide a convenient extension to one’s own company. While you may think that because of the assets and investment required, the vast majority of the truly successful contract packaging providers are large, well-established businesses, smaller contract packagers can be just as capable while providing more personalized service. “The growth in contract packaging is being driven by the larger companies, especially consumer product goods, because they’re looking for single-source solutions,” says Andrew Pierson, president of Mid-Atlantic Packaging, a Pennsylvania printing and packaging company that has rela34

april 2011

tionships with a network of contract packagers across the U.S. “Cutbacks and reduced head counts have driven the need to hand off downstream responsibilities and supervision.” Contract packagers provide a laundry list of packaging services ranging from the simple to the complex, and may do anything from labeling boxes to X-raying products for problems. In most cases today, contract packaging involves production lines that automatically erect cases, robotically fill them with the customer’s product, seal them, and then palletize them for shipment. There are myriad factors to consider when choosing a contract packager, and the unforeseen aspects that come into play will depend on the size of your business and the nature of the project.

Setting up the Parameters

1 Cost: Cheaper isn’t always better. Review all quotes and analyze what’s really being done for the money. 2 Location: A location close to your manufacturing and distribution facilities may save delivery time and lower freight charges, but an inexperienced company could hurt you—even if they’re next door. 3 Ethics: Get references and ask questions to ensure that the company you’re dealing with practices sound business judgment. 4 Size: Is the staff flexible, responsive, and able to solve problems and implement solutions quickly? Is there a strong management team to back it up? 5 Quality: What sort of production operations are in place? Understand it all before making a choice. 6 C onflicts: Make sure the contract packager doesn’t offer a proprietary line that might compete with your product line.

Making a Site Visit

1 W hen you talk with the potential contract packager, do you always get complete, satisfactory answers to your questions? 2 When you visit the contract packager, do you get a feeling that his actions will match his words? 3 Do the facility staff members seem to be working well and as a team at all levels? 4 Do stored materials within the warehouse look neat and orderly? 5 Does the equipment look to be in good repair, clean, and running well?

“Manufacturers have to be confident that their jobs will be completed exactly as required with the product reaching the retail shelf in excellent condition, able to be displayed as intended and, in many cases, with its inventory managed in a manner that maximizes sales,” says Pierson. Getting to this point usually involves a sharp focus on physical assets including security, temperature control, and logistics. “When we work with companies looking for contract packaging, we look at the volume of what they’re doing, and then their specialization,” says Paul Nowak, general manager of Proteus, a Wisconsin packaging company specializing in paperboard innovations. “Most contract packagers are going to be set up differently.” Especially for companies dealing with pharmaceuticals and food, Nowak adds, “you might want to look at the certifications they have to make sure they have the experience you need.” Thomas Bacon, founder of Aaron Thomas, a contract packaging company in Southern California, agrees that companies looking for contract packagers shouldn’t expect all contract packagers to behave similarly. “What may be the correct response to an issue that crops up for one contract packager may not be for another in a different location or one that deals with another set of clients,” he says.

In addition, Bacon advises keeping an eye on whether there’s more than one management person who knows the operation to ensure that there’s sufficient depth to achieve your desired results. “You want to walk out the door believing you’ll get value for your investment and your materials will be safe,” Bacon says. “One of the things I ask to see is their corrective action program for the last year, to see how they’re tracking mistakes that they make,” Nowak says. “The question isn’t ‘Do they make mistakes?’ but ‘How do they resolve them and improve the methodology?’ If someone seems closed to providing that, I think that would be a strong red flag.” As one of the world’s largest contract decorators of shrink sleeves, Verst Pack understands the challenges a successful contract packager must handle. “Three things are key in making a choice,” suggests Will Schretzman, vice president of packaging for Verst Pack. “Do they have the capacity, the tooling, and the equipment to run your product?” Verst Pack has seen significant growth over the last few years as more customers are looking to avoid the capital expense of putting a shrink sleeve in line at a filler plant of their own or at a contract filler because of the learning curve and issues that occur. “When a company spends $500,000 to a million dollars on a machine and then finds out the project is a dud, they’re stuck,” Schretzman says. “Many large customers use us for that reason.” PACKAGEDESIGNMAG.COM

Considering Sustainability

1 What are the company’s green initiatives? 2 Do they have a process to explain how products and packages move through the plant from beginning to end? Do they quantify the energy used at each step? 3 Do they source energy from renewable sources or purchase carbon offsets? 4 Are they ISO 14001 certified? Do they use FSC- or SFI-certified paperboard? 5 How are they looking toward the future in regards to sustainability? 6 What expenditures are they planning to keep up with technologies in the next five years? What’s their mechanism for keeping up with changes?

