PTI Case Studies

SC Johnson was experiencing problems with its 2L Windex® refill bottle. SC Johnson’s goals were to lightweight the package, improve package performance, and drive additional sustainability benefits.

PTI worked with fairlife® and its design firm, Kaleidoscope, in the development of two new bottle designs for the Core Power brands 11.5 and 52-ounce sizes.

PTI was approached to develop a new container that was lighter, stronger, and less expensive in its secondary packaging, as well as developing improved package ergonomics for the family-friendly brand.

After years of working in the beverage industry and coming to the realization that there were no ready-to-go cocktails on the market, YUMIX founder, Alex Garner, set out to disrupt the market. He brought the concept to PTI to find the right geometry and bottle weight to keep the dimensions within the appropriate tolerances so that the snap fit that connects the bottom container, which contained alcohol, to the larger top compartment, which contained the mixture. PTI was tasked with creating a package that evoked an exciting consumer experience, while also protecting the attributes of the juice and alcohol to create the ideal cocktail when mixed.

ATMI had a unique challenge that called for game changing packaging technology – a package that could safely transport and fully dispense extremely expensive, sensitive chemicals without introducing air. The current package design was glass; a risky material choice for this particular product. 

PepsiCo contacted PTI to assist in developing a functional package for its new 20-ounce Mountain Dew bottle. The brand was aiming to engineer a unique bottle shape with a strong grip area to help differentiate the brand, which targets males in their 20’s.

One of our customers embarked on finding new bottle suppliers and co-packers to support their fast-growing sparkling water brand. They were looking to maintain their brand integrity; this means having a bottle that is consistent in both performance and aesthetics.

A major food brand owner approached a leading wholesaler to private manufacture and pack pesto sauces under its well-known private label brand. An agreement was made but the wholesaler asked them to deliver the pesto sauce in the same package it was getting from another supplier, so that the transition was seamless. However, the finish needed to be altered to accommodate a different closure.

Juicy Juice had an issue with bottles bulging on one of their four filling lines, which was preventing them from launching a new bottle design. Juicy Juice wanted to launch their 64oz package at a reduced bottle weight without purchasing new equipment, or making any other major changes to the filling lines.

Fetzer Vineyards came to PTI for a solution to increase the shelf life of their individually packaged glasses of wine. Zipz developed the wine glass and quickly launched it with Field Manufacturing producing the glasses. Prior to commercial launch, neither Zipz or Fetzer had done extensive shelf life testing. PTI tested the initial glasses to confirm poor oxygen barrier.

The customer came to PTI with a need to downsize three sizes of dish liquid bottles in order to keep price points constant for its value-conscious consumer and meet marketing objectives. As a self-manufacturer and the project’s vast scope (bottle design, capital investment, production facility impact, etc.), the company wanted to make sure that all changes were carefully thought out before implementation as this bottle conversion would impact half of the manufacturing capacity. It was key that PTI was able to assist in the initial design phases and assist all the way through to production startup to ensure success.

Kellogg’s was looking to leverage their #1 position with Eggo Waffles to enter the syrup market.  Kellogg’s had done extensive market research and was convinced that their loyal customers would connect with an Eggo branded maple syrup.

The customer approached PTI to develop an upscale 16-ounce dish liquid package. Because the success of the new product was uncertain, the company did not want to integrate bottle production and filling into their own facility.

The customer approached PTI to assist in a packaging transformation to an aseptic filling process to enable the centralization of injection molding, blow molding and filling all under one roof. The objective was to reduce production costs, streamline the supply chain and extend shelf life.

The customer was looking to upgrade the look of its laundry detergent brand. The original bottle design had a “boxy” look to it and the customer was looking to redesign the packaging so that it has more “dynamic” lines to more associate with the brand name. Additionally, there were complaints of bottles leaking in transport due to a poor seal between the spout and dosing cap. The customer had some ideas regarding the direction it wanted to go sent PTI a concept from which to begin the process.

The client presented less than 400 grams of bio-derived PET resin from which it wanted to produce a small quantity of carbonated soft drink bottles. The goal was to have actual bottles produced from this experimental resin to show to clients. The objective was to gain initial interest which would result in the desire for subsequent exploration and testing. Having something less than a pound is very tricky to work with. This is where PTI’s vast expertise makes a difference.

The customer came to PTI to develop an automatic soap dispenser for use in industrial/institutional restrooms. The company’s prior system featured a flexible pouch, but they discovered that the pouch would not fully evacuate, thereby wasting a significant amount of liquid soap and forcing more frequent servicing.

The client turned to PTI for assistance in the development of a blow molded part for a new, innovative drink system. The concept was to deliver a completely new experience by combining the pod and a specially designed system tailored for both on the go and at-home use. When the client came to PTI, they only had a design house sketch and needed the part to be commercially produced.

One of the beverage plants were experiencing quality issues with the bottles they were producing. Some of the bottles had too much material in the panel area of the bottles called “panel folds”, and off center gates which was not just a quality problem, but one that negatively impacted the line efficiencies as well.

Experiencing package performance issues related to volume expansions, the company turned to PTI to help understand and correct the issue.

A large carbonated soft drink plant installed a new line to produce eight different types of bottles. During a line audit, it was determined that this new line was actually the least efficient of the entire plant.

The customer was experiencing a considerable swing in quality between bottles made during startup and those made during a continuous run. The process was causing numerous starts and stops as a result of line jams and poor label application significantly impacting line efficiencies.

The client came to PTI to help with the conversion of a retort filling process to an aseptic filling process for one of their nutritional beverages. The desired change provided the perfect opportunity for the company to also develop a container that was more aesthetically pleasing. It also was important to start the project with a clean slate – the only stipulations were to keep the current finish and a high-barrier material.

A global CSD brand was working with a design house to create a new bottle design to differentiate between immediate on-the-go (OTG) consumption and future consumption bottles. The brand decided to incorporate an enhanced grip design with an integrated finish change for weight savings for its OTG bottle. It was vital for the bottle itself to reinforce the brand identity so that even if the label falls off, the brand still is recognizable.

One of the largest global food and beverage companies partnered with PTI to create a “playbook” to be used as a guidebook for integrating recycled content into their packaging. It was asked that the structure of the playbook be cross-functional and accessible to a variety of teams with different backgrounds including, technical, brand, marketing and purchasing teams.

The customer has a well-staffed, well-equipped lab and they get several requests per week from two of the largest global food and beverage clients for qualification testing. The volume of testing that they receive is very uneven, so scheduling and planning is a challenge.

Drinkworks® – a joint venture between Anheuser-Busch and Keurig Dr. Pepper – set out to reimagine cocktails at home with the first-of-its-kind connected appliance designed to prepare bar quality cocktails at the push of a button. Drinkworks needed support to develop an innovative container that would house premium spirits and natural flavors, and deliver a remarkable beverage to be enjoyed at home, in a sustainable way. Given PTI’s previous design experience of capsules and high barrier, thin-walled containers, Drinkworks approached the PTI team to assist in the development of this exciting packaging innovation: the Drinkworks Pod.