Reily Foods Co., New Orleans, La, is launching its new ready-to-drink
(RTD) iced tea line in a 16-ounce, pedestal-based, custom PowerFlex
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle from Amcor PET Packaging. The
new design geometry represents a “first” for PowerFlex and is patterned
after the tall graceful columns found in Southern architecture. The
graphics support the positioning by incorporating images of verandas,
white rocking chairs and Spanish moss.
Reily’s
Luzianne brand has long been synonymous in the South with quality food
and beverage products formulated or blended with southern taste
preferences in mind. Its heritage tea products first entered the
market in 1932 and have been recently available in both retail (bags)
and institutional channels (filter bags, loose tea and concentrate).
Further, Southern iced tea is known for its sweetness—another reason why regional marketing comes into play.
Having
made the decision to go forward with RTD formulations, the next
question was what container type should be used to bring the line
extension to market. Initially, Reily asked its creative agency
Interbrand, New York City, to develop some sketches. At that time, the
company was thinking of launching in a glass bottle.
Reily handed
over the glass sketches to Amcor and challenged them to duplicate as
many of the design elements as possible in PET.
With Reily Foods
determined to have a custom bottle that spoke to the uniqueness of its
brand and its Southern heritage, Amcor went to work.
Amcor’s
PowerFlex bottle technology relies on a revolutionary patented
panel-less design which takes hot-fill (185° degrees Fahrenheit) bottle
options to a new level. Amcor’s structural design not only eliminates
the panels, but unlike competitive containers, PowerFlex has a large,
completely smooth label panel – free of any kind of ribbing.
Amcor’s
technical staff, through a combination of design and manufacturing
innovations, has created a patented bottle that absorbs vacuum via a
specially designed base. A unique diaphragm within the base draws
upward as the liquid cools. It has the geometric characteristics to
enable the inverted cone-shaped diaphragm to deflect upward as the
vacuum is created.
Unlike conventional hot-fill PET
alternatives, PowerFlex bottles do not have sidewall vacuum panels,
making them easier to label. Packers don’t have to worry about
mislabeling—missing the vertical bars in applying labels. Nor do they
have to deal with the ripple effect labeling over panels can cause.
The
location of the rib not only prevents ovalization during cooling, but
it also keeps the entire label panel smooth—a desired characteristic so
that the label can be used as an attractive brand billboard. The
bottle also is blown with a UV additive to help extend shelf-life.
Further,
the four-color process label graphics, also designed by Interbrand,
stop at the bottom rib. However, the polyvinyl chloride shrink sleeve
label itself, supplied by Constantia Colmar, Inc., Colmar, Pa.,
continues transparently to the bottom of the base. The reason for this
is two-fold—it facilitates the application of the shrink label and it
gives the consumer the opportunity to look into the bottom of the
bottle to see that the tea is sediment free.
Luzianne RTD is
currently being launched in five flavors— Sweet Tea, Diet Peach, Lemon,
Green Tea with Mint and Raspberry. Initially, it is being distributed
to retail outlets in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and North and South
Carolina, with a wider distribution in additional southern states in
early 2009. The line will be sold in individual bottles and in
four-packs. It is contract packaged at Southern Classic Foods,
Brundidge, Ala.
Amcor PET Packaging Melbourne, Australia
Reily Foods Co.
New Orleans, La.
