Invest in Dreams

Strange Brews

Our most recent compilation of unique and interesting beverage labels. Is this BOB MARLEY drink for real?

Invest in Dreams

Reducing Waste from Fast Food Packaging

At PAE we are always looking out for new ideas about how we can positively influence change in our markets to reduce waste from necessary packaging materials. We have assisted clients to light weight their bottles, use thinner films, and even introduced tie ups with recycling plants to purchase their waste materials. Where feasible and practical we have even installed recycling facilities. Statistics show that more than 50% of waste from packaging materials is generated from plastic, paper, and board. About 20% of this can be attributed to food and beverage packaging alone. As we do our small part, we still depend on the larger multinational companies to make changes which really make a difference.

American fast food chains have recently made big moves in Africa. For example KFC opening branches in Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, Kenya, Angola among others. The other giants will soon follow bringing with them tons of waste generated from disposable packaging. The map below indicates locations of KFC restaurants worldwide.

Africa is has a fast growing economy and a hungry market for modern products which the multinationals are eager to capitalize upon. But at what cost? Local packaging manufacturers are eager to scoop up orders for this new increased demand in the market but there are no recycling facilities in place to deal with the influx of waste materials. Locals are substituting natural foods for processed meats at lower cost that are conveniently suited for the urban business environment. The fast food giants continue to use polystyrene and plastic packaging while there are other options for food containers made from local natural raw materials. Machinery is available to make environmentally friendly food packaging but manufactures would only make the change if urged by these mass consumers. While it may be too late to influence drastic changes in manufacturing through out industrialized nations, it would be possible for Africa to control its growth and development by pushing industrialists to invest in the right directions. 

This approach may be viewed as idealistic but it is with that attitude and hope in mind that designers like Ian Gilley conceive new concepts for packaging to reduce our overall waste. His vision  may never get the attention it deserves but we applaud his efforts and others like him who continue to envision ways for us to improve our environmental foot print.  

View all pictures here. 

The Ramune Type Japanese Carbonated Drink Experience

Our designer Eric brought in a couple of old school RAMUNE Japanese soft drinks into work the other day. If you have not seen one before, it is a sweet carbonated beverage in a glass (or PET) bottle with a pinched off bubble in the neck that contains a small glass marble.This one looks a bit like a face to me. But its actually there to prevent the marble from rolling up the neck, to the mouth of the bottle and sealing up against the rubber washer. 

We had a little fun opening them at the office and brushed up on some beverage history. Our director who caught notice reminisced about soft drinks in India that used to be packaged the same. It turns out that they still manufacture the brand BANTA in India the same way. 

We followed the instructions but still managed to make a mess. We got it all on video and put together a short clip to document 'The Experience'.

The Codd-Neck bottle was designed and patented in 1872 but Hiram Codd.

source: Wikipedia 

Can Simple Package Design Be Too Simplistic?

This is a question our designers at PAE grapple with on a daily basis. How simple is too simple? With our attention focused on Africa we follow different trends than the US and Europe but we have also found that simple design concepts are very effective. But is there a line where we leave brand identity and recognition behind?

I came across a great article on www.brandpackaging.com that shed some light on the subject.

'A prominent trend has been to contemporize packaging by making it simple. Clutter isn’t desirable, but in the haste to keep it clean, is packaging being oversimplified? To the point that it’s starting to look generic? Is this causing more problems than it solves? Are important brand drivers omitted to the detriment of sales and profits because it doesn’t communicate enough to the consumer? Finally, is this hampering otherwise strong brands from becoming category leaders?'

Read the rest of this article here...

Source: Brand Packaging

The Evolution of Soda Can Designs (1950-2013)

When is the right time for you to update the design of your brand? Are you afraid to loose customer loyalty by making changes to a design that your consumers are well connected with? When is the right time to move forward and what are the challenges you will face when keeping up with the latest trends? These are all very difficult questions to consider as a brand manager, but you can look to the giants of our industry and take a page out of the history books for reference. 

Classic brands like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, 7-Up, and few others have been on shelves around the world since the early 1950's. They understand the need to redesign their appearance every couple of years, to stay fresh and yet not loose their distinguished credentials. It is the most difficult challenge to take that step forward without drawing too far away from your last appearance. Check out some pictures below of how these iconic brands have evolved over the last 60 years. 

