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.

Trays would be simpler, but stand-up pouches differentiate Wally’s Food Company from all of the prepared-foods businesses in San Francisco. The packaging nicely suits the outfit’s current delivery-only status, but it’s also a system that will work with minimal modification when the line hits retail.

Hand tags attach at the top to allow a clear view of the premium contents inside. Consumers like the system for its ease of use: they simply tear the tag off and place the food in a bowl for heating, with minimal waste. Once at retail, the chosen structure will max out the number of SKUs displayed in the refrigerated case. The clear pouches and color coding (a hue for each food category) will also facilitate purchasing decisions.

“Fresh prepared foods are normally in trays, where you’re looking down at the package,” says designer Philippe Becker, Philippe Becker Design (www.pbdsf.com). “Here, you’re looking at it at eye level which will make it easier to shop.”

Starbucks recently asked Jim Beam Brands to add a little kick to its coffee. The resulting collaboration is Starbucks Coffee Liqueur, which launched in a martini-shaker-shaped bottle—a research-based design that positions the offering beyond the traditional cordial profile by communicating its mixable qualities. The liqueur also stands out from customary liqueur packaging, which features paper labels and thick bottoms, with a shaker-shaped bottle designed by Lipson, Alport, Glass and Associates (www.laga.com), featuring a debossed logo, simple typography and embossed lettering that adds a tactile quality.

Available in 750 ml and 1 L sizes and in 50 ml trial samples, the liqueur won’t be available in Starbucks retail locations, only in restaurants, bars and retail establishments where liquor is sold. According to Kelly Doss, senior brand manager, Starbucks Coffee, the launch is being supported with an integrated campaign, including print and out-of-home advertising, sampling, and a bartender education campaign.

Productscan Online gets you samples of products. Contact Tom Vierhile at Productscan® Online and Marketing Intelligence Service at 585.374.6326, ext. 28, or mi@productscan.com