Kerry J., Butler P. Smart Packaging Technologies for Fast Moving Consumer Goods

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208 Smart Packaging Technologies for Fast Moving Consumer Goods

Figure 11.15 Bar code scanning.

world. These printing hubs routinely ﬁnalise the printing process by adding to each label,

details about the style size and colour of the garment for which the label is intended. They

also add the standard bar code.

The special characteristics of the RFID label printer are that it also reads the unique

number on the RFID chip. It then creates a data ﬁle that associates the garment information

with the unique chip number and sends this combined packet of information back to M&S’s

central secure RFID data base in the UK. Whenever the label is scanned at any point in

the supply chain or in store it is only the unique number that is read, but the central data

base is able to translate this number into garment details using the association information

provided from the printer in the hubs (Figure 11.16).

Another important characteristic of this approach is that no garment information can be

obtained directly from the label. This offers a further degree of privacy protection for the

customer as it is not possible to obtain any useful information about a customer’s purchase

habits by scanning discarded labels, as these only contain the unique number (Figure 11.17).

From the beginning, M&S has tried hard to inform its customers about the new use of

this technology. For any new technology to succeed, consumers need to be engaged and

reassured that the beneﬁts outweigh any real or perceived disadvantages. In particular M&S

has engaged in an open dialogue with many of the groups concerned about privacy, which

has occasionally come up as an issue with various applications of RFID.

We all have a right to privacy and this is enshrined in the UK Data Protection Act.

Privacy is best seen as a tradable right which means we all trade a little of our privacy for

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Improving Customer Service 209

Figure 11.16 How the intelligent label is used for stock control.

Figure 11.17 The Intelligent Label.

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210 Smart Packaging Technologies for Fast Moving Consumer Goods

the convenience of using credit cards or for feeling more protected in the streets. This does

not mean however that we are willing to give it up just to make life easier for commercial

organizations.

At Marks & Spencer we aim to demonstrate that we use technology in a responsible way

for the beneﬁt of our customers. We have found that a policy of openness with our customers

coupled with a clear explanation of why and how we are using technology works well. For

example we do not scan the RFID tags at till points, they do not emit signals or contain

batteries and they can be removed at any point during the purchasing process. The label

clearly states ‘Intelligent Label for Stock Control’, which is exactly the purpose for which

they are being used. If the customer returns the garments without the intelligent labels this

does not prevent them obtaining a refund. Additionally, stores using the technology have an

explanatory leaﬂet available for customers and our privacy policy is shown on the corporate

web site.

In summary M&S can demonstrate that RFID technology can make a signiﬁcant contri-

bution to increasing business efﬁciency and improving customer service. We ﬁrmly believe

that it is an important technology that will positively inﬂuence operations at many more

retailers in the future.

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Smart Packaging Technologies

for Beverage Products

Maurice G. O’Sullivan and Joseph P. Kerry

12.1 Introduction

The beverage industry has always been quick to adopt new technologies as they relate

to innovative packaging solutions. Today, beverages are more than simply products that

quench your thirst and there is much activity in adding nutrient and ‘wellness’ components

to beverages. Milk-based and juice-based beverages, which continue to grow in popularity,

are seen as the ideal carriers of such components. The development of beverage lines where

ﬂavour, as well as other organoleptic properties, needs to be created or controlled is equally

another important area of development in the beverage industry. In the future, nanotech-

nology promises to yield new solutions to key challenges for the beverage industry, just as

it is likely to impact the food industry. Research and development underway includes the

development of functional beverages, nutrient delivery systems and methods for optimizing

beverage appearance, such as colour, ﬂavour and consistency (ElAmin, 2006).

A relatively new and growing area for fragrances is the use of smart packaging as a novel

marketing tool for bringing products to the consumers’ attention, particularly in food and

beverage packaging (Markarian, 2006). Also, as people increasingly ignore commercials

and spread their attention across many types of media, traditional television, radio and print

advertising is losing effectiveness, and marketers are looking for new ways to get noticed.

One promising way appears to be targeting as many of the ﬁve senses as possible via

the package itself (Webb Pressler, 2006). Issues pertaining to luxury, high-end, beverage

products such as reinforcement of consumer appeal, tamper evidence, counterfeiting and

brand protection, are also highly topical areas of interest within the beverage industry. Many

Smart Packaging Technologies for Fast Moving Consumer Goods Edited by Joseph Kerry and Paul Butler

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212 Smart Packaging Technologies for Fast Moving Consumer Goods

of these issues are being addressed through the use of smart packaging technologies and

these are presented in the following sections.

