Woodman Hill is part of JV Barrett Company Ltd of Bristol and is the UK’s leading manufacturer of lamp oils. Following the successful launch of its new Citrolite™ citronella lamp oil in a one litre yellow tinted bottle, the Company wanted to develop the range with the addition of a two litre size.

“Strangely enough, despite its name and its aroma, citronella is a clear product,” explains Woodman Hill’s Sales Director, Mike Abbott. “The yellow colouring helps to increase on-shelf impact and we initially even considered tinting the product to achieve the desired effect. However, the supplier of our one litre PET bottle was able to produce a yellow tint and the challenge was therefore on to find a second supplier who could do the same for a two litre size.”

As another key requirement for the two litre pack was a handle for maximum consumer convenience and ease of use, this necessitated choosing an alternative material to PET. Coincidentally sister company Barrettine had just launched its White Spirit in a new two litre PVC container from RPC Raunds, so Woodman Hill approached RPC to see if the Company could produce the same pack with a yellow tint to match the look of its one litre bottle.

RPC Raunds carried out a series of experiments with different suppliers in order to achieve the desired result. “The trick was to create a translucent finish rather than a solid colour,” explains Materials and Planning Manager Terry Crouch. The company will not give out exact details of how this was achieved. “Let’s just say we threw away the rule book as regards pigments!” says Mr Crouch.

David Baker, RPC Raunds General Sales Manager, believes this breakthrough offers a new packaging dimension to many everyday products. “We can achieve a similar tint effect in a wide variety of colours. This means we can offer a cost-effective means of creating a premium image, on-shelf impact and brand differentiation for many volume products or commodity items, which previously could not justify the higher costs of bespoke packaging or decoration.”

Certainly Woodman Hill is delighted with the results of its collaboration with RPC Raunds. “We have been able to use a proven container, with its attractive design, wide area for labelling and easy handling features, and adapt it for our specific purpose with this very effective tinted finish,” says Mike Abbott.

“The success of the product indicates the impact the new packaging has had.”