The devil in the details It’s often “buyer beware” when contract packagers try to lowball you in requests for quotes or lowprice formats, because it’s almost impossible to write a complete specification that includes every detail of contract packaging and manufacturing. It’s advisable to examine all presenters carefully, and then view the facilities and personnel of your final three choices. Once that’s done, ask each contract packager to write an inclusive quotation that specifically notes items that may crop up during production. Mid-Atlantic’s Pierson has noticed a trend in the new ways in which previously separate product categories are being combined. “We’re finding ourselves working with multiple substrates and multiple forms of packaging,” he says. You should expect more contract packagers to be able to handle folding carton, corrugated, foam, plastics, and other materials combined into a single product that meets the customer’s needs. One aspect of a comprehensive contract packaging operation that many people don’t think much about is the ability to handle product recalls, which is an important responsibility of a good contract packager. Particularly in food and pharmaceuticals, recalls have to be handled with urgency, getting products out of the system and replacements back in place as quickly and efficiently as possible. If this is important to your product line, make sure they have a track record for recalls. 36

april 2011

In recent years, sustainability issues have begun to become part of every production conversation. Packaging can be seen as wasteful by its very nature, but the discussion has changed as pharmaceutical companies and retailers like Walmart have weighed in on sustainability. Proteus’ Nowak says that when choosing contract packagers, check that resources and skill sets are available to look at sustainability issues and solutions. “Cost is still important, but sustainability and cost don’t have to be mutually exclusive,” Nowak says.

Many changes in the industry reflect an overarching trend of manufacturers looking for contract packagers to take on more and more responsibilities to ensure complete start-to-finish management. “Vendor-managed inventory systems are increasingly a key responsibility for many in this field,” says Pierson. “This gets down to making sure that the retail end of the equation gets and remains properly stocked.” Value-added services can save headaches later, so find out a packager’s complete capabilities. The right contract packager for a particular job might not be a company that that provides virtually all types of packaging for any product and any industry, but one that does a limited number of tasks extremely well. Always double check that a contract packager does what it says and says what it does. Choose a contract packager that has the proven capability already in place to handle the packaging service you need them to fill, recommends Schretzman. “Contract packagers, in an attempt to grow their business, will offer to service different packages where their capability is unproven or in early stages,” he warns. “If you choose to use them under these circumstances, be prepared for productivity issues that result from them climbing the learning curve.” A final tip would be to test out new players in the game by asking to run a test job with a small amount of product. Informed decisions will lead to confidencebuilding relationships with contract packagers that are strong, reliable, and true to their word. PD

Protect Your Product

Gain Market Share

Deliver Value

Differentiate Your Product

Reduce Costs

Meet Sustainability Goals

Speed Time to Market

Build the Bottom Line

For the latest equipment, materials, and ideas to innovate your packaging, streamline your process, and accelerate your projects, attend EastPack this June.

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NEW PRODUCT FOCUS

LABELS, FINISHING, AND DIE-CUTTING

Finishing Touches The latest innovations and technologies in labels, finishing, and die-cutting.

Zanlabel Gloss www.m-real.com M-real’s new double-coated label paper, Zanlabel gloss is offered in rolls and sheets from 70 – 120 gsm (47 – 82 lb). Appropriate for returnable or nonreturnable bottles, PET bottles, returnable labels, and more. Available in wetstrength, light wet-strength, non-wetstrength, and caustic resistant. Printing options include offset, flexo, and gravure.

VersaUV Printer Cutter www.rolanddga.com The 54” and 30” VersaUV UV-LED inkjet printer/cutters create realistic package prototypes and short-run labels. VersaUV prints CMYK, white, and clear coat for varnishing and embossing effects. VersaUV also contour cuts, perforates, and creases virtually any flexible or rigid substrate.

