Market-Driven Innovations

‘Stamp’ label elevates wine image. Scrambled eggs get legs.
Market-Driven Innovations comes to you in cooperation with Productscan® Online, an online, new-product tracking service from Marketing Intelligence Service Ltd., Naples, N.Y.
Available at www.productscan.com, the service is a comprehensive online database of new products. It has detailed information on more than 500,000 new product SKUs from 1980 to the present. It offers an in-depth look at new products with its Innovation Ratings. The service is updated six times a month with new information.
Inventive spoon packaging stirs up the tea category
Tea drinking is a relaxing and comforting experience. But you can run into a hassle when discarding the dripping tea bag. Spoonty brand tea solves that potential annoyance with a tea bag in the form of a spoon.
The tea rests inside a molded plastic spoon with a filter and foil overwrap. The perforated overwrap also acts to bundle the spoons in a 20-count carton.
Users separate the spoon at the perforation, remove the foil seal and place the tea-filled spoon in a hot cup of water for steeping.
Eurobubblies, Santa Monica, Calif., distributes the imported tea in the United States. The product comes in four varieties: Green Tea with Mint, Verbena Herbal, Pure Ceylon and Earl Grey.
Suggested retail price is from $4.99 to $5.99.
Microwavable cup extends egg-eating occasions
Newer breakfast options such as bagels, cereal bars and French toast sticks offer portability for on-the-go consumers. This has left traditional breakfast fare like eggs “back at the ranch.”
Eggology Inc. hopes to change that. The Canoga Park, Calif.-based company markets Eggology On-the-Go 100% Egg Whites in a 4-ounce plastic cup.
The oval-shaped cup carries a full-body shrink label. A transparent lid allows consumers to see the clear liquid inside.
To prepare, consumers shake the cup and remove the top portion of the perforated label. They then place the container in a microwave and heat for 95 seconds. Consumers can eat the scrambled eggs right from the container or place it on a plate.
Eggology markets the refrigerated cups individually and in a 4-count paperboard sleeve.
The product is pasteurized and contains no preservatives or additives. Consumers can take it to work or school for a hot breakfast or snack.
A ’mark of distinction’ Raises image of everyday wine
Wine marketers have few choices to differentiate their packages on the shelf. Most differences involve bottle shape and color, and the label.
Everyday wines have even less packaging options due to their lower margins. But Century Cellars, Rutherford, Calif., has found a way to stand out on the shelf and elevate the image of its everyday wine.
It does this through the label, which bears a mock stamp in the upper left corner on the front label and on the right side of the back label.
The stamp image on the front label carries an embossed drawing of the winery inside an embossed ring. Printing on the ring stresses the 100+-year heritage of the vineyard.The deep red color of the stamp helps customers remember and spot the wine quickly on store shelves.
The wine comes in a 750ml or 1.5 liter glass bottle. Varieties include Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. Suggested retail price ranges from $5 to $10.