Spotlight: Food and Beverage

Two Young Entrepreneurs Refine Mint Packaging with Planet Canit

A couple of years ago, two young entrepreneurs became very committed to the idea that there was an unfilled niche in the mint retail category. They believed that there was plenty of room for a new, stylish, high-quality, and high-end mint delivered in a "boutique" presentation for discriminating shoppers.

Oral Fixation cofounders Henry Rich and Jeremy Kahn, along with graphic designer Jon Harris, set about developing the product and packaging simultaneously. They found a veteran of candy formulation who had retired from Wrigley and LifeSavers to design the mint flavors. They also found a receptive ear at Planet Canit, tin packaging specialists in Highland Park, IL.

Though the Oral Fixation founders had no experience in product or package development, they were doggedly persistent about every single aspect of the packaging they envisioned, according to Virginia Price, founder and CEO of Planet Canit. "They were relentless," says Price. "Everything about Oral Fixation is detail and design-driven. In fact, their mission is to make everyday objects more beautiful."

The development of the tin package proceeded with fits and starts over the course of 12 months. The process was an active collaboration with the staff at Planet Canit while the entrepreneurs continually rethought and refined an ideal package that would accomplish all of their goals. Long conversations into the night and many plastic mold prototypes resulted in a functional, elegant tin package with high-embossed logo.

No detail left unturned

One of the goals was to have a package that customers would feel compelled to reuse after they consumed the last mint. The Oral Fixation founders hoped the credit card shape and thinness of the package (less than 5/16") would encourage mint-lovers to use the package as a pants-pocket-friendly storage tin for credit cards, wallet items, coupons, tickets, etc.

"We kept saying: 'Make it smaller, make it smaller,'" Rich recalls, hoping to make it as pocket-friendly and as differentiated as possible. He also knew that everything about the package would have to reinforce the high value impression appropriate to this high-end product, and was dedicated to having a well-designed, well-printed package for Oral Fixation.

Another one of the goals was to have the package designed precisely to give the consumer a pleasing and confidence-inspiring experience when they would open and close the tin. The two parts snap together when closed, but the package also opens easily with a slight push at the one end. The whole operation can be performed with one hand, and the bottom tray that holds the mints is symmetrical so it makes no difference which end of the tray is inserted into the sleeve.

Planet Canit was as instrumental in refining the structural functionality of the tin as it was in refining the materials and printing for the entire project. The tin is made of special sheeting that has a glistening finish that shows through the printing for an almost jewelry-like and textured effect. The lithography printing also has subtle watermarks and spot varnishing for the text and graphic elements. Planet Canit also supplied and printed the sheets of wax paper inside that complete the mint experience, and the theme of the mint variety is continued on the wax paper with similar colors and a lighthearted message.

The Oral Fixation logo rises at varying degrees (up to 1/16") off the flat surface to add contours to the vaguely heart-shaped depiction of two stylized mint-lovers feeding each other mints. The special tooling at Planet Canit means that the Oral Fixation tins do not run a high line speeds. The initial success of the product, luckily, has boosted orders to a point where production runs are large enough so costs are not prohibitive.