Café Switch, a new brand of concentrated coffee drinks from Belgium's Douwe Egberts, comes in an innovative two-compartment package that lets consumers “pump and froth” the contents with their thumbs. Squeezing the ready-blended liquid concentrate from one side to the other aerates the drink until it froths. The foam then is added to hot or cold water. No espresso machine needed.

The pack's flexible, high-barrier material (below), manufactured by RPC Cobelplast Trading BV (www.rpc-cobelplast.be) of Lokeren, Belgium, is a coextruded, translucent, multilayer sheet for thermoform-fill-seal applications. The supplier worked closely with Douwe Egberts' packaging team at brand owner Sara Lee. Frothing directions are printed on the colorful flexible lidding that seals the compartments.

A high-barrier substrate was essential to protect the product's aroma, taste and ambient shelf life, but equally important was the flexibility to allow the pumping action, says John Flamand of Sara Lee's Innovation and Quality Center. “RPC Cobelplast's expertise in high-barrier materials proved instrumental in bringing the concept to market,” he says.

Wonder Tablitz, a new brand of household cleaners that uses patented effervescent tablets and refillable spray bottles, aims to meet packaging sustainability and environmental goals on several levels. The product is shipping to retailers nationwide this month.

Three product tablets are tucked behind a peel-off label inside a recessed compartment in the bottle's body (at right). Once home, consumers simply add tap water and a single tablet to the 32-oz spray bottle to produce the solution—either glass cleaner, all-purpose cleaner or fabric deodorizer.

Wonder Tablitz lists multiple advantages for retailers and consumers: The product supports retailer sustainability objectives; it costs up to 50 percent less than comparable cleaners; it eliminates large refill bottles; and it reduces the use of plastic bottles by two-thirds or more.

Because each Wonder Tablitz unit represents three 32-oz bottles, fewer corrugated boxes are required, and shipping costs are reduced. The result is fewer carbon dioxide emissions and less landfill waste.

On the converting plus side: Refill tablets are available, sold in fifth-panel, paperboard folding cartons that are either die-cut for pegboard display or grouped 10 to a colorful, point-of-purchase display box (at left).

EcoSol® biodegradable, poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) film from St. Paul, MN-based Cortec® Corp. (www.cortecvci.com), is water-soluble and said to be ideally suited for many pouch-packaging applications. It reportedly has excellent organic solvent resistance, allowing EcoSol pouches and bags to be used not only for dry powders but also liquids.

After a few minutes of immersion at the specified temperature, EcoSol dissolves in water leaving a harmless, non-toxic aqueous solution of poly vinyl alcohol. Once the liquid solution of PVA comes into contact with common microorganisms such as those found in water-treatment plants, conversion to carbon dioxide and water takes place within 30 days.

EcoSol's mechanical properties including tensile strength along with tear and puncture resistance provide for a wide variety of rigorous applications. The material, which is available in sheets and pre-made bags, is heat-sealable and can be printed with standard, solvent-based inks.