APRIL 2011

y Mimaki CJV30-60_PD0411_Layout 1 3/22/11 4:16 PM Page 1

SHRINK WRAP POUCHES POLY BAGS METALLIZED FILM ADHESIVE FILM LABELS 3

Engraved Finishing Effect www.sgdgroup.com The gold and black ribbon effect is realized first with a gold layer applied to the engraving of this fragrance bottle. A second black enamel layer is applied to cover the gold, which is then only visible from the inside.

Rayoface NB Films www.innoviafilms.com Innovia Films and Ravenwood Packaging Ltd. created Rayoface NB films to reduce labeling waste and weight by 30%. Available in both white and transparent grades and in thicknesses of 92µm (for replacing carton board sleeves) and 60µm (for replacing conventional pressure-sensitive and wraparound labels).

Cut new paths in packaging comps.

The ONE machine for flexible film comps, samples & labels. u Print and then contour

cut with the same roll-to-roll system. u Select from odorless ES3 & fastdrying SS21 hard solvent inks. u Close-view 1440dpi, variable dot technology. u Die-cut & half-cut functions with precision crop mark detection. u CJV30 Series available in four sizes: 24”, 40”, 54”, 64”

24” Print/Cut System

Fasson Curvy www.EnhanceYourBrand.com Fasson Curvy film labels offer a wraparound look and create up to 30% more space for primary labeling than flat surfaces. They also reduce the need for two-ply label constructions by allowing larger back panels to carry more product or multi-language information.

Silver ES3 ink for eye-catching metallic effects! WHITE INK for over and under printing on clear & color media.

Use the CJV30-60 with JetComp film media. See more at www.prooftech.com Visit our booth and learn more...

Booth 4958 | Las Vegas • April 28-30 ATL

888-530-3988

BOS

888-530-3986

CHI

888-530-3985 LA 888-530-3987 www.mimakiusa.com

PACKAGEDESIGNMAG.COM

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DiNatec Heat Transfer Label

MiraFoil Specialty Coating

www.diamondpackaging.com/green

www.zund.com

DiNatec heat-transfer labels combine a low-cost structure with a 50% improved carbon footprint versus pressure sensitive. They’re also 100% recyclable.

MiraFoil specialty coating is an economical alternative to foil stamping. The environmentally friendly coating is recyclable, uses no heavy metals, and results in less material and energy usage compared to an off-line foil stamping process.

Zund America’s G3 digital cutting tables are designed for the packaging market and configured to meet customers’ needs. Whether producing prototypes or full production runs, the fully modular G3 sample maker offers up to 10 different table sizes and a wide selection of cutting tools.

Toray Ecodear Label Film www.torayfilms.com New Ecodear advanced bio-based clear and metalized label films are for food and retail manufactured with polylactic acid (PLA) resin. The Ecodear label films meet ASTM D6400 standard specifications for compostable plastics and are available in the U.S. and Canada.

Zund G3 Sample Maker

www.graphicpkg.com

APRIL 2011

Mimaki CJV30-160 www.mimakiusa.com The Mimaki CJV30 Series is an integrated print/cut system available in four printing widths (24-, 40-, 54-, and 64-in) for a wide variety of applications. The machines are fully loaded, utilize a white ink-over-and-underlay function, and feature a new silver ink for metallic effects.

KAMA Automatic Die Cutter www.us.heidelberg.com KAMA Automatic Die Cutters are versatile for table displays, CD sleeves, and high-quality presentation folders. Hot foil stamping, hologram stamping, and hot cutting extend the finishing options.

Mimaki JFX1615_PD0411_Layout 1 3/22/11 4:17 PM Page 1

Tech AXXIS Digital www.allendatagraph.com The desktop iTech AXXIS Digital Label System is a high-resolution, roll-fed CMYK print engine featuring variabledroplet technology and a finisher that laminates, integrates die-less cutting, and strips and rewinds the label roll. Printing on substrates widths of 4 to 8.5 in wide, the system images at up to 20 ft-per-minute.

