Pour and store

PepsiCo’s Tropicana brand now is offering its flagship premium orange juice product in a family-sized pitcher. The 89-ounce clear-handled package made of lightweight PET plastic is completely recyclable, the company says. Tropicana says the bottle is easy to grip due to the sturdy handle, and easy to pour, thanks to the flip-top lid. The see-through design also offers an at-a-glance view of how much juice is left in the bottle.

A chilling transformation

Bacardi partnered with Spear to develop an interactive label for Bacardi’s new Wolf Berry and Black Razz rum flavors. The labels have thermochromic inks that change color to reveal wolf claw marks on the Wolf Berry label and flames on the Black Razz label when chilled. Spear’s use of various colors of rotary screen, hot stamp, flexographic printing, and first-rate inks and label materials make this animated label possible, Spear says. The bold graphics pair well with the adventurous flavors, and the innovative indicators help consumers know when the product is ready to be served, it adds.

Business is growing

Zico Pure Premium Coconut Water introduced its top-selling Chocolate flavor in a new 1-liter package, the company said. Growing from its popular 14-ounce bottles, consumers now get twice the amount of coconut water in each package. The packages are available at key national retailers and amazon.com.  

‘Striking’ design

Flow Design collaborated with ultra-premium vodka Fou-Dré, which means lightning in French, to create an eye-catching bottle design. Made from 100 percent recycled extra-white flint glass that is dyed purple, Fou-Dré has a “striking” appearance due to its height and lightning-bolt shape, the company says. Dyed and labeled with 100 percent organic ink that does not contain heavy metals, the Fou-Dré decanter is eco-friendly. Founded by entrepreneur Chanel Turner, Fou-Dré is an American-made, all-natural, fruit-infused, ultra-premium vodka that can be mixed or enjoyed on its own.

Dual-compartment supplement

Rebootizer introduced its all-natural Swiss-formulated wellness booster in the United States in a patented Mix System technology packet. The dual-compartment Mix System package is designed to protect the potency of the active ingredients, including seven fruit and plant extracts that provide rapid absorption in the body, according to the company. The dual-compartment design keeps the active ingredients separated from the reverse-osmosis purified water to prevent oxidation of the antioxidants, enzyme systems and other active nutrients. The two compartments are combined by gently squeezing to break the inner seal and then shaking, which dissolves the powder in the liquid for consumption, the company says.

Going retro

Narragansett Beer released two limited-edition cans this summer to create nostalgia for simpler times. The company re-released the 1970s edition of its 12-ounce lager can, which was made famous by its 1975 movie debut in “Jaws.” The cans are available for the rest of the year throughout New England wherever 18-packs are sold. To celebrate the summer season, the company also released a baseball-themed can for its 16-ounce Tallboy packages. This design celebrates the company’s heritage as the first-ever beer brand to sponsor a professional sports team through its partnership beginning in 1944 with the Boston Braves and later with the Boston Red Sox, the company says. 

Organic practice

Lebensbaum, a German producer of organic tea, coffee and herbs, selected Innovia Films’ compostable cellulose-based material, NatureFlex NVR, as a packaging material for its organic teas. The wood-based material can break down in a compost bin in just a few weeks, and it offers packing advantages, such as inherent dead fold and anti-static properties, high gloss and transparency, resistance to grease and oil, a good barrier to gases, aromas and mineral oils, and a wide heat-seal range, the company says. NatureFlex is ideally suited to box overwrap and individual flow wrap applications, according to Innovia Films. Lebensbaum said the environmentally conscious packaging fits well with the company’s organic mission.

Aluminum honors

Oskar Blues Brewery expanded the availability of its home-brewed root beer from its restaurants by bottling it in Alumi-Tek bottles from Ball Corp. The bottled root beer was named after Brian Stiff, a part of the local Lyons, Colo., bicycle scene and father of two who recently and unexpectedly passed away. Founder of Oskar Blues Dale Katechis named the packaged variety B. Stiff & Sons Old Fashioned Root Beer as a tribute to his friend and to help Stiff’s wife, the company says. A portion of the proceeds from each bottle of root beer sold will be donated to the Stiff family, it notes. In addition, Ball Corp. received the Grand Award and Best of Category Award for Two-Piece Cans from the International Metal Decorator Association (IMDA) for Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale in 12-ounce cans. The cans use Ball’s Eyeris printing technique to reproduce Sierra Nevada’s mountain vista image. The IMDA also honored Ball’s 16-ounce New Belgium Brewing Fat Tire Amber Ale can with its Award for Excellence for Two-Piece Cans. The 16-ounce Fat Tire cans also use Eyeris to showcase the brewery’s bicycle icon.

Under ‘pressure’

Label producer Spear highlighted the use of its pressure-sensitive labels by several craft and regional brewers. Cold Spring Brewing Co. converted its production to pressure-sensitive labeling in 2001 and notes the advantages of improved line efficiency and flexibility, minimal change part requirements, elimination of glue preparation and clean-up, and additional material options, including white or metalized paper substrates and white, clear and metalized film, the company says. Lift Bridge Brewing Co. also changed to pressure-sensitive labels, which provided the brewery with the ability to change its label sizes twice without any change part implications, Spear says. It also notes that the labels retain their look regardless of how long they have been in an ice chest or cooler. In order to keep up with its growing SKU portfolio, Brau Brothers invested in a new pressure-sensitive labeler, Spear notes.

Addition of cans

Real Ale Brewing Co. added 12-ounce cans to its package options starting with its Firemans No. 4 Blonde Ale. The brewery plans to can more of its beers in the near future. It chose the packaging because cans are portable, recyclable and keep beer cold and fresh, according to the company. Firemans No. 4 Blonde Ale is available in Texas.

Bottles for the brave

Glass container manufacturer Owens-Illinois donated a supply of beer bottles to Operation Homefront to support wounded U.S. service members and their families. Teaming up with its distributor partner, The Bottle Shop, the duo donated 40,000 glass bottles to the cause, which were used to package a special Homefront IPA single-batch brew produced by Saint Arnold Brewing Co., a Texas-based craft brewer. 

Upscale alterations

Chilean winery Lapostolle introduced new labels for its Casa wines that aim to reflect the product’s premium nature. For instance, the labels now include the words “Grand Selection” to emphasize the strict selection process used for the grapes in the wines, the company says. The structure of the labels also changed to include a half-moon shape at the top featuring the brand name. This change makes the Casa wine labels more consistent with the entire Lapostolle portfolio and gives the bottles a modern and elegant appearance, it adds.

Highlighting heritage

 Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine redesigned its packaging to highlight its all-natural spiced flavors and call out cocktail recipes. The graphics and product story were updated on the bottles, and hangtags were added with six classic cocktail recipes. These changes were made to attract consumers interested in spiced spirits and mixology, it says.