If you want to sharpen the techniques that prove the value of your package design through market research, plan to attend the 8th annual “Proof: Market Research & Development For Package Design” conference. The event will be from Sept. 25-27, 2006, at the Drake Hotel in Chicago.

Last month, Shelf Impact! also asked readers this question: “From a creative perspective, what is the reason, most often, that new packaging initiatives fail?” Here are some of the most thoughtful answers we received:

One challenge with “case-ready” food products is preventing leaks. Sea Star Seafood Corp., Marlborough, MA, believes it has come up with an answer in seafood with heat-sealed, film-covered trays, similar to packaging found in case-ready poultry.

Star markets the 20 varieties in its line of seafood products either with no coatings or with home-style coatings. Each package contains 12 oz of product and is stocked either in the freezer case or the refrigerator at grocers and club stores. Packages of frozen products are vacuum-sealed and trays of refrigerated seafood are sealed with a clear-film overwrap.

“We haven’t done testing yet on the effect on shelf life, but we have seen, informally, that it seems to extend the shelf life,” says Stuart Strong, Vice President of Marketing. “But officially, we’re still saying it’s a five-day shelf life.”

The leakproof packages work with the “home-style” product message to support perceptions of a gourmet brand.

Sea Star packages also rise a step above many case-ready packaged products by leveraging the label as a branding device. The label contains a redesigned logo and minimal text, and its triangular shape guides the eye to the product itself. Nutritional and other regulatory information appear on the back-panel label.

Sea Star markets the line under its own Beacon Light line in grocery stores and under private label brand names in club stores.

Sara Lee says new packaging graphics signaling attributes such as “fresh” and “clean” have boosted market share and sales of its Ty-D-Bol toilet cleaner.

Responding to a wave a competitors sporting more contemporary packaging with fresh brand promises, Sara Lee has leveraged the efficacy of the brand’s iconic “Ty-D-Bol Man” in the brand’s new packaging. Hanson Associates developed a design that translates across the brand’s range of products.

An illustration of the Ty-D-Bol Man anchors the packaging communications. The character’s icon is prominently incorporated into a new brand logo.

In the facial tissue wars, packaging is increasingly emphasizing convenience with a focus on the car. According to Mintel’s Global New Products Database, which has identified this trend, a new round of convenience packaging either enables the driver to grab a tissue more easily or the packaging is slimmer and more discreet in size to fit into a car cup-holder. A new focus of attention with convenience-size packaging is the storage well in the car door.

The following packages reflect this trend:

• In Canada, Irving Tissue markets tissue under the Royale brand that comes packaged in a plastic, cup-holder-friendly container. The container’s snap-off lid provides the convenience of refills. The container’s 50 two-ply tissues dispense through a hole in the lid. The container carries a suggested U.S. retail price of $1.45.

On packages of Kraft Foods’ Chewy Chips Ahoy! soft chocolate chip cookies, graphics signal the convenience of operating Kraft’s Snack ’n Seal resealable packaging. A large portion of the pack’s top may be peeled open to withdraw cookies, then resealed for freshness and on-the-go convenience.

Jeanine Maresca, Chips Ahoy! Brand Manager, says AC Nielsen in-home research determined that consumers want more convenient snack packages. The Chewy Chips Ahoy! package responds to this desire with 15-oz packs with a suggested retail price of $3.99.

How can a regional brand of honey spread gain national distribution? Position it as a healthful and less-fattening alternative to butter and cream cheese.

That’s what Mel-O Honey Inc., Cannon Falls, MN, has done. It restaged its Mel-O-Crème brand of honey spread by altering the package size and materials, and expanding the package’s available color palette to intensify taste appeal.

“We needed a new brand identity that would not only resonate in today’s market place, but also introduce new peach and raspberry SKUs,” says Curt Riess, Mel-O Honey CEO. “We needed a label that would tell consumers exactly what the product is and why they should buy it.”

Studio One Eleven designed the look of the 7-oz polypropylene tub. The container matches the size of competing low-fat/cholesterol-substitute products and places the honey spread in store coolers. The new design also:

Domino Foods Inc. found out just how much more consumers are willing to pay for convenience packaging. The Yonkers, NY, marketer had added an HDPE canister to its line of sugar packaging that costs 10 times more than bags in the category.

Since Domino introduced the canister in February, Midwest consumers have been paying up to 70 cents more for 4 lb of sugar in the canister than they would pay for 4 lb of sugar in a paper bag. In the Northeast, consumers pay about as much for the 4-lb canister as for the 5-lb bag.

After a long design incubation, Pepsi-Cola relaunched its Mug brand of root beer with a new label designed to appeal to both teen boys and their mothers who buy soft drinks for them.

The result? A 3% increase in sales of the brand.

The old packaging design centered on an illustration of a drink mug with foam running over the top. Pepsi marketers, however, identified a mid-teens boy as the target for Mug root beer.

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.

The best packages consider needs throughout the value chain, and Pittsburgh Brewing Co.’s “Rack Pack” is a recent example of another package that succeeds. An innovative plastic-ring carrier allows a dozen 12-oz beverage cans to be joined together by one ring in a 2x6 configuration.

The ring, from ITW Hi-Cone, is made of a proprietary blend that includes low-density polyethylene. Previously, carrier rings held six cans in a 2x3 arrangement.