Kongsberg i-XE10 Finisher www.esko.com The automated Kongsberg i-XE10 digital finishing system finishes short-run digital printed labels, accepting sheets as large as 35.4” x 47.2”. A sheet feeding system automatically loads and places printed materials on the table, while a stacker delivers non-stop sorting/stacking of finished labels.

Bobst Rotary Embosser

Use the JFX-1615plus in combination with the CF2 flatbed cutting plotter.

Give your comps & presentations realistic quality.

Flatbed Cutting Plotter

u Space-saving size; 63"x 59" print area. u IDFM media feeding for precise ink placement. u Close-view 1200x1200 dpi, variable dot technology. u Prints on PVC, flexible films and heat-sensitive materials.

Quick & accurate cutting and creasing on a wide variety of material. 3 sizes to suit your workplace needs.

www.bobst.com The new “inline” Rotary Embossing for the Bobst folder-gluer can provide a fresh look for packaging. Based on the ACCUBRAILLE system, it consists of servo driven upper and lower tools that are synchronized to a precise +/- 1 mm. PD

Shown with optional RU-160 Roll Unit

Visit our booth and learn more...

Booth 4958 | Las Vegas • April 28-30 ATL

888-530-3988

BOS

888-530-3986

CHI

888-530-3985 LA 888-530-3987 www.mimakiusa.com

PACKAGEDESIGNMAG.COM

DATEBOOK april 2011

AD INDEX

Brushfoil

EastPack

OBC

insert 11

IFC

39, 41

may 2011

May 12-18 interpack 2011 D端sseldorf Exhibition Centre, D端sseldorf, Germany www.mdna.com | info@mdna.com | 312-781-5180

Numatics

Packagedesignmag.com

Paperworks Industries

IBC

Roland DGA

TricorBraun

William Fox Munroe

WS Packaging

April 6-10 NACD 2011 Annual Convention La Quinta Resort & Club, Palm Springs, CA www.nacd.net | info@nacd.net | 630-544-5052 April 11-13 FUSE 2011 Westin River North, Chicago, IL www.iirusa.com | aioannou@iirusa.com | 888-670-8200

May 18-19 LuxePack New York Metropolitan Pavilion & The Altman Building, New York, NY www.luxepacknewyork.com | 212-274-8508

june 2011 June 7-9 EastPack Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York, NY www.canontradeshows.com | epinfo@cancom.com | 310-445-4200

Georgia-Pacific Hazen Paper HBA Global Expo Mimaki Mutoh

PMMI

June 21-24 ExpoPack Mexico Centro Banamex, Mexico City, Mexico www.expopack.com.mx | info@expopack.com.mx | 703-243-8555 | +52 (55) 5545-4254 June 28-30 HBA Global Expo Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York, NY www.hbaexpo.com | john.morabito@ubm.com | 203-846-0083

SEPTEMBER 2011 September 26-28 Pack Expo Las Vegas Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV www.packexpo.com | 703-243-8555 September 26-28 CPP Expo Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV www.cppexpo.com | 201-881-1632

OCTOBER 2011 October 19-21 Luxe Pack Monaco Grimaldi Forum, Monaco www.luxepack.com | info@idice.fr | +33 (0)4 74 73 42 33

Package Design Workbook Steven DuPuis and John Silva This new book provides readers with a thoughtful packaging primer that covers the challenges of designing packaging for a competitive market. The book addresses all aspects of the creative process, including choosing a package format, colors and materials, final finishes, and special considerations for awkward objects and unique displays. Package Design Workbook features case studies that focus on why specific colors, formats, type treatments and finishes were chosen, and their effects on the client and consumer.

To order, visit http://bookstore.stmediagroup.com

$40.00 42

april 2011

« continued from page 23

Get the best information... Packa gedes

ignma g.com

Jan/FeB 2011

t Totally Swee

y raises the Fresh & Eas label brands ate bar for priv

Images of people used to be prominently featured on Microsoft packaging. Now, if used at all, the images are in the background in duotone style on the front or reserved for the back.

burg says. Typically, Microsoft will outsource particular jobs to various certified prepress printers with special capabilities, but client and agency stay in constant communication. Oversight occurs inside Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, WA, while FITCH executives make sure the look and feel are extended appropriately. About four years ago, Microsoft moved away from featuring images of people on the front surfaces of packages. Previously, the thinking was that personal computing fell under the domain of lifestyle branding. However, recent focus groups concluded that consumers no longer cared whether people were depicted on the package.