12.2 Gas Release Packaging

One of the most widely adopted forms of innovative packaging is the gas-releasing ‘widget’

developed originally for canned and bottled beer products, such as Guinness (Robertson,

2006). This technology was developed to give the consumer the draught beer experience

in the comfort of their own home, with the beer having a thick and creamy head. The

function of the widget is to release CO

from some of the beer in order to create the head.

The widget consists of a hollow nitrogen gas-containing plastic sphere, 3 cm in diameter,

with a tiny hole in it. The sphere is added to the can before the can is sealed, and ﬂoats

on the surface of the beer, with the hole just slightly below the surface (Anon., 2007a).

Prior to sealing the can, a small shot of liquid nitrogen is added to the beer; this evaporates

during the rest of the canning process and pressurizes the can. As pressure increases in

the can, beer is slowly forced into the sphere through the hole, compressing the nitrogen

inside the sphere. When the can is opened, the pressure inside the can immediately drops

and the compressed gas inside the sphere forces beer out through the tiny hole into the

additional surrounding beer (Figure 12.1). This agitation causes a chain reaction of bub-

ble formation throughout the beer, and the CO

that is dissolved in the beer forms tiny

bubbles that rise to the surface, forming the head. The presence of dissolved nitrogen al-

lows smaller bubbles to be formed with consequent greater creaminess of the subsequent

head (Anon., 2007a). This is because the smaller bubbles need a higher internal pressure

to balance the greater surface tension, which is inversely proportional to the radius of the

Figure 12.1 A widget operating in a can of stout. Reproduced with permission from Packaging

Materials and Technologies Ltd.

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Smart Packaging Technologies for Beverage Products 213

bubbles. Achieving this higher pressure is not possible just with dissolved carbon dioxide

because the much greater solubility of this gas compared with nitrogen would create an

unacceptably large head. The result, when the can is then poured out, is a surging mixture

in the glass of very small gas bubbles and liquid, just as is the case with certain types

of draught beer. Not only does the nitrogen make the beer creamier, and produce a bet-

ter head, it also protects against oxidation. The brewer can therefore permit the beer to

be less carbonated (Anon., 2007a). The ‘canned draught’ products have levels of carbon-

ation similar to those in cask-conditioned ales, and less than half those in some bottled

beers.

Apart from Guinness, other breweries have since come up with their own widget designs

that were introduced to draught beer in 1992, lager in 1994, and cider in 1997. In 2002

canned milk coffee containing a widget was marketed (Robertson, 2006). The Kenco Ice

Cappio coffee drink from Kraft Foods was launched in this innovative container in the

UK in 2002. When the can was opened, the widget produced a creamy head of froth

on the beverage (Anon., 2003a). This technology also lends itself to application in other

segments such as mixed milk drinks and milk shakes, yoghurt drinks and coffees. For

Kenco Ice Cappio, Ball Packaging Europe also inserted plastic capsules in 0.25-litre cans.

A relatively new cappuccino cocktail is focused on the Ball Packaging Europe can: ‘Cafe

Kiss’ is a cappuccino drink, with a lacing of vodka, which was launched on the United

Kingdom market in a 200-ml Slimline can in 2006. A capsule (widget) inside the can

ensures the typical cappuccino froth head when the can is opened. The coffee cocktail,

aimed at the 25- to 45-year-old group of consumers, is currently on sale in selected bars

and clubs and also from the British retail chains Tesco and Spar (Anon., 2006a).

Future developments of the widget may incorporate elements of nanotechnology, for

example,the external surface of the widget could be expected to provide a site for nucleation,

or a liquid or activeagent could be encapsulated within the widget. The widget could prolong

bubble release and create other ‘theatre effects’ during opening and consumption (ElAmin,

2006).

12.3 Flavour Release Packaging

Packaging devices may also be used to release aroma or ﬂavour into beverage products at the

point of consumption, and to create or maintain product intensity and quality. Companies are

incorporating scents directly into plastic bags and bottles, so a consumer can smell shampoo

or chocolate without opening the top. Newly developed scented ink, meanwhile, is allowing

advertisementsand catalogues to capture a consumer’s attention with an unsuspecting whiff,

using a technology beyond your father’s scratch-‘n’-sniff (Webb Pressler, 2006). Fragrances

and deodorants for plastics are used in a variety of applications and are playing a growing

role in marketing food and beverage packaging and in consumer products for the home

(Markarian, 2006). Olfactory scientists say that using scent is smart marketing. Of all the

human senses, smell has the most direct pathway to the emotional centre of the brain (Webb

Pressler, 2006).

