A look at some of the more interesting closures and the brands that have chosen them.

Like a Dream

A clear Surlyn cap used for three Victoria’s Secret ‘Dream Angels’ scents features a mirror-polished surface that creates the elegant appearance of glass crystal. The molded cap’s heavy walls enhance the color and metallic effect of the gold, pink and lavender pump surfaces while allowing them to be clearly visible to the consumer. Supplied by Risdon (www.risdon.com), the caps fit the fragrance’s 125- and 250-mL sizes and appear on the Heavenly, Divine and Desire scents.

Blend Your Own Beverage

Erie Plastics’ Pop N’ Shake (www.erieplastics.com/popnshake) is a patent-pending closure technology that allows consumers to create their own “blended” drinks on demand. Ingredients dispense with the turn of a tamper-evident dust cover and subsequent “pop” of an inner-cap chamber, allowing the user to watch a favorite flavor, vitamin or mineral fuse with their preferred bottled drink. A few shakes later, and the result is a beverage fortified with healthy, active ingredients. Components include a PET chamber (works with both liquid and powder), dual tamper-evident features and a patent-pending moisture and oxygen barrier that separates the active and inactive ingredients.

History Meets Modernity

To celebrate its 60th anniversary, Italian fashion house Pucci incorporated an elegant closure into its Vivara Eau de Parfum packaging that conveys the brand’s universe and style. The goal was to reproduce the colors and design of one of the house’s famous scarves. Rexam Dispensing Systems (www.rexam.com/beauty) was selected to create the closure, which is actually a semi-sphere encasing the colored print that acts as the visual image for the fragrance. In creating this visual effect, the team had to obtain optimal visibility from any angle while perfectly reproducing the sharpness of the graphic detail and depth of decoration.

Say (Easy-Open) Cheese!

BelGioioso Cheese has re-packaged its full line of sliced cheese varieties in new easy-open packaging from Curwood (www.curwood.com). The packaging has been transitioned out of tear tape and into Curwood’s Curpolene 7202 film with IntegraScore opening, which is said to offer a more consistent and reliable means of opening. Consumers can easily and completely remove the tamper-evident hood to access the resalable package’s press-to-close zipper. Packages are flexo printed in five colors with the company’s brand identity and nutritional info.

Easy Access is the Cat's Meow

Crown Holdings (www.crowncork.com) is working with Nestle Purina Petcare Europe to trial its patented Easylift easy-open ends on the brand’s 400-g packages of cat and dog food in The Netherlands. The can ends are designed to improve tab access, making it easier and faster for consumers-including seniors, children and the physically impaired-to open canned food products without using a can opener. The ends are compatible with existing can line equipment, allowing brand owners to incorporate the ends without production downtime. Once testing is complete, Nestle reportedly plans to roll out the ends on all of its major European brands.

Foaming Lotion is a First

Foaming dispensers have been popular for personal care products ranging from soaps to toothpastes, but a recent development has brought the technology to the lotion sector. Rexam (www.rexamairspray.com) teamed up with specialty chemical firm Degussa to develop what is said to be the industry’s first foaming lotion. Because the lotion formulation can be prepared with a minimum amount of mild surfactants, the application holds special appeal for marketers of leave-on products such as facial or body moisturizers as well as baby care, sun care and shaving/depilatory products.