"Our goal in entering the sports drink market was to create a technically superior product for athletes that really works and has a clean, refreshing taste," says Mario DiFalco, brand manager for the Berkeley, CA-based company.
To go along with the drink's high-tech nutritional formula, PowerBar knew it needed to develop a package to match. Primo Angeli Inc. (San Francisco, CA) helped design the label and the bottle.
DiFalco and the designers at Primo Angeli felt a full-body sleeve label would offer both a strong appearance and the space to convey the product's message. "The full sleeve wrap helps convey our overall premium positioning of
the beverage," says DiFalco. Ingredients and details about the label's featured athlete are printed on the label.
PowerBar has chosen four different athletes to be pictured on each of the four flavors of both the 20- and 32-oz beverages. Labels will feature different athletes periodically.
Though PowerBar declined to identify the supplier of the bottle or release specific information about its structure, it did say a nylon barrier layer prolongs shelf life while six sidewall panels help the bottle withstand the hot-fill process and allow for better grippability. Each bottle is topped off with a 43-mm gold plastic cap, from an unnamed supplier, that matches the color of the PowerBar logo.
Graphics take full advantage of the wraparound label. A blue field extends from top to bottom of the 2-mil polyester label, which is gravure-printed in eight colors by American Fuji Seal (Bardstown, KY). At the neck of the bottle, a two-toned image of an athlete in action appears on the front. Super-imposed, on the lower part of the bottle, the PowerBar logo and product name are depicted in a splash-like graphic. To each side of these graphics, a clear window reveals the actual product.
"These windows allow light inside the bottle and enhance the container's overall look," DiFalco says.
DiFalco feels the label is the most important part of the package. He says the color blue is used to depict the cool, clean taste of the beverage while the competitive athletes communicate Perform's nutritional boost. "We wanted the label to convey some of the usual cues that define the sports drink category--refreshment and energy--and at the same time leverage the integrity of the original PowerBar brand," says DiFalco.
Perform is sold nationwide in health food and sports specialty stores and retails for $2 for the 16-oz drinks to $3 for the 32-oz size. Initial reports on sales are positive. "There isn't a drink out there like ours," says DiFalco. "And while it's still early, response from the athletes we've targeted has been tremendous."