The incorporation of aromas into the polymer material can be used to attract consumers

when the package is opened, and also to balance any detrimental effects of aroma loss

(Koontz, 2006). AddMaster recently developed a chocolate fragrance masterbatch for use

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214 Smart Packaging Technologies for Fast Moving Consumer Goods

Figure 12.2 Aroma Water, LLC, licenses the technology from ScentSational Technologies to

produce Aroma Water

. The cap emits an aroma (lemon-lime or mandarin orange scent)

that tricks the taste buds into believing the water is ﬂavoured. Used with kind permission of

ScentSational Technologies (www.Scentt.com).

in polyethylene packaging of chocolate-ﬂavoured, milk-based, drinks that is intended to

create an ‘in-store awareness’ of the product (Markarian, 2006). Also, a new aroma- and

ﬂavour-releasing technology for packaging is being tested in consumer trials for bottled

water and nutritional food packaging applications in the US (Anon., 2003b). US company,

ScentSational Technologies, is behind the product, which is also known as ScentSational

(Figure 12.2).

This patented brand-enhancing ﬂavourpackaging incorporates aromatic qualities directly

into closures (Todd, 2003). Pasteurization generally burns off what’s known as top notes,

or the aroma notes in beverages traditionally associated with freshness (Todd, 2003). Also,

while aromas in packaged foods can break down and start to smell different, the ones

ScentSational uses stay fresh because the molecules are, essentially, encased in plastic

(Webb Pressler, 2006). ScentSational puts these top notes back in by taking food grade

ﬂavours that are FDA-approved Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) and mixing them

with polymers at the time of injection moulding and adding them to the plasitol liners of

metal closures (Todd, 2003). The plastic gradually gives off aroma ‘volatiles’ that last about

a month and give scent to whatever food or liquid is nearby (Webb Pressler, 2006).

In the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottled water trial, the technology is incorporated

into the lid. Other applications could include ﬂavoured and scented bowls for ready to

eat cereals, soup and instant meals, ﬂavoured bottles for nutraceutical applications and

ﬂavoured lids for dairy product packaging (Anon., 2003b). ScentSational’s technology is

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Smart Packaging Technologies for Beverage Products 215

based on the premise that foods and beverages contained in packaging that smells better

will taste better. The technology works using the science of taste. With the exception of

sweet, sour, bitter, salt and Umami, all other taste is a result of the sense of smell. When

someone drinks a beverage, the liquid creates vapours inside the mouth that travel up the

retro-nasal canal where it eventually hits the olfactory bulb. It is here that these ﬂavour

vapours are interpreted as taste by the brain (Todd, 2003).

NutriSystem, a leading marketer of weight management products, recommends that users

of its products drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily to help ﬂush out toxins

produced when body chemistry changes as weight is lost (Anon., 2004b). To make the chal-

lenge a little easier, the companysells a water bottle ﬁtted with a closure infused with another

product produced by ScentSational Technologies. This product, CompelAroma



technol-

ogy, encapsulates substances within the structure of a plastic package that emit an aroma

during heating, after opening. This gives the water added to the bottle taste, even though no

ﬂavourants are added (Anon, 2004b). A Pennsylvania based beverage ﬁrm, Aroma Water,

LLC, licenses the technology from ScentSational Technologies to produce Aroma Water

in either a lemon-lime or mandarin orange scent. Both ‘ﬂavors’ are approved by the Food

and Drug Administration (Figure 12.2). The aroma of a particular ﬂavour can affect the

sense of taste. For NutriSystem, CompelAroma



is added to the closure of the water bottle

as it is injection moulded. The closure emits an aroma (currently lemon, peach or berry) that

in effect deceives the taste buds into believing the water is ﬂavoured, enhancing the con-

sumer’s enjoyment of water without adding calories, sweeteners or preservatives (Anon.,

2004b).

