Amway develops new 3-in-1 travel pack to encourage sales of multiple products

Launched into distribution just this month. Amway's new Travel Trio[TM] package offers a new combination of three of its popular personal care products that is convenient for travelers, a great gift idea, promotes trials and is refillable to encourage repeat purchases of the full-size product.

Three identical 100-milliliter triangular-shaped bottles--with two flat sides and a rounded front side--fit together into one slim design. The go-anywhere multipack includes three most-needed personal care item when traveling: 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner (from the Satinique product line), Hydrating Hand and Body Lotion and Refreshing Body Gel (both from the Body Series line).

Working with a stock mold (patent pending) that the company has licensed from bottle manufacturer Tricor/Braun, Amway blow molds its own high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles off-line and maintains a small inventory. Tom Hartner, associate group leader for Amway's personal care products research and development, explains. "Bottle manufacturing is almost just-in-time to our sales forecasting ... and the forecast is that it's going to do very well."

Bottles are also decorated in a second off-line operation. Silk screen tooling had to be precise because Amway is printing on two dissimilar sides: the rounded front panel and one flat side panel. Hartner says, "We thought this was going to be the most difficult challenge!"

On the packaging line, pucks stabilize the bottles during filling and capping. The clear disc closures, supplied by Seaquist Closures, add one-hand dispensing convenience for consumers. Travel Trio packages are manually assembled, using overcaps made from clarified polypropylene on both the top and bottom to hold the three containers together. Tricor/Braun supplies the overcaps.

Although not shown in the photo, a full-body polyvinyl chloride shrink sleeve label, supplied by American Fuji Seal, secures the multi-bottle pack for shipping and distribution. Reverse printed on a rotogravure press in nine colors, the eye-catching label "absolutely helps with the sell," Hartner says. "Since the bottles themselves don't have a lot of front label panel, we chose to use the sleeve label for instructions and ingredients, too."

Hartner adds, "This was one of our faster development programs here. With a tremendous effort from everyone involved, we went from product concept to first production in four to five months."

For more information from American Fuji Seal, call (800) 533-FUJI or Circle 231. For information from Seaquist Closures, call (414) 363-7191 or Circle 232. For information from Tricor/ Braun, call (312) 346-6500 or Circle 233.

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