13 Nov Clive’s Column November 2011

INDABA WINS TOP AWARD AT GOLD PACK

Cape Classics was established by Andre Shearer in 1992 with the intention of taking the crème de la crème of South Africa’s wines to the American market. First launched in 1996 was the Indaba (Zulu for ‘a meeting of minds’) brand, created as a celebration of the democratisation process in South Africa. A portion of the proceeds from the brand’s global sales funds a scholarship programme that supports winerelated studies primarily for students from formerly disenfranchised communities in South Africa.

In January this year, Cape Classics’ Indaba Sauvignon Blanc 2010 and Indaba Merlot 2010 became available for purchase on JetBlue Airways in cute recyclable 187ml burgundy-style PET bottles manufactured by Mpact Plastics with labels from Paarl Print. Quality Bottling Services was given the challenge to fill the small lightweight bottles. This placement made Indaba the first South African wine to be offered onboard the US airline. Photography: Clive Glover There was another first for Indaba last month when the 187ml RAPPET bottles won the top award at the Institute of Packaging (SA)’s premier packaging competition, the Gold Pack Awards.

SALLY WILLIAMS’ SIGNATURE COLLECTION

Until now, Sally Williams has not offered a selection of every nougat variant in her range but with the addition of two new winning options – Cranberry & Almond and Chocolate Infused – it finally made sense to put this multipack together. And so it was that The Sally Williams Signature Collection was born in time for Christmas.

Briefed to design this pack, Jansen International faced a challenge to develop something extra special, a cut above the rest of the range, without losing brand equity. The new design uses deep, rich chocolate brown to communicate the exclusivity of the product and make it stand out on-shelf. Masterpack prints the two-piece self-erected double-wall lid and base cartons in four process colours with spot gold using Sun Chemical’s LKQ food-grade inks. The on-pack nougat photography is embossed to enhance the feel of the product, while gold foiling and spot UV varnishing are used to highlight the product and brand, adding to the premium look of this stunning pack.

BRUTAL FRUIT’S 18 MIX PACK – JUST ADD ICE!

Brutal Fruit, launched in 2002 to meet the needs of the female market, recently revamped its premium look with bold changes. The bottles from Consol Glass sport stylish black neck labels and Brutal Fruit’s new flirtle (philandering turtle with attitude!). This fashionable label and new logo feature a bold burst of colour, metallic foils and filigree pattern.

It was one of my favourite packaging scouts who suggested that the Brutal Fruit 18 Mix Pack – Just add Ice – merited a closer look. The carton is printed on a Bobst Masterflex on 225 Valkraft coated outer liner by Mpact Corrugated KZN using inks from Eagle Inks and stereos from Polyflex. Johannesburg-based through-the-line agency, Promise, avoided the temptation to design a traditional bulk pack and instead created a glam kit of 18 Brutal Fruits. There’s a waterproof white liner inside the carton that allows liberal amounts of ice to be added once the user-ready perforated easy-tear areas are removed.

NEW HOOCH GINGER BEER – THERE’S A FOX ON THE LOOSE!

Ginger beer’s birth can be traced back to Great Britain in the 1700s as an alcoholic beverage, similar to traditional beer in its production but with different ingredients. British soldiers who wanted a taste of home while stationed in faraway places took the beverage with them. When the soldiers left the ginger beer remained, often losing its alcohol as it evolved.

Retail Brands InterAfrica knows that South Africans love ginger beer and thought they’d love it even more with a bit of zing and introduced South Africa’s first alcoholic ginger beer – Hooch Fox Spicy Ginger Beer. The neck and body labels were designed by Creative Performance and the campaign design was coordinated by Fresh. Consol Glass supplies the bottles, the labels are printed by SA Litho, the metal closures are made by Coleus, the six-pack trays were designed by Pridepak, and the shrinkwrap is printed by Flex-O-Thene.

VERGELEGEN V 2006

It was Jan van Riebeeck who first saw the potential for vine-growing in the Cape valleys and pestered his superiors in Europe to send him vine cuttings. Seven years later, in 1659, he noted in his diary: ‘Today, so praise be to God, wine was pressed from Cape grapes for the first time.’ Vergelegen, meaning ‘situated far away’, was developed in 1700 by an early Governor of the Cape, Willem Adriaan van der Stel. In 1706, after a formal complaint about Willem Adriaan’s ‘illegal’ activities, he was expelled from the colony and the estate fell into disrepair.

Today, however, Vergelegen in Somerset West is one of the country’s flagship wineries, offering a fascinating mix of old and new for discerning visitors. Winning a Bronze Award in this year’s Flexographic Technical Association of South Africa (FTASA) Print Excellence Awards, the Vergelegen V 2006 label is a class act! The bottle comes from Saverglass in France and the capsule from Ramondin in Spain. Locally, J Ryan prints the exquisite label, designed by Anthony Lane, on Fasson Ultra Gloss, using an EM 410S Gallus press with plates from Syreline Process and inks from Select Inks.

NEW HEINEKEN SLIM-LINE BOTTLE AND SIX PACK

There’s a new slim-line Heineken 330ml bottle on the market! Manufactured by Consol Glass, the embossed bottles with front, back and neck labels from Spear follow the look of Heineken’s international branding. New Era Packaging (a division of Golden Era) was a finalist in two categories in the 2011 FTASA Awards.

The bright Heineken 24 x 330ml corrugated carton, printed on a Martin (member of the Bobst Group) press using inks from Continental Inks and Stacetec Inks and plates from Kiley Baker, won a Silver Award, while the Heineken 6 x 330ml cluster pack, printed on a Bobst Lemanic, using inks from Sun Chemical and Siegwerk Inks, won Bronze in its category.

First published in PACKAGiNG & Print Media, November 2011.

About Clive Glover

After many years in FMCG sales and marketing, and later in packaging as marketing manager of Kohler Plastics and then Kohler Flexibles, Clive formed his own packaging consulting company in 2000. He also started writing articles for various packaging magazines, and purchased his first digital camera to support his articles. Two weeks later was given his first professional photography assignment – and the rest is history.

Clive is now first-choice photographer for many FMCG and packaging companies as he has the valuable knack of working digital magic in the specialised area of pack photograpy.

Clive’s Column appears every month in PACKAGiNG & Print Media Magazine and covers new packs on shelf in SA.