In This Issue

Global Package Gallery: a designer's review It's loaded with a wide range of great packaging images from around the world that are broken out into different product categories.

Field Guide makes sense of sustainable packaging Included are case histories and interviews with leading corporations that have adopted environmental stewardship programs.

Packaging Gallery

South African, French vitners shake things up

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The once stodgy wine industry is currently awash in packaging innovation. Few of these novel packs are more unusual than the 2-L stand-up pouch shown here with a handle up top and dispensing spigot at the bottom. Shelf Impact! spotted it in South Africa's Packaging and Print Media, and the publication was kind enough to "share" it with us.

By Patrick Reynolds Editor, Packaging World

Saflite Packaging of South Africa, a division of Astrapak Flexibles, developed the pack in concert with its first commercial user, The Company of Wine People. That South African firm packs Versus Unplugged—white, red, and rosé—in the 2-L pouch and markets it at supermarkets in South Africa. The winery has exclusive rights to the pouch for six months.

The benefits? The reverse-printed, clear polyester pouch is easy to open and pour, cools quickly, is lightweight, reseals easily, and keeps wine fresh for a month after opening.

Sustainability is also a driver. The winery claims that, compared with two 750-mL glass bottles, a single pouch's carbon footprint is 80% smaller and represents 90% less waste in a landfill.

In France, the Boisset Vins & Spiritueax winery's latest innovation is its launch of Yellow Jersey, a line of fine wines in a 750-mL lightweight PET bottle, from MPI Packaging and Constar International.

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Like Boisset's French Rabbit in a 1-L Tetra Pak container, the development of Yellow Jersey was driven to a large extent by environmental concerns. Both French Rabbit and Yellow Jersey appeared first in the stores run by Canada's Liquor Control Board of Ontario. That organization views glass alternatives such as Tetra Pak, PET, and aluminum containers as highly desirable, from an environmental standpoint, compared with glass. These glass alternatives, the board says, "reduce package weight by more than 90% compared with glass bottles. Due to their lightweight format, they also reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions during transport." Only 4% by weight of what consumers bring home is packaging versus about 40% for bottled wine.

The paper/foil/polymer lamination for Boisset's French Rabbit was launched using the promotional tag line "One smart rabbit. Savour the wine. Save the planet."

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Boisset's next "first" in the world of wine will be an aluminum container. "Beaujolais and Macon Villages are best served chilled to about 44° F," according to company marketing materials. "So why not provide those wines to the consumer or the restaurant owner in the container that is best for chilling quickly and staying chilled longer?"

One intriguing feature on the aluminum bottle is what Boisset calls the Chill Dot. "At 44° F, the proper temperature for serving a Macon Villages or a Beaujolais, the dot turns from white to blue," the company says. "It tells the consumer when the wine is properly chilled."

Global Package Gallery: a designer's review

Editor's note: Global Package Gallery is a brand new Web site developed by Shelf Impact! The growing gallery currently contains more than 4,200 high-resolution package images from 37 countries, arranged by product category. Early subscribers include Unilever, Avon, Whole Foods, and a number of package design firms. But rather than us tell you about the gallery, we asked a real designer to review it. Here's what Kevin Saladyga had to say.

I encourage you to look at the Global Package Gallery. It's loaded with a wide range of great packaging images from around the world that are broken out into different product categories. A really neat feature is the ability to see each photo in up to three resolutions, allowing you to really view the smallest package details with a great deal of clarity. You can also download images for presentation purposes, sort of like the popular iStockphoto image gallery, which I absolutely treasure.

One stickler is that in order to view more than five high-resolution images, you must be a paying member, but the $395 annual fee is nominal and well worth the investment. However, the ability to view small thumbnails is available for free to those who opt not to purchase a membership, but membership is a good idea.

Coming from a well-rounded design background, with an emphasis in package design, I really think the Global Package Gallery is onto something, not to mention that I could not find anything else of this caliber online.

The most amazing part about the Global Package Gallery is the international exposure that is being offered at our fingertips. The ability to view global design trends is, at least in my opinion, a powerful resource to be able to tap into with the simple click of a button. Industry awareness, both domestically and internationally, is a must-have to remain a competitive and competent designer.

Kevin Saladyga is the founder of the Point of Purchase Online Network and is also the creative director at a packaging and display company.

Field Guide makes sense of sustainable packaging

A new book breaks through the clutter to offer practical strategies, tactics, and resources to jump-start your sustainable packaging program. Included are case histories and interviews with leading corporations that have adopted environmental stewardship programs.

In the Field Guide to Sustainable Packaging, author Steve Sterling explores the origins and definition of sustainability and offers actionable strategies, inspirational success stories, and essential resources for your company to begin or continue the journey toward sustainability. Inside this 80-page resource you'll find:

• interviews with high-level professionals who have successfully realigned their corporate goals to integrate sustainability.
• practical case histories offering real-world models.
• timely insights into the Wal-Mart Scorecard.
• a wealth of resources to use as you develop or improve your company's environmental stewardship strategy.