Packaging Snafus and Problems

Packaging News You Can Use

Tip Of The Week

Issue #1275 - April 27, 2007

Publisher: JoAnn Hines

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© Packaging News You Can Use By JoAnn Hines The Packaging Diva

MESSAGE FROM THE PACKAGING DIVA:

This weeks feature article "Packaging Snafus And Problems" is one of a series of exclusive content featured in the "Do It Yourself Packaging" workbook which can be ordered at http://doityourselfpackaging.com/

N RESPONSE TO MY ARTICLES:
"Packaging Greenwash" Available in the Best Of The Diva Part #7
email me for details at packagingdiva@aol.com

Brandweek Publishes Design Force President's Editorial "Packaging ...openPR (press release) - Hamburg,Germany“Packaging That Works For The Planet” is an important article that discusses the powerful impact packaging has on the Earth’s ecosystem. ...

"Is Your Packaging A Candidate For The Oyster Award?"
Consumer Watch: Maddening Product Packaging

KFOXtv.com - El Paso,TX,USAConsumer Reports asked people about tough-to-open packages and got a mountain

Is What's On The Outside Of Your Packaging What Is Inside? Available in the Best Of The Diva Part #7 email me for details at packagingdiva@aol.com

When a Brand Listens ... It's a Good Thing!
Supermarkets are jammed with over thirty thousand products - and these days tens of thousands are shouting out at us with their health claims. What can we believe in our search for the fountain of wellness and youth? The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) thought that the statement on Quaker's packages that this whole grain "actively finds" and removes cholesterol from your arteries is going a bit too far. So after a discussion (albeit with the threat of a CSPI lawsuit filing) Quaker Oats has agreed to drop this and other exaggerated claims on their labels and advertising. Quaker's new packaging and advertising will read, "as part of a healthy diet, the soluble fiber in oatmeal helps remove cholesterol" and "3 grams of soluble fiber daily from oatmeal may help reduce heart disease risk as part of a heart-healthy diet." In addition, they will remove a graph that CSPI felt exaggerated the cholesterol-lowering potential of oatmeal. Although the changes are slight, CSPI says that they will no longer be misleading to consumers.

"100 Calorie Snacks Smart or Stupid"
Snack smart: Look for nutrients, not just clever packaging

The Casper Star Tribune - Casper,WY,USAPackaging items in smaller containers can help control mindless overeating. Studies show the larger the container, the more people eat. ...


FEATURE ARTICLE:
Packaging Snafus and Problems By JoAnn Hines Packaging Diva

What is your worst packaging experience? A lot of people say it’s getting the toys out of the box at Christmas or getting those blankity-blank plastic clamshells open. It’s a fact that hard to open plastic clamshells have been so maligned that there is even terminology given to that product category: “Wrap-Rage.”

There are lots of reasons why a plastic clamshell is a great solution to your product packaging, but plan to give it some thought before choosing this solution. The consumers hate clamshells so consider that when developing your product packaging. At the very worst, you don’t want to end up as an award winner in Consumer Reports Annual “Oyster Awards.”

Have you done all of your homework and considered potential problems? Does the potential exist for something unexpected to come up and cause your packaging to become a problem?

Take Fabuloso for example. What looked like a great packaging concept with great bottles and terrific colors is in trouble. Why? Because consumers mistakenly think it’s a beverage since it looks so similar to sports drinks. Tragically, some consumers have actually drunk the cleaning product.

Or “Cocaine” the energy drink is under attack by anti drug campaigners because it claims to be the real thing even though it’s just a heavy jolt of caffeine.

The latest into the fray is SPYKES, a fruit flavored alcoholic beverage that is giving mothers of teenage children a fit. It is a great packaging concept, but it has problems because of who it’s marketed to.

Let’s go back to Tylenol in 1982. Seven people were poisoned by unsecured packaging and that incident spawned an entire new category of product packaging….tamper evident. See more on tamper evident in the packaging examples section.