Microsoft and FITCH conduct extensive research to determine packaging colors. “Too much white suggests a lower price point, and black always feels high-end,” says James Sunstad of FITCH. The new package design instead focuses on a duotone red and black scheme because it tested well, and FITCH came up with a high-tech “fiber wave” that would be carried out across the computer accessories product lines. The final color strategy, then and now, was also borne out through joint research efforts between FITCH and Microsoft. At retail, shoppers gravitate to specific colors, but finding a middle ground appropriate to the category is critical. “Too much white suggests a lower price point, and black always feels high-end,” explains Sunstad. The new packaging’s objective was to evoke “sleek, sexy, and attractive”—three adjectives not usually associated with Microsoft. One aspect of lifestyle branding shows up in outer package copy, which could be mistaken for fashion marketing speak. The Arc Keyboard is described in the package’s subhead as “Style That Works” and the Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 is “Your Style On The Go.” The Touch Mouse, on the other hand, is “Touch is All it Takes,” emphasizing the multitouch experience. PD

PACK AGED

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GLOBESPOTTING

BY LYNN DORNBLASER

Dialing It Up A two-layer label provides peace of mind for parents medicating their young ones.

t’s never easy to get children to take their medicine, and it’s often difficult to make sure you’re giving them the appropriate amount. This liquid acetaminophen pain and fever reducer package can help with both challenges.

VITAL STATISTICS

THE PRODUCT Children’s AccuDial Pain & Fever

CONTENTS

3.2 oz; 100 ml GOALS

Simplify Medicine Taking TARGET

Stressed Parents MANUFACTURER

Berry Plastics BOTTLE MATERIAL

THE PERSPECTIVE

WHY WE LOVE IT

For the most part, package design for children’s medications focuses on the functional benefits of the product formulation rather than ease of use. AccuDial Pharmaceutical, a small company based in Florida, offers this medication in Canada that allows consumers to determine correct dosage amounts based on each child’s weight—rather than age—via a unique rotating label.

It’s such a simple concept, and it brings some much-needed innovation to an essential—yet essentially dull—category. And for busy parents, having confidence that they’re giving their children just the right amount takes a bit of stress out of having a sick child at home.

Plastic PET LABEL TYPE

Self-Adhesive DECORATIVE PROCESS

Self-Color, Lithography

THE OPPORTUNITIES Mintel’s U.S. consumer research data indicates that about two-thirds of consumers are concerned about the safety of the medications they give their children. About a quarter say specifically that they’re confused about whether they’re administering the correct dosage.

THE INNOVATIONS This Children’s AccuDial package offers two features that simplify dosage and use. A rotating label slides over a fixed label, allowing consumers to dial in the child’s current weight in 2 lb (0.9 kg) increments, to show exactly how much medication should be given. The medication also comes with a clearly marked dosing spoon.

APRIL 2011

FUTURE PROSPECTS Simple concepts that provide a real solution are the kind of innovations that have the power to stick in the marketplace. Other opportunities would be similar concepts for baby food metering, pet food dosing, or any liquid supplement for adults, as well. PD

Lynn Dornblaser (lynnd@mintel.com) is the director of CPG Trend Insight at Mintel International, working out of the company’s Chicago office.

Packaging. Processing. Powerful.

Package design and branding, all wrapped up. At PACK EXPO Las Vegas you’ll find everything you need to put your idea into consumers’ hands. Don’t miss the expanded Brand Zone, featuring innovative containers, materials and package designs: • The latest advances in glass, plastic, metal and paperboard packaging, decorating, printing and re-sealable technologies. • The Showcase of Packaging Innovations®, sponsored by The Dow Chemical Company. • PACK EXPO Selects™ awards for best consumer packaging. Don’t miss the largest packaging and processing show in North America. Register today at www.packexpo.com/brandzone

PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2011

September 26-28, 2011 Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, Nevada USA

P R O D U C E D B Y:

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