Filipino invents
innovative packaging
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Friday, December 7th, 2012
A poorly packaged product may lead
consumers to think that it is of inferior quality.
This is why manufacturers have been
seeking out attractive yet cost-efficient packaging.
Most manufacturers consider the following
questions in choosing the packaging that suits them: Does the packaging make
your product safe when they’re on display? Does it give your product a longer
life, keeps it fresh and not vulnerable to contamination? Is the packaging
convenient and appealing?
If a manufacturer replies yes to all the
questions, then it will soon earn a space in its dealers’ minds and consumers’
hearts.
A
case study
Filipino businessman and inventor Wilson
D. Go recently developed and patented an exciting alternative to expensive
packages.
Made of soft plastic material, Wise-Pack™
is pliable and compact, slim and lightweight, as well as economical—an important
consideration for producers in a developing country like the Philippines.
Take a 240-ml container—a brand-new glass
bottle of that size costs P12, an aluminum can costs P9, while a rigid plastic
bottle costs P6.
Apart from the high cost of the packaging
material, distributors and retailers are also mindful of the fact that beverages
represent significant logistics cost because of the large volume of space and
weight eaten up by traditional containers for delivery and warehousing, shelf
and cooler space, labor and power costs.
In developing a total solution that will
provide Filipino consumers a superior beverage experience at an affordable
price, Go saw that the key lay in significantly reducing the combined direct and
indirect costs associated with traditional packaging.
It is a problem that weighs down
manufacturers, distributors, retailers and, most of all, the consumers.
Go undertook an extensive search for
packaging alternatives around the world until he found a container made of soft
plastic and shaped like a pillow that significantly reduced the packaging
material. Unfortunately, it did not have the capability to stand on its own.
Go then worked with packaging engineers to
develop their own version. After years of investing time and money, Go and the
engineers came out with a minimalist design—a pouch that’s perfect for stacking
horizontally and can also stand on its own like a bottle.
The spout was also extended to serve as a
built-in straw, eliminating the cost, hassle and hazards of using a straw.
For this innovation, Go was awarded 2
patents for industrial use and design for 21 years.
7
benefits
Consumers may expect the following
benefits:
– Lower packaging cost, higher product
quality. The savings generated from eliminating glass and plastic bottles,
aluminum cans and carton bricks can now be plowed back into the product itself,
enhancing the quality of the beverage. Maximum taste for minimum waste.
– Safer than glass, cleaner than plastic.
Wise-Pack™ eliminates the hazards and risks, accidents and injuries that come
with glass bottles. Furthermore, it is more hygienic than the plastic bags used
by consumers who cannot afford to pay for a glass bottle. It also eliminates the
need for costly and unwieldy glass bottle deposits.
– Easier to open, easier to use. Even
against aluminum foil, the Wise-Pack™ is easier to open because there is no need
to puncture it with a sharp object. There is built-in perforation that even
children can open.
– Chill it, freeze it. Consumers now have
the option to chill their beverage and drink it ice cold, or freeze it and munch
on it as frozen delight, just like the popular “ice candy” or “ice drop.” A
fruit juice drink that uses Wise-Pack™ can offer a more nutritious frozen
dessert than ice cream.
Also, trade partners are in for some
rewards:
– Less space, less weight. Because
Wise-Pack™ is minimalist in design, distributors and retailers will be able to
significantly reduce their logistics expenses—delivery and warehousing, high
rental expenses, labor and electric power consumption.
– Cools faster, cools more. Because of the
size, shape and material of Wise-Pack™, retailers can optimize the electricity
consumption of their coolers and maximize profits more than if they were to
stock up on traditional packaging containers.
– Environment-friendly. Wise-Pack™ is
environment-friendly because it is 100-percent recyclable. And since it’s
pliable, it can even be rolled up after use and kept in one’s pocket to avoid
littering.
The
name
The name offers an integrated solution—a
packaging innovation that allows higher product quality at an affordable price.
It delivers maximum value to consumers
while it provides maximum profits to retailers.
Go is quick to disown full credit for the
invention, invoking an old proverb: “Nothing is truly original because
everything already exists in nature.”
And true to the marketing adage, “Do not
just extol the virtues of your product; but the virtues of your user,” it makes
a statement for the wise user who “pays for the content, not the container.”
The first beverage brand to utilize
Wise-Pack™ is Chooga™ Fruit Juice, which was launched in a limited test market
in January this year.
Based on internal market surveys, the
consumer response has been overwhelmingly favorable to the extent that the
brand’s offtake has already exceeded other brands in stores where it is
available.
Chooga™ is a fruit drink that has higher
juice content than most brands, and comes in orange, mango, pineapple, pomelo
and tamarind.
While it is too early to say, it appears
that Chooga™ in Wise-Pack™ promises to be revolutionary and game-changing
because it offers consumers the taste of a superior fruit juice drink at an
affordable price.
The company behind Chooga Fruit Juice is
Refreshment Republic Inc. (RRI).
Amid growing
investor confidence spurred by government and private spending, the narrowing
trade deficit, and sound economic policy and fiscal management, investment
analysts from Philam Life state that the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi)
has enough momentum to hit 6,000 points by next year.