Soul Critic, a flavored malt beverage, is quenching thirsts throughout Mexico with a twist in beverage packaging. A distinctive triple label maximizes visual appeal in convenience stores throughout the country.

Last month, Shelf Impact! also asked readers this question: “As mass-media audiences become more fragmented, what unexplored opportunities do you see for packaging the brands you work on?” Here are some of your responses.

In Spain and France, Heinz UK adds a twist in single-serve soup packaging with barrier plastic cups whose ribbed side panels help the container resist deformation during thermal processing of the packaged soup, and provide insulation.

The cup structure is designed to tolerate thermal processing/commercial sterilization temperatures (about 248 degrees F retort conditions) that render the soups shelf-stable and provide about 12 months of shelf life. The retortable, microwaveable, easy-open cups are developed by EDV Packaging.

Kimberly-Clark de Mexico says its new 50-unit “cup of tissues” is selling in stores at a price nearly 40% higher than what a consumer pays for a conventional 50-unit carton of tissues.

The new package is a paperboard convolute wound canister from Sonoco. A seamed-on steel bottom and a friction-fit thermoformed polystyrene overcap also make this package a head-turner. Graphics are delivered on a paper label printed offset in six colors. A slit in the center of the lid provides the dispensing mechanism.

The container’s 1.8 x 6.7 size adds in the portability benefit.

The nature of “convenience” is changing; in the consumer’s mind, “quick and easy” is no longer enough, and the challenges that brings for convenience products will also have ramifications in packaging.

That is the conclusion of a new study from Information Resources Inc. (IRI). The market research firm pointed to an underlying shift in demographics as one principal driver of the trend.

The market for convenience products remains strong, IRI says. The challenge is for brand managers and retailers across all categories to identify how their target consumers’ needs are changing and what additional benefits beyond convenience have become requirements as a condition of purchase.

On-the-go, and easy-to-use packaging has become prevalent over the last five years in snacks and, more recently, ready-to-serve meals that also carry a message of “better-for-you.” Personal care may be the next big arena for convenience packaging as more time-pressed consumers engage in on-the-go grooming, the report concludes.

While “good for you” claims dominate marketing strategies in cold cereal, some marketers are also focusing on another consumer demand: better package convenience and portability. The new packaging is responding to consumer desires for a quick breakfast fix, but it is also taking some cold-cereal brands into the realm of an anywhere snack.

A new report from Mintel’s Global New Products Database cites two examples.

• In Germany, Kellogg has launched Kellogg’s Choco Krispies Complete Cereal, Milk & Spoon. The paperboard carton holds a tub of cereal, a carton of milk and a spoon.

• In Australia, Sunripe Foods has rolled out Breakfast Buddy, a clamshell kit containing separate cartons of cereal and milk, a sachet holding a towlette, and a flexible package holding a hand-held snack.

In the cold-cereal category, Mintel forecasts a sharp increase in the number of products and packaging touting the presence of whole grains, especially in North America. Mintel also predicts more imaginative and original convenient packaging.

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.