Package Design | packagedesignmag.com

(December 2009) posted on Wed Jan 13, 2010

• 
• 
• 

When Procter & Gamble plans a global launch of a new product with 10 SKUs under three brand names across five continents, rest assured that—in addition to consumer delight—supply chain efficiencies are of the utmost importance. P&G has been lightweighting packages in earnest for over a decade, and their sustainability efforts are public knowledge in their Annual Sustainability Reports, coming in at 105 pages and 81 pages the last two years (2008 and 2009, respectively, available at www.pg.com/sr).
The design brief for the recent global launch of the Stain Release laundry additive had a laundry list of performance and sustainability requirements. The nexus of the Stain Release liquid bottle package development efforts was P&G’s European headquarters in Belgium, where teams explored new ways of pushing package lightweighting limits while meeting all the other design and brand requirements. To conserve on efficiencies of scale, the global brands of Dash and Ariel would use the same package design and construction methods as the U.S. Stain Release products.
Among the highest priority requirements were lightweighting for supply chain energy savings, recyclability, bottle clarity, passive oxygen venting, ergonomics, an iconic shape, intuitive and efficient dosing, and strong brand association (Tide, Ariel, and Dash). For the liquid Stain Release bottle, P&G explored injection stretch blow molding (ISBM) to achieve lightweighting gains of 15% to 20%. (Since this is a new product, a direct before and after comparison is unavailable.)
Blow molding PP into a thin-walled bottle creates a lower density bottle that delivers an oxygen transmission rate that PET might not be able to deliver. “Partners have all been very helpful as we try to drive innovations in this area,” says Stephen Sikra, section head, global bottle blowing capability at P&G. Particularly instrumental in this endeavor were Alpla in Europe and Plastipak Packaging (PPK) in the U.S. P&G encourages a “connect and develop” culture that celebrates partners and invites their innovation efforts, also known as "open innovation" at P&G.
David Ingram, R&D packaging associate director, global bleach and laundry additives at P&G, was impressed by the final “aspirational shape” that developed through design explorations. “P&G has a real need for something extra,” Ingram says. “We felt that we could really add something. ISBM helped us get that iconic shape and clarity together with the technical properties we were looking for.”