A recent innovation to make milk more popular with children has been developed by

Unistraw Intl. Pty Ltd, Australia. This company has been engaged for the last seven years

in perfecting a milk-ﬂavouring solution that is mess-free, convenient, wholesome and tasty

(Mohan, 2006). The patented Unistraw

system enables ﬂavour ‘beads’ to be dissolved

in a beverage as the liquid passes through the straw. The system has three elements, a

straw, ﬁlters and ﬂavour beads (Figure 12.3). The system’s ﬁrst component, the straw, is

made from transparent, recyclable, food-grade polypropylene (PP), mixed with a food-

grade plasticiser/toughener that prevents the straw from cracking or splitting. The straw

measures approximately 0.26 inches in diameter and is 7.08 in long. Filters are heat-welded

into both ends of the straw and use a patented cone shape that allows an optimal ﬂow of

liquid through the straw, while keeping the company’s UniBead ﬂavour beads inside (Figure

12.3). Each straw holds approximately 4 g of UniBeads, which are 0.08–in diameter, round

beads that can be dissolved into a beverage to add ﬂavour, vitamins or other ingredients.

The UniBeads are manufactured at Unstraw’s facility in New South Wales, using processes

and equipment developed by the company (Mohan, 2006). In Australia, the straw is sold

under the brand name ‘Sipahh

’. These milk ﬂavouring straws were designed for the

5–15 year old target market. The original launch ﬂavours of chocolate, banana, caramel

and strawberry have already been joined by toffee apple, cookies and cream, and choc-

mint, Other applications envisioned for the Unistraw

system include the delivery of

vitamins and other nutrients, nutraceuticals and bioactive ingredients or pharmaceuticals

into beverages (Mohan, 2006). Already on sale in a number of countries around the world,

Sipahh

is expected to be on sale in more than 80 countries during 2007 (Anon., 2007c).

Another positive feature is that the product is free of preservatives and artiﬁcial aromatic

substances and is made exclusively from natural colourings (Bornholdt, 2006). Sipahh

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216 Smart Packaging Technologies for Fast Moving Consumer Goods

Figure 12.3 The patented Unistraw

system, which enables ﬂavour ‘beads’ to be dissolved

in a beverage as the liquid passes through the straw. The system has three elements, a straw,

ﬁlters and ﬂavour beads. The straw is sold under the brand name ‘Sipahh

’. Used with

permission of Unistraw International Limited.

ﬁts perfectly into the global trend towards healthier and convenient products that deliver

nutritional beneﬁts in a fun and novel way (Anon., 2007c).

Choice enabled packaging (patent pending) is now being marketed by IPIFINI, Inc., a

Boston based innovative consumer technology company, for ﬂavour and aroma additions

into liquids (Figures 12.4 and 12.5). Ipiﬁni’s technology allows consumers the ability to

personalize their products at the point of use. As well as giving users choice, it can be

used to deliver products that are susceptible to degradation when blended with the other

material or stored in the bulk container. Depression of a button containing the additive

pushes the ﬂavour into the bulk product. Previous innovations have suffered from being

susceptible to tampering on the supermarket shelf, but this range of products has a method

for overcoming this (LeGood and Clarke, 2006). For carbonated drinks, only when the

pressure is released can the ﬂavour be added. Alternatively, the buttons can be screened as

part of the packaging design. Some advantages of these products could be the provision of

multiple ﬂavour choices for each can and the choice given to the consumer, by pressing a

button on the can, as to which ﬂavour they would like to try. This also allows the consumer

the possibility of exploring multiple combinations of these ﬂavours (LeGood and Clarke,

2006).

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Smart Packaging Technologies for Beverage Products 217

Figure 12.4 Pictured is the Choice enabled packaging (patent pending) which is now being

marketed by IPIFINI, Inc. (www.ipiﬁni.com) for ﬂavour and aroma additions into liquids.

As well as giving users choice, it can be used to deliver products that are susceptible to

degradation when blended with the other material or stored in the bulk container. Patent

pending. Reproduced with permission from IPIFINI (www.ipiﬁni.com).

12.4 Nutrient Release Packaging

As well as adding ﬂavours directly to beverages, products have been developed that add a

segregated nutrient that otherwise cannot be preserved in liquid solutions. In effect they only

become added at the point just before consumption. TheBall packaginggroup hasdeveloped

‘Fresh Can



’, which is geared toward the health, wellness, and sports drink markets.

Developed jointly by Ball Packaging Europe (BPE) and Degussa FreshTech Beverages

LLC, FreshCan



Wedge technology is a patented delivery system that enables dry sensitive

ingredients, such as vitamins, to be dispensed into a canned beverage only when the can is

opened (Mohan, 2006). With Fresh Can



, sensitive substances such as vitamins, probiotic

additives, or trace elements, can be stored in a can in a dry state and remain unmixed with

the beverage until the can is opened (Anon., 2005a). This technology is a patented beverage

can that was speciﬁcally developed to contain an air- and water-tight plastic container called