Ceethree's iO Natural Energy Drink, which was recently launched in Sweden, recognized as Pack-Track Innovation of the Month by Datamonitor; 250-ml HDPE cube-shaped bottle features triangular flip-top closure across one corner

Lorena Madrigal

LONDON , November 30, 2011 (press release) – Ceethree’s iO Natural Energy Drink has recently been introduced to the Swedish market in a highly unusual cuboid bottle. The pack is so distinctive in the drinks sector that it has been put forward as Pack-Track Innovation of the Month.

It is the first commercial use in Europe of the Cubis bottle, an extrusion blow moulded 250ml HDPE cube-shaped bottle with a triangular flip-top closure set across one corner and minimalist graphics applied in the form of a shrinksleeve. Not only does the pack shape ensure stand-out on the shelf, but it makes it highly efficient from a retail and logistics viewpoint – the bottles are easily stackable and optimise space utilisation, unlike conventional cylindrical bottles where there is a lot of wasted space around the pack.

Pack-Track Packaging Insights Director Andrew Streeter comments, “You cannot help but admire the difference in this drink pack, which is a bottle but does not look like a bottle to the consumer. On the plus side it is cube-efficient and engages the consumer in a different way to a bottle, with some neat design features to hold the pack. On the down side it is tricky to comfortably drink out of and I wonder if, with a more assertive branding graphics interpretation to exploit its special shape, stand-out on shelf would be stronger and more decisive.”

“We should not lose sight of the good material distribution achieved in the structure and how, coupled with the cuboid shape, this makes for a strong construction,” continued Streeter. “There is a message for everyone here, in that packaging is a creative medium and the market can always be challenged by innovation, plus no doubt some determination!’

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