First impressions mean a lot. Just ask the Washington, DC-based Milk Processor Education Program (www.whymilk.com). Its "St. Louis School Milk Test" increased sales an average of more than 12 percent per school, partly through the use of colorful, new paperboard packaging.

The test, which involved about 165,000 students at almost 300 area schools during the second half of the 2005 school year, experimented with different flavors, marketing programs and milk cartons using 1- or 3-color flexo and 4-color offset printing to help determine which products were most popular with children. If applied nationally, the results would translate into 600 million more unit sales of milk each year and 11 more units of milk for each student each year.

"The test confirmed our hypothesis that enhanced paperboard packaging...can significantly increase school milk sales," says International Dairy Foods Association senior marketing manager Victor Zaborsky.

The flexo-printed cartons helped boost sales a couple percent higher than offset cartons, and the 1-color flexo packs (the control group) actually showed a 0.1 percent sales decline. In terms of cost, offset was more expensive than flexo but delivered similar sales. The higher sales of the multicolor flexo cartons were able to self-fund the extra cost.

Leaping off store shelves is exciting new packaging for Joint Juice®, a glucosamine dietary supplement targeted at arthritis sufferers. For the product's commercial launch, Joint Juice partnered with Atlanta-based MeadWestvaco Packaging Systems (www.meadwestvaco.com) to create a dynamic secondary package for the 8-oz short cans. MeadWestvaco developed the easy-carry, 24-pack Duodozen® carton using a 6-color offset, hexachrome process in combination with a high-gloss UV coating on sturdy Coated Natural Kraft® (CNK) paperboard.

"The hexachrome printing on this new carton creates an exceptionally high-end package," says Bill Wagner, national account manager for MeadWestvaco Packaging Systems. "This particular 6-color process is further enhanced by the smooth surface of the CNK board." The hexachrome printing process uses standard CMYK as well as additional orange and green colors. It runs well on offset presses due to their advanced registry control, Wagner adds.

Printed at a contract facility on the West Coast, the new Joint Juice Duodozen carton will soon be automatically packaged on MeadWestvaco's Duodozen 1250M packaging line at the 7-Up plant in Modesto, CA.

Launched earlier this fall, Gleukos™ sports performance beverages are sold in packaging its maker says is just as unique as the product. Rather than using sucrose or fructose as do most such drinks, Gleukos is made with the body's direct source of fuel— glucose—for faster replenishment. It also comes in 16-oz hourglass-shaped standup pouches converted by Minneapolis-based Ampac Flexibles—Converted Products (www.ampaconline.com).

The shape is said to be easier-to-hold, molds to the body when placed in an athletic apparel pocket, and features Ampac's Smart Spout™ fitment/valve combination. Despite the pouch's taller profile and narrower base, it is stable enough to stand up at retail without any point-of-purchase assistance, Ampac says. And its eye-catching graphics are gravure-printed via the converter's 8-color Toshiba Sectional Drive gearless press.