Wow! What A Package!

This Package Is Really Hot ...And Variable by Degrees

By Lynn Dornblaser

One of the most exciting things about new products is when you see one trend that you think is a hot one move from one category to another. (Okay, maybe only new product geeks like me think that's exciting.) Here we do see—literally—a "hot" product that uses a package technology that has moved from one category to another.

Once upon a time, consumers pretty much had one choice for hot sauce—Tabasco. Today, individuals collect hot sauces for their heat, flavor, and odd package graphics. Flavor varieties abound. Now, perhaps, consumers will start to collect hot sauce packaging for its sheer uniqueness.

That's why a new product and packaging from Dave's Gourmet is exciting. Yes, it's just hot sauce. Actually, it's two different hot sauces. But the way the package functions, consumers have not just two hot sauces, but actually a number of hot sauces. That's because the dual-chamber package of the Adjustable Heat Hot Sauce allows consumers to "dial up" the heat intensity.

Dual-chamber packaging that combines two different ingredients when dispensed is nothing new—perhaps one of the first, biggest successes with that package technology was Unilever's Mentadent toothpaste, introduced in the late-1990s. The dual-chamber dispenser combined two different ingredients on a toothbrush immediately before brushing. In 2000, Schering-Plough introduced Coppertone Endless Summer Sunless Tanning Lotion. It was in a very similar package.

What makes this product stand out, however, is that consumers can customize the ratio of one ingredient to the other. The Mentadent and Coppertone products dispensed the same amount of two ingredients with a single pump. The Dave's Gourmet product dispenses variable ratios of the two sauces, depending on personal preference, because the pump mechanism rotates to increase the heat.

This isn't the first package of its kind to offer dial-up customization. Shades of Darkness self-tanner and Mediterranean Duo vinaigrette salad dressing both offer similar packaging—dial up the intensity of the tan or the ratio of oil to vinegar, respectively.

This product from Dave's Gourmet is particularly appealing because it helps to answer that question faced by just about anyone wielding a hot sauce bottle: How much damage do I want to do to my tongue, after all? The faint of heart can choose the milder side to be predominant, or the reckless can turn the dial completely the other way and take the skin off the roof of their mouth.

There is a handy seven-position, color-gradated scale of hotness, though there are dial positions in between those indicated. There is also an "Off" position, for safety. When operating the pump, the trigger depresses slowly and releases slowly, producing an evenly portioned "spray" of sauce.

Just think of the additional products this could be used for—oddly flavored candy in liquid form, liquid flavorings for beverages, ice cream toppings, flavored buttery spreads for topping potatoes or vegetables, or skincare products (dial it one way for day application; another way for night). The exciting ideas are almost endless for more "Wow!" packages of the future.

Lynn Dornblaser is the director of the Custom Solutions Group at Mintel International, a research company based in London and Chicago. She can be reached at 312-932-0400 or lynnd@mintel.com.