Trinity Springs Chooses Amcor's PowerFlex(TM) Panel-less, Ribless Hot-fill PET Bottle to Launch Organic Flavored Water
Boise, ID - (October 26, 2005) -Trinity Springs introduces the first "certified organic" flavored water in 16-ounce, PowerFlex(TM) polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles from Amcor PET Packaging.
The new product blends naturally pristine waters from Trinity Springs, America's only certified source for natural spring purity, with organic flavors. Trinity Organic contains the essence of each flavor-much like water with a squeeze of lemon-for a milder taste when compared to traditional flavored waters.
PowerFlex(TM) is Amcor's revolutionary patended panel-less design which takes hot-fill (182°-192° degrees Fahrenheit) bottle options to a new level. Amcor's structural design not only eliminates the panels, but unlike recently launched competitive containers, PowerFlex(TM) has a large, completely smooth label panel - free of any kind of ribbing.
PowerFlex(TM) features a proprietary base. Previously, sidewall panels were necessary to absorb the distortion that occurs as a hot-filled beverage cools to room temperature. (After the bottle is capped, the filled liquid cools, which, in turn, pulls an internal vacuum that must be dissipated structurally.)
"Trinity is going through a transition to make optimal use of our Certified Source. Most know us as one of the top three water companies in the natural channel. With the launch of Trinity Organic, we now have the first organic flavored water product to hit the market," Andy Mitchell, president, Trinity Springs, points out.
"The pure, natural taste and properties of Trinity Springs water means that we can add organic essences and nothing else-no sugar, no artificial flavors-and have a fantastic, delicious, healthy beverage," he notes.
Because Trinity prides itself on the purity of its product, it was critical to select a bottle for this "first-ever" launch that would support that image.
"We did not like the non-flat sides [of hot-fillable, PET bottles with panels]. We wanted to use a transparent label and the panels were really distracting. Also, most were only available with either a small or wide-mouth and nothing much in between. Although men tend to like wide-mouth bottles, they can be too large for some women, causing spills," Mitchell says.
Coincidentally, Amcor launched PowerFlex during the time Trinity Springs was researching bottle alternatives.
"We saw the announcement in a trade publication, contacted Amcor and got the ball rolling," Mitchell says.
Trinity quickly settled on one of Amcor's two stock 16-ounce PowerFlex bottles-a long neck with a 38mm finish. (The bottle is topped by a tamper-evident polypropylene Easyseal® closure with FreshSeal(TM) barrier liner material from Owens-Illinois.) This allowed the company to launch quickly without incurring any additional tooling costs. Optional customization features, such as embossed logos or patterns, can be added in the future, if Trinity Springs chooses.
"The bottle is clean, clear and high quality and helps support the 'purity' message. It adds value, but it doesn't distract. It also allows us to use a clear label, [supplied by Inland Printing] which sets the expectation when a consumer sees it on the shelf," Mitchell says.
In addition to the two stock PowerFlex bottles, the panel-less, ribless technology enables premium profiles and is adaptable to many shapes. This gives bottlers the
flexibility to come up with innovative, breakthrough designs that were not previously possible with hot-fill plastic containers.
"Bottles with panels create constraints that dramatically limit design options and therefore a brand owner's ability to use the container to creatively market the product," explains David Andison, vice president, business strategies, Amcor PET Packaging.
Up until now, many beverage bottlers did not have a PET alternative that met both their hot-fill and their aesthetic requirements, thereby forcing their premium brands (juices, teas, isotonics, etc.) to stay the course in glass containers. However, the launch of PowerFlex(TM) permanently changes the playing field.
Amcor's technical staff, through a combination of design and manufacturing innovations, has created a patent pending 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.
"Because you no longer have panels in the sidewall, this makes the bottle easier to label. You don't have to worry about mislabeling-missing the vertical bars in applying labels. Nor do you have to worry about the ripple effect labeling over panels can cause," Andison explains.
Additionally the geometry of the straight wall design gives PowerFlex(TM) great top load characteristics. The straight wall has no points of stress concentration which removes the potential of bending.
"Amcor PET Packaging has been very attentive to our needs. They have been very responsive and even sent people to our sample runs," Mitchell says. (The organic-certified copacker is H.A. Rider, Watsonville, CA.)
Four flavors (lemon, raspberry, mint leaf and coconut) are part of the current launch, with additional flavors expected at the beginning of 2006. Trinity Organic is available at natural food and other grocery stores for $1.29.
"The word 'innovative' sums up the whole project. It is the first product that is both Certified Source and Certified Organic combined with an innovative bottle. It's pioneering from the ground up. You always want your packaging to be as innovative as what you believe the product inside to be," concludes Mitchell.
Amcor PET Packaging is the leading manufacturer of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic packaging for the global food and beverage industries, with 70 manufacturing sites in 20 countries. Its parent company, Amcor Limited, offers a broad range of packaging solutions and ranks as one of the top three packaging companies in the world. Amcor's extensive operations have grown in 2005 to include 240 plants in 39 countries. It is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and, for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 2005, had sales revenues of US$8.5 billion. For further information, visit www.amcor.com and amcor-powerflex.com
Please forward sales inquiries to:
Ruth Ann Church
Marketing Director
Amcor PET Packaging
935 Technology Drive, Suite 100
Ann Arbor, MI 48108-8919
Phone: (734) 302-2272
Fax: (734) 302-2298