PEPSI

DR.PEPPER

COCA-COLA

CRUSH

7-UP

Get in touch with our team at PAE to find out more about how you can keep your brand image up to date without compromising consumer recognition. Stay ahead of the game and keep your competition in check at all times.

How It's Made - Cup Filling Machine with Foil Lid

Are you a beverage manufacturer? Increase your product range now by adding on this simple and durable machine to fill and seal plastic cups with aluminum foil lids. You can take your brand to the next level with a wide range of juices and compliance to supply major airlines. 

Our machine features double station filling heads for more accurate fill point without over spill and double sealing heads for a higher quality finished product.  Contact us for more details about this top quality cup filling machine and more of our amazing manufacturing solutions. 

􀂾 Packaging speed: 4,000 – 5,000 pcs / hour

􀂾 Filling volume: 50~300ml

􀂾 Power: 220 volt

􀂾 Electric Machinery Power : 0.75kw

􀂾 Heat Up Power: 4kw

􀂾 Air Pressure: 0.5Mpa—0.7Mpa

􀂾 Max.Air Consumption: 0.45m3/min

􀂾 Timing Mode: Stepless speed regulating

􀂾 Machine Dimension(L*W*H) : 4000*800*1700mm

FAB Awards 2013 - Winner for Packaging Design goes to....

At PanAsia HQ we always have our eye out for new and unique packaging design to inspire our projects. The International Food and Beverage Awards is an event we look forward to every year where the best of the best are showcased and rewarded for their excellent efforts.

This year the award for Best Packaging Design 2013 has been awarded to Absolut Vodka. Although the brand was first established back in 1879, it was not until the 1980's that they launched flavored vodka and the unique bottle we know so well. The distinctive print ads which followed solidified Absolut Vodka's iconic status around the globe.

Absolut has consistently pushed the envelope with effective advertising campaigns and is recognized worldwide for their work with famous designers creating collectors edition bottles which are picked up and stocked by connoisseurs. But what has Absolut done in 2013 to trump all other brands in the category for Best Packaging Design?

Absolut Unique

• Category: 
  Packaging Design, Sales Promotion
• Sub-Category: 
  Alcoholic Drinks
• Title: 
  Absolut Unique
• Client: 
  Absolut Vodka
• Agency: 
  Family Business, Stockholm
• Award: 
  FAB Award (Packaging Design) & FAB Award (Sales Promotion)

Check out the short video clip below with comments from the CEO and creative heads at Absolut. Rather than reach out to well known designers, they have relied on the bottle printing machines to create 4 million absolutely unique bottles that were shipped world wide, each numbered and printed by machine with a random algorithmic program. What we love about this is that they have utilized equipment that is available to all other brands and applied existing technology to create something new, attractive, and awesome!!

Disposable Polystyrene Food Container Production Line

It has been more than a year since our last post due to connection issues from China, but we are happy to be back. Check out this clip from our latest project. This complete line to produce disposable PSP food containers which includes the complete sheet foaming machinery, box forming, and recycling of waste material back to pellets for reuse in production. The production capacity of this line is about 120 kg per hour. Contact us for complete specifications and price.

Turnkey Projects - Start Your Own Bottled Water Factory for Less Than US $100,000

Are you tired of being just an employee? Have you had enough of marketing brands that belong to large multinationals only to have them turn around and hand over representation to a different distributor? Be your own boss and invest in your own brands today! 

Start Your Own Bottled Water Factory for Less Than US $100,000

Project Description

Bottled purified water is a commodity in most markets today. Numerous brands compete for a piece of the market share and the most successful are not always of the big companies with multinational backing. Rather in this line having a unique brand, good marketing skills, and solid distribution can make any brand a firm contender.

We offer a cost effective solution that allows any investor to own and operate their own factory to treat and bottle purified water under their own unique brand name. In addition the investor will also have the facilities to blow their own PET bottles. Our team will assist you to design your own bottle and labels for your brand of purified water.

