A hit among kids: Colourful drinks packaging

August 2015 – It is essential for a lunchbox for kids to include a drink. The brighter the design of the pouch and the sweeter its content, the more likely kids are to have a drink on their own accord. Parents attach great importance to easy-to-use packaging – and meanwhile also to healthy ingredients and sustainable packaging. Producers already recognised the importance of the youngest consumer target group ages ago. Some classic children’s drinks have been on the market for up to 50 years by now.

This year, the German subsidiary of the famous Swedish ‚Tetra Pak‘ company can celebrate its 50th anniversary. Way back in 1964, it already landed a hit with its ‘Sunkist’ fruit juices. The innovative tetrahedron package allows for a firm stand, and even small children can easily put the solid straw into the pre-perforated hole. Even today, the Tetra-Classic format still offers a lot of advantages: The moulding, filling and sealing processes are all done in one go. Since the material requirements are low and stacking is easy, the entire process is very efficient and sustainable. In the meantime, apple sauce and vegetables in re-sealable packaging have been added to its product line for children. However, five years after ‘Sunkist’ was introduced to the market, it already had to make way for yet another innovative drink for children: ‘Capri Sun’.

The fruit juice produced by ‚SiSi-Werke’ under almost the same name is even more famous than its ice cream bestseller of 1943. For almost 50 years, ‘Capri Sun’ has been quenching the thirst of girls and boys in more than 110 countries, making it the most popular children’s drink worldwide. The practical stabilising fold at the bottom of the pouch allows for a firm stand, and its aluminium and thermoplastic foil accounts for a mere 4.3 grammes in weight. Following requests made by many parents, the initial product range offered in 200 millilitre stand-up pouches with straws attached was expanded to include organic spritzers in 250 millilitre and 330 millilitre pouches with re-closable screw tops. This type of packaging, which has been termed “a marvel of sleeve and folding techniques”, displays great creativity in wooing its youngest customers with funny displays, prizes and popular motifs.

They weigh next to nothing, are colourful and non-breakable – and yet, their screw top is definitely the icing on the cake: One twist, and there you go – you can enjoy your drink! Even small children can easily keep the non-carbonated drink produced by the Austrian company ‘Klosterquell Hofer GmbH’ in their hands. A special filling line produces, seals and places the polyethylene flow packs into corrugated cardboard cartons. ‚Dreh-und-Trink’ was introduced to the market in 1973 – and has been a popular classic ever since.