Chicago, Apr. 22 - Oscar Mayer has a new way to bring home the bacon, Coca-Cola Co. wants you to get a grip and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. thinks good things come in smaller packages.
Consumer goods manufacturers are putting more resources into developing packaging they hope will catch consumers' attention, and lead to higher sales and profits in what are generally slower growing industries.
"Packaging will be a huge differentiator going forward," Ken Harris, principle at consulting firm Cannondale Associates said. "U.S. consumers are package crazy to begin with, so finding a new package ... could be more important than the product itself."
Harris estimated that manufacturers are spending 20 percent to 40 percent of their research and development budgets on developing new packages.
Coca-Cola has long seen the package as a way of standing out, dating back to 1916 when the world's largest soft-drink company put its signature drink in a contoured glass bottle meant to distinguish it from imitators.
GRIPPING
Today's wide variety of beverages in eye-catching cans and bottles has forced Coca-Cola to come up with its own innovative packaging as a way to attract new consumers.
One of its newest innovations is the "contour grip" bottle, a plastic bottle with nubs sticking out that make it easier to hold while on the move -- whether skateboarding, bicycling or running to catch a train, Mike Shepherd, Coke's global director of packaging, said in an interview.
The bottle was introduced in China in January and will be launched in 30 countries over the next year, including the United States, he said. It comes on the heels of the success of an aluminum, contoured bottle, with florescent graphics Coca-Cola introduced in 2005.
The 2005 version was targeted for the 20- to 29-year-old set, and was largely promoted in locations like nightclubs, where the bottles were put in coolers that had black lights that highlighted the graphics.
The company is expanding the bottle into different markets. For example, when the aluminum bottle was introduced in Belgium last Christmas, a two-month supply sold out in two weeks.
Shepherd would not say how much the aluminum bottles have increased total sales, but said they did help boost the brand's cache with its target market.
MORE KETCHUP
A new package can spur sales of even the most boring staple -- say, ketchup.
In May 2006, H.J. Heinz Co., looking to increase sales in the ketchup category it already dominates, introduced the Fridge Door Fit bottle.
The 46- and 64-ounce bottles were shorter and wider, fitting more easily on refrigerator doors than their predecessors -- and on the more desirable middle shelf of a grocery aisle.
The new bottle was part of Heinz's plan to get people to buy larger ketchup bottles and use more ketchup. Through the 48 weeks that ended Jan. 31, Heinz sold 4.8 percent more ketchup in the United States.
"Companies are turning to package innovation in an attempt to get better margins ... or just to sell a lot of their product," said Michael Schaefer, an analyst at market research firm Euromonitor International.
In June, Kraft Foods Inc. will start selling a reclosable tray made out of rigid plastic that has a separate top that should be easier to open and reseal than current bacon packaging, which has looked about the same for 80 years.
"For years, (consumers) have been telling us that the current bacon package ... is hard to open, it's messy to handle and it's difficult to reclose," Nick Meriggioli, group vice president at Oscar Mayer parent Kraft Foods Inc., said in a recent interview.
The lid of the new package is recyclable, while none of the previous package was, the company said.
The push to recycle and reduce packaging as a way to cut costs is another major factor prompting packaging changes.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, has called on its suppliers to reduce the amount of packaging that they use and consumers are becoming more and more environmentally aware.
"People can argue over what Wal-Mart's motivations are, but they are such a large player that if they make a demand, companies have to react to that," Euromonitor's Schaefer said.