Niche marketers are introducing a variety of new beverages in part because of a supply chain that supports their needs. One of them, MD Drinks, Santa Monica, CA, has introduced Urban Detox, a science-based, all-natural functional beverage marketed as a remedy for hangovers in stores on the West Coast and in the Southwest. Urban Detox is a subbrand under the Function umbrella.

“Hangover remedies are a specific need and lend themselves nicely to word-of-mouth marketing,” says Dr. Alex Hughes, an MD Drinks Co-Founder. “Because our drinks are cutting-edge, we also wanted the bottle to symbolize that.”

H.A. Rider & Sons, a contract packager, introduced MD Drinks to Amcor PET Packaging’s PowerFlex line of panel-less, ribless, hot-fill PET bottles. Urban Detox uses a 16.9-oz domed-shoulder bottle design.

Historically, sidewall panels have been necessary in hot-filled beverage bottles to absorb the distortion that occurs as the liquid cools to room temperature. The PowerFlex bottle absorbs this internal “vacuum” through a proprietary
base rather than through the sidewalls.

A specially designed diaphragm within the base draws upward as the liquid cools inside the bottle. Its geometric characteristics enable the inverted, cone-shaped diaphragm to deflect upward as the vacuum is created.

The technologies used in the bottle base enable the sidewalls to be panel-less and ribless, providing more design options. The sidewall’s smooth surface gives the package a better marketing “billboard” and labels that don’t crinkle.