You are not immune to product recalls either. How may product recalls have you read about lately that didn’t specify the right ingredients on the product packaging? That’s grounds for instant recall and packaging problems like this one that hurt Cadbury.

Cadbury hit by product recall ahead of Easter boom
- Cadbury Schweppes has been forced to recall over twenty of its core UK Easter products after failing to display nut allergy warnings on the packaging

Many times you cannot predict what will happen even if you have done all your homework. I mentioned earlier the Wolfgang Puck’s exploding latte cans that had to be pulled off the shelf. Just remember to expect the unexpected with any new and untested package or a new package innovation.

Try to extrapolate any possible outcomes that could occur before committing your product to the marketplace. It’s a lot easier to correct a problem before it goes out the door. You save yourself the bad publicity that comes from a package that doesn’t work or doesn’t perform up to expectations.

Order this article complete with pictorial examples and much more on packaging as a branding and marketing tool from Do It Yourself Packaging http://doityourselfpackaging.com/


PACKAGING GREEN WATCH:
Wal-Mart pushes suppliers to ‘go green’MSNBC - USAWal-Mart has seen more innovation in packaging in the past six months than it had seen in the previous five years, said Andy Ruben, Wal-Mart’s vice ...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18056716/

Dump the designer packaging Independent Online - Cape Town,South Africa"On the one hand it's good because it signifies an improvement in the quality of people's lives, but more affluent societies unfortunately produce more ...http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=14&click_id=14&art_id=vn20070326101515996C662170

DRIVE TO DISCOVER abc7news.com - San Francisco,CA,USASteve Levine, Excellent Packaging, founder: "Where we are at now is a turning point where people and the markets are beginning to understand that there is a ...
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=drive_to_discover&id=5157680

Export controls tightened within packaging regulations letsrecycle.com - UK... consolidate previous changes to the packaging producer responsibility regulations. Many people will want to know why the government are being so timid. ...

Getting a handle on plastic bag consumption The Daily Yomiuri - Osaka,JapanThe revised Containers and Packaging Recycling Law due to come into effect in April, aims to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags at supermarkets and ...
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070327TDY04004.htm

Latest in business Montreal Gazette - Montreal,Quebec,CanadaPackaging giant Cascades Inc. today introduced new "green" food containers that will degrade in three years instead of hundreds. ...
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=bcd32085-0731-46dd-b4b1-aa7b781605fb&k=32991

Candle maker seeks optimal balance of profits, green goals

ChronicleHerald.ca - Halifax,Nova Scotia,Canada"More young people are becoming mindful of selecting products that are environmentally friendly with minimal packaging." When it comes to green purchases, ...
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/560727.html

SPRING GREENING Globe and Mail - Toronto,Ontario,CanadaThe product line, which includes biodegradable wipes and non-toxic tile cleaner, has the added appeal of sleek packaging, care of uberdesigner Karim Rashid. ...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070331.GREEN24/TPStory/TPEntertainment/Style/


THE DIVA'S PICKS OF THE WEEK:

Product Security Pharmaceutical Processing - Rockaway,NJ,USATechnical solutions through packaging and data management systems are available today to provide the necessary means to track a product. ...
http://www.pharmpro.com/ShowPR.aspx?PUBCODE=021&ACCT=0000100&ISSUE=0704&RELTYPE=ATO&PRODCODE=0000&PRODLETT=O&CommonCount=0

Beverage Blast Cap Wins Top Award... "Worlds Greatest Beverage ...PRLog.Org (press release) - Bucuresti,Romania(PRLog.Org) – The Blast Cap Technology (BCT) announces a multi patented /multi pending beverage and pharmaceutical devices for today's active, ...
http://www.prlog.org/10014491-beverage-blast-cap-wins-top-award-worlds-greatest-beverage-invention-2006.html

News Analysis: FTC Probe May Have Ill Effects For Food Industry Brandweek Magazine - New York,NY,USAThe Federal Trade Commission's decision to subpoena the top food companies could further damage the industry's image and could make it a scapegoat for the ...
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/magazine/current/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003574759