The right package structure can help build incremental sales opportunities for a product when brand managers know how consumers use their product and they leverage that knowledge in creating new “touchpoints” with consumers.

WP Beverage Partners LLC does just that in introducing packaging that extends convenience in delivering coffee through additional usage occasions. A hot cup of coffee for the busy consumer has been available only near a point of delivery such as a C-store. What about occasions when the consumer might be stuck in expressway traffic or is sitting in a classroom? They might purchase beverages in packaging that provides “portability on demand” when they want to consume the product.

WP Beverage Partners extends convenience to this consumer segment with a self-heating container for its Wolfgang Puck brand. The coffee, packaged in a container from OnTech Delaware Inc., appears in Kroger stores nationally.

The high-barrier, shelf-stable container holds 10 oz of coffee. Through a natural reaction between calcium oxide and water inside the container, the product heats to 145 degrees Fahrenheit in 6 to 8 minutes.

“Convenience and on-demand are huge,” says Bob Groux, the WP Beverage Partners Chief Executive.

The cup-holder-friendly container consists of a six-layer, blow-molded polypropylene cup and cone. These components include two layers of polypropylene, two tie layers, an EVOH barrier and a regrind layer. The package’s third component is a polypropylene actuating “puck.” Sonoco supplies these components. Lakeside Foods processes the container.

Heating starts by removing the tamper-evident end at the bottom of the package and then depressing the exposed button.

A Plasti-Shield shrink label, from American Fuji Seal, keeps the exterior of the container cool to the touch.