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Stick Packaging gives old favorites new life
Marketers have long talked about the popularity of products in terms of their life cycle. However, some products keep a healthy share of their market well into their ‘golden’ years. Some, including many of America’s favorites, even get a second life, especially in the beverage category. The reason is not because of a “new and improved” formulation, nor due to an international or ethnic market push. The reinvention of late has been new packaging.
“There’s an old adage in the marketing world that packaging makes the product,” says Neil Kozarsky, president of Technical Help in Engineering and Marketing (T.H.E.M.), a leading US-based provider of small and medium-volume flexible stick packaging. According to Kozarsky, “a corollary of that adage is that repackaging can revitalize and reinvent a product, effectively giving it a second life.”
Kozarsky should know. His company is leading the packaging industry movement in the area of single-serving stick packaging, and the companies that have used T.H.E.M. to repackage their mature brands are some of the biggest names in packaged goods.
“We’re the ones working with virtually all of the major products you are seeing on retailer shelves,” says Kozarsky. “And the brands we’ve helped revitalize are some of American’s favorites.”
“A major component of what we do is tied to our relationship with Power Packaging, an Exel Company,” says Kozarsky. “T.H.E.M. can support the development of the product into the stick pack, and execute the launch. We work closely with Power to take the stick projects forward when volumes become really large.”
The list of long-time American favorites now enjoying revitalization thanks to the single-serve stick packaging offered by T.H.E.M. is extensive and includes a full range of products from brand leaders in segments ranging from coffee to baby formula. Imagine the ease of not having to travel with less convenient infant bottles or bulky canisters of dry baby formula, and instead just carrying a slim flexible stick pack that can be easily mixed with water.
Founded in 1973, T.H.E.M. has served as the overseas gateway for North American companies to bring in innovative packaging solutions from around the world. The Marlton, New Jersey-based company monitors global packaging trends, identifies innovative technologies, then adapts them to the needs of American marketers and manufacturing culture.
“In the area of convenience, the American consumer has always set the pace for the rest of the world,” explains Kozarsky, “however, many packaging innovations come from overseas. Our specialty is identifying them, refining them and adapting them to American operating requirements.”
The stick packaging phenomenon is the latest Japanese import credited to T.H.E.M. However, the demand for flexible stick packaging has not taken place in a vacuum. Another phenomenon has given enormous traction to the trend toward single-serving stick packaging.
