A number of "attitude" beverages have been entering the market lately, and a new one demonstrates the power of the bottle and label working together. Melbourne, Australia-based Hazardous Fluids Pty. Ltd. is rolling out Sportsdrink + Bodily Fluids in the U.S. as an isotonic supplement drink designed for athletes participating in motor and power sports.

"If you've ever searched a cluttered cabinet for one elusive spice and felt as if you are conducting an archeological dig, then you're ready for 'spice enlightenment,'" say Katie Luber and Sara Engram, self-proclaimed "cardaMoms" and Founders of TSP Spices Inc., Atlanta, GA.

A closer look at the newest trends in today's packaging.

If you want to operate at the forefront of sustainable packaging, the Greener By Design conference will offer you the strategies, tools, and markets to get there. The conference, hosted by Global Executive Companies, will be June 12-13, 2008, at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, Alexandria, VA.

New packages coming on the market demonstrate that the move toward incorporating sustainability goals is accelerating. Kraft Foods is one company working to reduce the environmental impact of its packaging materials.

Too many packages fail to adequately clarify what the product inside does and, by association, declare a price-value relationship that helps consumers confidently purchase the right product.

With color one obtains an energy that seems to stem from witchcraft.

—Henri Matisse

The package:

E Powered by Energetix Drink (marketed in Germany)
Summary: Producer: Energetix. Contents: 250-mL; size: 1750 mm high, 750 mm wide; material: glass; package style: bottle with stand made of metal; price: 43 Euro.
Description: The decorative frog contains two magnets.

How much weight does the sustainability factor carry with consumers?

It’s all about stewardship, life, and energy, and it’s playing out in the beauty and health and wellness categories.

When a brand favored by professionals goes mainstream, communication challenges with the new audience can be considerable. The products are usually of premium quality, with a corresponding price point. The right packaging is essential in introducing the brand to mainstream consumers.

Editor's note: With this issue, we welcome Robert Croft, a design industry veteran with a gift for seeing "what could be," and the ability to translate those ideas into workable, visual packaging concepts. His What if... columns will publish periodically in Shelf Impact!'s e-newsletter and in printed inserts of Shelf Impact! in Packaging World magazine.

In Germany, design's distinctive appeal on a glass bottle has given Bonn-based "true fruits" fruit juices a 72% market share among fruit smoothie drinks sold at gas station convenience stores.

The 250-mL bottles are marked by printed lines that act as visual indicators of the percentage of individual fruit portions contained within. The design emphasizes the clarity of the glass.

"The bottle is an important part of the product," says Marco Knauf, General Manager of true fruits. "It underlines the quality of the content and stands out strongly from the packaging monotony on the store shelves."

O-I designed and developed the flint glass bottle, which uses Applied Ceramic Labeling decoration for the ingredient amount lines and graphics. It's topped by a twist-off metal closure.

Suggested retail price is about $3.50 to $4.25.

The Global Package Gallery wants your package designs!

White-coated aluminum cans provide the canvas for labels with glitzy graffiti graphics that introduce AriZona Beverages' All City NRG green-tea-based, pomegranate-juice-flavored energy drinks.

When LypSyl, a 100-year-old Swedish lip-balm brand, debuted in the U.S., Lornamead Inc. tweaked product formulations and rolled out enticing and functional packaging.

Packages that intuitively inform consumers about the products they contain have an edge in boosting brand sales. A key tactic these packages share is the ability to focus on a single message.

If your objective is shelf distinction in your category, do what competing brands don't.

What is the role of product packaging, given the fast-changing face of retailing and consumer demand now?