Brand Packaging articles from May 2007

Brand Packaging archives from May 2007

How are we doing?
May 1, 2007... A year ago, we launched our first brandinnovators issue with recognition that, each month, we focus on the strategy, development and trends that contribute to some of the most innovative packaging in the marketplace. Works out pretty well. But...

2007 Brand innovators.
May 1, 2007... Last year's inaugural brandinnovators issue was such a success that we wondered how we might top it. But, given that the "packaging-as-strategy" mindset seems to have broken into the consumer goods sector in a big way, we had little...

A breakout success: shunning a me-too strategy, Publix has made its brand its own.(BRAND INNOVATORS 07)
May 1, 2007... Tim Cox knows how to recognize a trend. And, more importantly, he knows just when to tap it. In 2001, the director of Publix's in-house creative-services department looked at the growing number of retailers--Gap, Pottery Barn, Williams...

The perfect brew: making a solid brand even more powerful.(BRAND INNOVATORS 07)
May 1, 2007... Packaging has opened a lot of doors for Marjan Falek--both in her personal career and at Heineken, the Dutch brewer that has taken the American beer market by storm. "I am 'born and bred' Heineken," Falek says. The first company she ever...

The great expansion: packaging unlocks growth opportunity at Heinz.(BRAND INNOVATORS 07)(Heinz Corp.)
May 1, 2007... Barbeque season is here and happy picnickers have HJ. Heinz Company to thank for their copious supply of ketchup. Driven by the marketing efforts of Wendy Beitsinger Joyce, consumers these days are foregoing small sizes of ketchup in favor of...

High-style meets high-tech: breakthrough packaging technology delivers aesthetics.(BRAND INNOVATORS 07)
May 1, 2007... When Gary Keider isn't working or spending time with his family, and the weather is fair, he's likely to be found on the golf course. With 20 years in marketing at Kimberly-Clark Corp. and a lifetime on the links, he says he sees "an...

Scaling the heights: brand strategy changes the way people drink water.(BRAND INNOVATORS 07)
May 1, 2007... Many creative streams feed Caroline Kibler's imagination. A self-professed foodie and design-magazine junkie, Kibler draws on a range of style, design and sensory cues in her work as brand manager at Evian North America, a business unit of...

Less is more: making sustainable packaging top of mind.(BRAND INNOVATORS 07)(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)
May 1, 2007... For Matt Kisler, less is more. As leader of the Packaging Sustainable Value Network learn at Wal-Mart Kistler is championing the corporate mission to reduce overall packaging by live percent, measuring its 60,000 suppliers on their ability to...

Finding balance in brand: getting back to earth with simple, honest packaging.(BRAND INNOVATORS 07)
May 1, 2007... Something interesting happens when you talk to Bevan Bloemendaal and Theresa Palermo, two of the minds behind footwear manufacturer Timberland's "green" packaging initiative that launched in 2006. Unprompted, they each start to use words and...

Distinctively different: harnessing the power of iconic design.(BRAND INNOVATORS 07)(entrepreneur Laurice Rahme talks about package design for perfume industry )
May 1, 2007... Laurice Rahme is many things: an entrepreneur, a successful beauty executive, a world traveler. She has enthusiastically taken on leadership roles at major beauty brands, increasing sales in territories worldwide. She has also established niche...

Extending convenience with a premium look.(BRAND NEW)
May 1, 2007... Consumers depend on convenience products to keep their busy lives on-track and to keep themselves and their offspring neat and clean. And, beginning this spring, they have a bevy of new options to consider. That's when health and...

Extreme makeover: safeway builds consumer brands: before: more than 70 store brands with competing visions and minimal shelf impact. after: a successful team of 10 mega-brands.
May 1, 2007... Safeway's business strategy over the past few years can be compared to an internal construction zone. Walls were blown out, new supports put in place, a complete redesign of the architecture tackled--all with the foundation maintained and...

Effective research for structural packaging innovation: the myths and realities of consumer research.(GETTING IT RIGHT)
May 1, 2007... In today's "consumer-is-king" age, packaging designers and engineers are partnering with insights professionals to identify and deliver actionable solutions against unmet consumer needs. Their ultimate goal? To delight the end user in form,...

Chocolate now, and later.(MARKET-DRIVEN INNOVATIONS)
May 1, 2007... San Francisco-based Recchiuti Confections has introduced a three-item line of chocolate bars in a custom paperboard sleeve that is recloseable, encouraging consumers to break off a few pieces of chocolate and then tuck the rest back in the...

Healthy breakthrough for kids.(MARKET-DRIVEN INNOVATIONS)(Honest Tea Inc.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Honest Tea has introduced Honest Kids, the nation's first organic kids' drink in a portable pouch. The company created the line in response to the lack of healthy and natural options for kids' drinks, according to Seth Goldman, Honest Tea...

Savings for suave.(MARKET-DRIVEN INNOVATIONS)
May 1, 2007... Suave is standing on the shelf with sleeker, more contemporary packaging developed by 4sight inc. (www.4sightinc.com) that gives Unilever the best of both worlds: more premium packaging to help Suave maintain its lead in the value hair care...

A salute to soccer moms.(MARKET-DRIVEN INNOVATIONS)(Honeywell Consumer Products Group and New York innovation firm enter into partnership)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Car clutter beware. Honeywell Consumer Products Group and New York innovation firm 4Sight (www.4sightinc.com) have teamed up to create Blink, a line of accessories to help moms keep their cars clean and mess-free. The brand, created in response...

Shedding new light on packaging.(MARKET-DRIVEN INNOVATIONS)
May 1, 2007... The eco-friendly design company Knoend (www.knoend.com) has released its first product, lite2go. What appears to be the packaging surrounding this energy-efficient light bulb is actually a shade that can be used to convert the product into a...

Enhancing pet meals.(MARKET-DRIVEN INNOVATIONS)
May 1, 2007... Finicky pups are the target consumers of Chomp Inc.'s Sniffers Shake-Ins, a dry easy-to-use addition to the growing category of pet meal enhancers. The target purchaser, though, is pet owners who want to offer their pets variety (a...

Delightful doggie dining.(UNITED KINGDOM)
May 1, 2007... Communicating convenience and quality was key to the marketing strategy behind leading natural pet food manufacturer Forthglade's Life Stage Menu and Natural Menu for Dogs. The line of freshly prepared foods features high meat content and is...

Simplicity sells.(UNITED KINGDOM)(Nude is a new range of eco-friendly face and body products )(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... From the people behind the UK's leading organic and natural foods retailer (Fresh & Wild), nude is a new range of eco-friendly face and body products inspired by the idea that what we put on our skin is as important as what we put in our...

"Gum ball" boosts consumption.(FRANCE)
May 1, 2007... Cadbury France's Hollywood chewing gum has been launched in an innovative new spherical pack designed to increase consumption. Also marketed as Trident in Spain and Stimorol in Northern Europe, the gum comes in 70-count packages, instead of the...

Painting a softer picture.(IRELAND)(Colortrend)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Colortrend, one of Ireland's leading independent paint brands, has repositioned its line of paint cans and buckets to enhance consumer appeal and present a consistent quality image for the premium paint. Colortrend selected an in-mold-labeled...

Following up on developing trends.(Boisset Vins & Spiriteux of Bourgogne)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Environmental stewardship has been top of mind with consumers for some time, prompting more brands to "go green" with their packaging in response. We most recently reported on this trend in the April 2007 issue of BRANDPACKA61N6 (archives at...