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Mattel has rolled out a color-coded packaging system for its portfolio of games. “We have discovered that consumers have a difficult time shopping for games because the games aisle can be overwhelming,” says Phil Jackson, vice president of marketing for Mattel Brands. The company attempts to simplify the shopping experience by segmenting games according to age, occasion, number of players and duration of play. Colored bands and illustrations on the front face of packages represent specific categories and make the brand easier to shop: blue is for Preschool “Fun & Growing”; orange for Travel “On the Go”; purple for Adults “Party Time”, etc.

It’s reportedly a first for sugar—an alternative to multiwall paper bags that also accommodates a standard measuring cup. “We’ve heard from so many customers who are tired of the mess caused by sugar spilling out of paper bags,” says Kevin McElvaney, marketing manager for Domino Foods. He says the sturdy wide-mouth canister, which features an airtight plastic lid and easy-grip handles, prevents counter-top spills and makes scooping out sugar simple and neat. The sunny yellow package will be available in select U.S. markets in addition to the brand’s traditional four- and five-pound paper bags.

Borrowing from standard pharmaceutical packaging, Cargo Cosmetics has introduced a lip gloss in convenient unit-dose blisters. DailyGloss offers 30 fresh applications of lip gloss (one for each day of the month) with 10 doses in each of three shades. To access the day’s supply, you tear off a perforated blister and peel the foil backing. DailyGloss comes with a lip brush, two 15-count lip gloss cards by Klocke of America (www.klockeamerica.com), and a recycled (and recyclable) clam shell “compact” by Canadian-based CP Formplast. Because the compact is free of graphics, it allows the colorful “bubbles” of gloss to sell the product on shelf.