New Squish’ems! applesauce-based fruit snack is packaged in a flexible, squeezable stand-up pouch with a built-in straw and kid-friendly, resealable cap that makes on-the-go consumption nutritious and fun.
The hot-filled, twice-pasteurized fruit snack uses a proprietary, multilayer film laminate from Hosokawa Yoko Co. (www.hosokawa-yoko.co.jp) that facilitates high-quality, eight-color gravure printing on the outer layer, as well as excellent barrier properties and shock- and pressure-resistance. The pouch design is a CDF (www.cdf1.com) Cheer Pack, a squat and compact, side-gusseted package that is easy for little hands to grasp.
Totally kid-centric, the package incorporates a patented, anti-choking cap from Gualapack S.p.A. (www.gualapack.it). Not only does the cap exceed the 31.75-mm inside diameter of the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (www.cpsc.gov) small parts cylinder (SPC), making it difficult for children to swallow, but it is also designed with vents and holes on the top so that if it is accidentally ingested, it won’t obstruct the throat.
Colorful, cartoon-like graphics by Design Smith (905/927-2600) decorate the pouch, with illustrations of fingers around the sides of the package inviting kids to grasp and squeeze. The Dole brand logo is positioned prominently on the front of the pouch, along with vibrant fruit illustrations.
The 90-g Cheer Packs are filled on equipment from Gualapack at Dole co-packer Eco-Container Corp.’s (www.eco-container.com) Vancouver, BC, facility. Pouches are packed four and 16 to a die-cut paperboard carton, supplied by Cascades (www.cascades.com).
Peter Stewart, senior business development manager for Dole Canada, relates that the product was launched last year in Canadian retail and club stores and, if successful, will be an option for all other Dole units worldwide.
