Candy packaging: Imager sells - spurring impulse buys with packaging

Food & Drug Packaging, Sept, 2001

To spur impulse buys, packages look like tape dispensers, flowers, even cell phones.

Candy--the king of impulse purchase categories--often relies more on the packaging than on the candy itself to spur purchases.

And candy marketers are becoming more aware of that as "impulse" channels continue to grow. Today, only about half of candy sales are through traditional grocery stores.

Convenience stores represent a significant channel with 120,000 outlets in the United States, each seeing about 750 customers march through each day. Add to that the emergence of "dollar stores" and even outlets such as Blockbuster Video, and the emphasis on novelty to sell candy is well justified.

Here are just two novelty packages that address these markets:

* A "bouquet" package for jelly beans.

* Dispensers for gum that look like they could hold tape, but instead encase rolls of chewing gum.

Amurol Confections Co. is seeing a surge in sales with its Bubble Tape chewing gum. And the company believes that a packaging upgrade has contributed to the sales increase.

Amurol changed the package to an injection-molded plastic dispenser. It is reminiscent of an adhesive tape dispenser and replaces what Brian Heiser, senior marketing manager for kids products, called a "snuff box" approach.

FIVE COLORS

Sales for the 20-year old product increased significantly when the newer packaging was introduced.

The new package is molded in five colors--strawberry, green, blue, purple and bubble gum to echo flavors in the line. Each package holds a six-foot roll of gum.

The package has two, semi-circular halves with a pressure-sensitive label holding the package closed. Consumers open the package by "fracturing", the label. A cut-off edge in the dispenser lets consumer "snip off" the right amount of gum.

Amurol also has a sugar-free version of the product. It is in a dental-floss-type container that signifies the product's healthful aspect.

But Amurol isn't the only company with a tape-style dispenser.

Candyrific, Louisville, Ky., uses Loony Tunes characters for its products, including a Tazmanian Devil bubble gum dispenser. The plastic dispenser also holds a roll of gum, much like the Amurol product.

This package leverages the Tazmanian Devil image with a set of "teeth" molded into the container. They provide the way to cut-off the gum and get the most entertainment value out of the licensed character.

Jelly Belly jelly beans is another candy using novelty packaging as a marketing tool. The brand is adding gift packages to its traditional packaging lineup of poly bags, tins and bulk bins.

To appeal to the gift market, the company uses a cup-like, clear plastic package.

The package stands 10 inches tall and is printed to simulate a flower bouquet. It holds a 9-ounce bag of mixed Jelly Belly flavors. The "bouquets" comes in three varieties--mixed flowers, tulips and roses. Each holds a different array of candy flavors.

The goal is to create sales through specialty outlets such as department stores, book stores and candy stores.

Novelty items represent high visibility innovation. But practical issues also have a significant impact on marketing and production.

One of those practical issues is whether cellophane--or an alternative--is the best wrapping material for candy pieces.

For Jolly Rancher hard candies, the answer was an alternative as Hershey switched from cellophane to a polypropylene film to wrap individual pieces.

The hard candy--a Hershey brand--had been in cellophane since its debut more than 50 years ago. Hershey was looking for an alternative. One concern was for consumers--sometimes frustrated with ends that tore off.

MACHINABILITY

Hershey also had an eye toward consistent machinability. One batch of cellophane could be harder or softer than another, inconsistencies that caused machining problems.

In evaluating alternatives, Hershey first ran a straight polypropylene film from ExxonMobil Films. The biaxially oriented film met deadfold and speed requirements of up to 1,600 pieces per minute. But, it didn't meet all the criteria.

Because Jolly Rancher pieces are elongated, the film had a tendency to "bow" or bulge in the middle of each piece.

The bulge was "unacceptable from a marketing perspective," says Bill Pierce, packaging engineer at Hershey.

The answer was to coat the Hicor polypropylene film with an acrylic on one side and a polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) on the other.

The coatings added tack to the film, producing a lap seal along the seam's length, eliminating any bulges.

While Jolly Rancher went to an alternative, Quebec-based Bonbons Associes opted for a pearlescent gold cellophane for its new caramel pieces. The candy is maple flavored and has a beige, brown and gold coloring.

Cellophane's ability to have a dead-fold was a critical consideration in wrapper choice.

But the ability to get a gold film--supplied by UCB Films--figured large in the company's decision.

Philippe Canac-Marquis, sales manager for Bonbons Associes, explains reasons for the choice, "We know of no other candy wrapped in this film so it offered superb, product differentiation.