By setting up this facility the investor also exposes themselves to a variety of expansion projects that the PAE team has already put in place. Once the line for mineral water is running smoothly the factory could expand to produce its own preforms and caps, or with simple additional machinery you could manufacture and package juices and/or carbonated soft drinks.

The following production line has been designed to yield approximately 2000 bottles of mineral water per hour, in 500ml size.

                                      Factory Theoretical Output 

1.       330ml x 24,000 units per day = 1000 cases (24)

2.       550ml x 19,200 units per day = 800 cases (24)

3.       1500ml x 2,400 units per day = 200 cases (12)

                                                                                           Complete List of Machinery Offered

1.        2 Ton per Hour RO Water Treatment Plant

2.        Blowing Machine-2 sets

 1) Water Cooled Chiller

 2) Air Compressor

 3) 3 Required Blow Moulds

3.        Linear Filling Line-2000 BPH (Washing, Filling, and Capping)

4.       Shrink Labeling Tunnel and Cluster Pack System (Automatic)

5. Date Printer

5.       Required Consumables (preforms, closures, labels)

At PanAsia we can offer you complete machinery for turnkey projects to manufacture, beverages, food, cosmetics, soap, and more starting at less than US $100,000. Our projects are targeted towards motivated individuals in emerging markets who are ready to take the next step towards being job creators and industrialists.

Working with various partners across Africa and South America, we have set up a steady chain of supply and demand providing new industrialists with the resources, raw materials, and technical support they need to insure successful manufacturing facilities, process, and brand positioning. Our business model allows small scale manufactures to enter the market with more innovative products at competitive prices.

Through consolidation of industrial requirements we save our clients a lot of money and also offer continued support for forward and backward integration, keeping investors ahead of the curve with our keen focus on their future of their brands.

How can we assure successful projects at more competitive prices? The answer is simple, we are focused on taking manufacturing closer to the consumer, elimination of useless logistic fees, using local raw materials, and creating jobs.

• We offer simple machinery that is not overly complicated or costly to operate. Local engineers with limited knowledge can easily be trained to oversee most of our plants. We offer training programs at our facility in China. 
• Our featured projects are designed for relativity low capacity production which allows investors to see steady growth and re-invest into their brands slowly without facing high p[reassure risk. 
• The cost of machinery offered by PEA is much lower than Indian, European, or North American counterparts that are driving towards higher capacity production. We are committed building ROBUST, low-cost, energy efficient machinery, for 3rd world emerging markets. 
• Our close network of packaging printers and producers across Africa support our projects offering new investors preferential prices and strong support on consumables, giving them a strong foothold in their local areas. Not to mention steady technical support. 
• With our engineers regularly in Africa we are able to offer regular support to our clients at relatively low cost compared to our European or North American counterparts. 

To learn more about PanAsia Tech Turnkey Projects please visit our website or email consult@panasia-tech.com for free consultation.

Packaged Coconut Water Growing More Popular

Packaged Coconut Water is no longer just a fad and is now, competing for supermarket shelf space. Health benefits of drinking coconut water include "lowering cholesterol, preventing diabetes, and boosting your metabolism and immune system".

Source: LAX Magazine (http://s.tt/13uTe)

Check out this comparison of 5 american brands:

"This potassium-rich beverage has been consumed in parts of the world with tropical climates for ages, though usually from fresh coconuts. The ubiquitous varieties in the States comes boxed or bottled with the juice (and sometimes chunks of coconut meat), extracted from imported young coconuts. But which brand is best? We tasted 10 brands of coconut water to see which top our list flavor-wise. Nutritionist Sandra Frank then helped us figure what three brands are the best for you. Find our winners after the jump."

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/badaily/2010/09/supermarket-standoff-coconut-w.html#ixzz1bfc9VuHj

Vita Coco appears to be the most popular brand with Madonna and Rihanna amongst thier celebrity spokes people.

Vita Coco® is the brand that started America’s craze for fresh coconut water. In the U.S.Vita Coco is sold at over 20,000 retailers including Whole Foods Market, GNC, Kroger, Publix, Ralph’s, Stop & Shop/Giant, Costco select Wal-Mart stores and many chain and independent groceries. It is also sold in most major U.S. airports and university campuses, as well as online at Amazon.com.