Brand Management - Design

With all the visual noise customers face as they shop, a package must be distinctive, eye-catching, and, nowadays, useful to the customer beyond holding the goods purchased. Printers play an important role.

Innovative packaging implementations from Coca-Cola, TUMS, Marabou Chocolate, Anthem Worldwide and MeadWestvaco.

Several recent trends identified by Anthem Worldwide, including simplicity, sustainability, globalization, rebirth and showcasing, will continue to impact the design environment well into this decade, says Michael Coleman, managing director.

The process involved with designing a package does not have to be a complex venture. Three players that positively or negatively impact this process are the brand manager, the design firm contracted to design the package, and the package printer. There is a lot on the line when designing a package—not the least of which is the ultimate success of the brand.

The current economic downturn has many consumers rethinking their spending habits, leading consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and private label manufacturers to reconsider their marketing strategies, including their approaches to packaging.

Beverage labeling is hot, or maybe cold, but either way it represents one of the real dynamic segments in package printing. If a labeling method or configuration exists, you’ll find it on a beverage container somewhere. Whether it’s pressure-sensitive, shrink-wrap, cut-and-stack, wraparound, glue-applied, thermal, or even the package itself in the form of a pouch, you’ll find it being used to help sell a liquid refreshment of some type. What makes beverage labeling so robust? Nick Van Alstine, president of Macaran Printed Products says the reason is simple. “Beverages are really high-profile. They’re a part of our everyday life, and visible pretty much

CINCINNATI, Ohio—Ampac Flexibles, a unit of Ampac Packaging, LLC, is launching PureFlex, a new clear stand-up pouch structure for water and other taste- and odor-sensitive beverages. The technological breakthrough brings a new packaging alternative to the growing beverage sector. Traditionally, water has been one of the most challenging beverages to package because of its odorless and tasteless qualities. With the trend toward market-differentiating packaging, developing structures that do not add undesirable odor and taste characteristics to organoleptically-sensitive beverages has become critical. The latest offering from Ampac Flexibles is a seven- to nine-layer proprietary coextrusion featuring an organoleptic sealant layer, nylon, and an optional ethylene vinyl alcohol

CINCINNATI, Ohio—The launch of Ajinomoto USA’s Amino Vital Jel marks the first time a reclosable pouch is being used to market a nutritional, energy, and recovery enhancing gel product in the United States. Ampac Flexibles, a unit of Ampac Packaging, LLC, designed a custom 140-ml (4.73 fl. oz.) QuadPAK side-gusset, stand-up pouch that features a resealable closure. The pouch’s structural advantages give athletes and other users more consumption flexibility than previously available in this product category. “The packaging had to reflect the uniqueness of our Jel and had to appeal to all healthy and active people, not just endurance athletes. We also wanted a

Every day, people walk the aisles of stores. No matter what they are looking for, somewhere during their shopping trips metallic glimmers are likely to catch their attention. Thousands of products sit on store shelves, but the ones that are likely to stand out the most in the competitive world of packaging are those adorned with foil. To achieve such an alluring look, package printers must make effective use of the hot foil stamping process. What glimmers is gold Brand owners know that adding hot foil stamping to packaging will elicit a second glance from consumers. “The primary reason to use expensive, shiny materials

Specialty inks come in many forms and can provide added value in many different ways for consumer products companies. A partial list of inks falling into this category includes phosphorescent, fluorescent, thermochromic, optical variable, magnetic, and metallic. Theses inks can be used to simply improve graphic appeal or add an additional sensory experience, provide brand security, or protect the product and/or end users. Bob Lorenz, vice president of business development for Sun Chemical Corporation, is seeing more and more interest from product/packaging designers for what specialty inks can add to the product. He especially sees opportunities for enhanced brand protection in the tobacco, cosmetics, and