‘Honest’ alterations

Honest Tea, a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Co., updated the graphics for its Honest Kids fruit juice lineup. Honest Kids pouches and cartons feature fruit photography that emphasizes the flavors in each variety. The updated look aligns the appearance of Honest Kids with the clean, simple look of Honest Tea and Honest Ade. The company also announced the release of a 59-ounce multi-serve bottle for three Honest Kids varieties: Berry Berry Good Lemonade, Super Fruit Punch and Goodness Grape. The new bottle, with an easy-to-pour grip and the words “Honest” and “Organic” embossed on the neck, is designed for at-home consumption, it says. In addition to its packaging changes, the Honest Kids line has been reformulated to be fruit-juice-sweetened beverages. The organic cane sugar has been removed from all varieties, and the juices are now sweetened with additional juice content, according to the company. Honest Kids beverages now have between 30 and 42 percent juice, depending on the variety. Nutritionally, the drinks remain at 40 calories for each 6.75-ounce pouch. Cartons of the eight-packs of pouches and the multi-serve bottle made their debut in natural food stores in October and will be in grocery stores nationwide starting in January 2013.

Size variety

Agave Loco Brands’ RumChata Cream Liqueur expanded its size selection to include 1.75-ml, 1-liter, 750-ml, 375-ml and 50-ml bottles. The company released the new packaging sizes to meet the demands of consumers, bartenders, distributors and retailers, it says. The sizes will complement RumChata’s uses in at-home bars, at parties, in cooking or at on-premise locations, the company says.

Growing market

Designed to reach a growing market of youthful carbonated soft drink consumers, The Double Cola Co. released a new look for its Diet Double Cola cans and 12-packs. The tagline “Surprisingly Diet” can be found on Diet Double’s new packaging and is designed to attract consumers who typically do not consume diet beverages because of the stereotypes that diet drinks have received in the past, the company says. The new cans and 12-packs were released in October and feature hand-drawn designs.

Ingredient inspired

Marrying Belgian brewing and American craftsmanship, Duffy & Partners designed Brewery Ommegang’s brand identity to honor the brand’s heritage and celebrate the innovation of American craft brewing, it says. The identity heralds the quality of Belgian-style ales, while the label for each beer is inspired by ingredients, its brewing process and a bit of storytelling folklore, Duffy & Partners says. Duffy & Partners’ scope of work for the brand included creating the identity, bottle design and secondary packaging for Brewery Ommegang.

Collaborative edition           

A brand of Danone, Evian Natural Mineral Water carries on its celebration of youth and purity with the release of the newest addition to its limited-edition bottle collection by American designer Diane von Furstenberg. The new bottle reflects a playful celebration of life and features a nod to the designer’s iconic mantras with, “Water is Life is Love is Life is Water is…,” gracing the bottle in her distinct handwriting, the company says. Von Furstenberg drew inspiration from her personal relationship with Evian water and her own love of life, it adds. The result is a design that combines Evian’s commitment to purity with von Furstenberg’s youthful and optimistic philosophy. Von Furstenberg is the first American and female designer to be appointed for this bottle design collaboration. Evian’s limited-edition bottle label by von Furstenberg is printed in organic ink and features the designer’s ubiquitous heart DVF logo in a hue of red, created exclusively for the Evian collaboration. The bottle, composed of 100 percent recyclable packaging, is sealed with Evian’s new screw cap design. 

Mini expansion

 Beam Inc. launched Skinnyminis, a four-pack offering of the Skinnygirl Margarita ready-to-serve cocktail in 200-ml barrier polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles from Amcor Rigid Plastics. The lightweight, break-resistant premium PET containers deliver convenience and portability, enabling this popular spirits brand to be enjoyed at backyard barbecues, picnics, concerts and other outdoor venues. Beam moved to the single-serve size for the pre-mixed cocktail based on feedback from its customers, according to Megan Frank, brand director of Skinnygirl Cocktails at Beam. A unique barrier PET resin with an oxygen scavenger offers protection from oxygen ingress and provides extended shelf life, according to Amcor. A UV additive is used for the bottle to protect the product from ultraviolet light and preserve the product color, it adds. The 200-ml PET bottles preserve the brand image of the 750-ml glass containers, according to Myles Graybill, project engineer for Amcor. The slender, long neck container also is designed to withstand high top-load impact, it adds. The roll-on, pilfer-proof (ROPP) premium aluminum screw top closure is supplied by Amcor Flexible Capsules, it adds.