Gerber takes the first step to convenient plastic packaging - Gerber Products Co - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Food & Drug Packaging, July, 2001 by Lisa McTigue Pierce

Gerber Products Co. upholds its leadership position by being the first U.S. company to package baby food in convenient, parent-preferred plastic packaging. At the same time, Gerber has introduced plastic bottles for all 16 of its four-ounce juices.

While the glass jars undoubtedly score high with do-it-yourselfers for storing loose nuts and bolts, nearly 70% of mothers polled in consumer research said they favored plastic packaging for today's hectic lifestyles. When presented with Gerber's new baby food package, parents said they liked it because it was easy to open, store, stack and carry.

David Yates, Gerber's senior vice president, says, "We listen to parents every day and we recognize that they need new, convenient feeding options. Gerber understands the importance of providing new innovations--like our new plastic packaging--that better meet their needs."

The company didn't simply switch from the glass baby food jar to a plastic clone, though. In thinking of the busy schedules of today's parents and child caregivers, Gerber wanted a portable package. In addition to existing glass jars, the company's most popular 2nd Foods recipes--Applesauce, Bananas and Pears--are now available in plastic packaging.

The new rectangular food containers look like existing pudding cups. The multi-layer barrier plastic provides a 12-month shelf life. Primary materials are polystyrene for the outer layer and polyethylene for the inner layer. Gerber is mum about the specific structure, though. The company also declined to mention its packaging suppliers.

With relatively good contact clarity, the cups feature a proprietary scallop design around the top. After filling and sealing, a reclosable lid is snapped on top. Cups and lids are unprinted--so the stiff', foil-based lidding film carries the brand and flavor identification with simple one-color printing. A repeating print pattern means the lidding film doesn't have to be registered during sealing.

Sold in food, drug and mass merchandising stores nationwide, the cups are sold only in a paperboard four-pack (stacked 2x2) for about $2.05. Although the new plastic packaging just launched at the end of June, Gerber already has plans to expand with more baby food flavors in the near future.

100 % into single-serve bottles

If Gerber seems to dipping a toe in the water by launching just three baby food recipes in plastic packaging, it's totally immersed on the juice side. All 16 flavors of Gerber's 4-ounce 100% juices are now packed in multi-layer plastic bottles from Owens-Brockway. Again, the company isn't sharing many details, but it did tell us that the bottle's primary material is polypropylene. Continuous-thread closures on the wide-mouth bottle are tamper-evident.

With a 12-month shelf life, bottles are sold individually (for approximately $0.55 each) and in a four-pack. The multipack has a suggested price of $2.10.

Owens-Brockway (800) 537-0178 www.o-i.com