Action!

One of the best parts of summer is spending time in the movie theater. Mega blockbusters send audiences flocking to theaters all season long. To keep these feature films top of mind, many studios team up with food and beverage consumer packaged goods companies for mutually beneficial sponsorships. Shoppers can bring their favorite on-screen characters into their homes through a variety of snacks.

Take for example, Disney's Cars 2, released in theaters nationwide on June 24. Characters from the animated Pixar flick can be found on a variety of products lining store shelves. This summer, packages of Nestlé's Juicy Juice brand are highlighting the movie's cartoon cars, and consumers can visit the company's website to vote for their favorite animated character and play games related to the picture.

Kellogg's is also getting in on the Cars 2 act. The company's specially marked participating products contain codes shoppers can collect and redeem online for prizes related to the movie. Items include Kellogg's cereals like Froot Loops, Corn Pops, and Apple Jacks; Eggo Waffles, Nutri-Grain Cereal Bars, and a variety of Keebler crackers and cookies.

But that's not all! Kraft Macaroni & Cheese boxes are currently featuring a Cars 2 promotion, and its Jet-Puffed Marshmallows are available this summer in car shapes for the film's launch.

Not to be outdone, Pirate's Booty, a healthy, baked rice and corn puff snack, is offering limited edition 7 ounce bag promoting Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. The Disney movie hit cinemas May 20.

Finally, Harry Potter fans are anxiously awaiting the last installment of the wizard's adventures. The film enters theaters in just a few weeks. No doubt we'll see more Harry Potter food items in stores before the movie comes out July 15. Remember Jelly Belly's BeanBoozled jelly beans? The candies mixed flavors such as rotten egg and moldy cheese in with regular flavors like coconut and peach.

What movie tie-ins do you remember most? Drop me a line and tell me more!

What's Old is New Again

About a year ago, I wrote about the retro trend. From old school cereal packages to beverages returning to classic recipes, when it comes to foods in the supermarket, everything that was old is new again. We're seeing another resurgence of retro this year. Here are just a few of the announcements from food manufacturers in the past couple of weeks.

Be on the lookout for old-school cool from Hostess. The snack cake maker will be offering a variety of sweet treats encased in nostalgic packaging for a limited time, including Chocolate Cup Cakes, Ding Dongs, and Ho Hos. In addition, the company is temporarily bringing back the original banana-filled Twinkie recipe in boxes starring Twinkie the Kid.

Hostess isn't the only company turning back the clock. After last year's huge response to the throwback versions of Pepsi and Mountain Dew made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, PepsiCo announced the drinks would be a permanent addition to its portfolio.

Frito-Lay, another PepsiCo-owned brand, is also getting in on the act, offering classic taco-flavored Doritos in retro packaging.

After rumors that Cap'n Horatio Magellan Crunch (better known as Cap'n Crunch) was sailing into retirement, cereal maker Quaker Oats, yet another PepsiCo-owned brand, denied the report. Not only is the Captain here to stay, but he's also back with a new line of flashback 60's packaging, complete with collector cards on the back of every box. Find Peanut Butter, Crunch Berries, and Original Cap'n Crunch flavors at a grocery store near you.

Finally, expect to see Heinz Ketchup bottles of yesteryear lining store shelves this summer. The 14-ounce octagonal glass bottles are making a comeback after being replaced by squeezable plastic containers in the 1990s.

What vintage packaging have you recently found in stores?

Pack It Up

Have you ever stopped to think about how important packaging is to a product? The size, color, shape, and material used to hold a product can make the difference between an item flying off store shelves or sitting until it is past its prime. One of the major elements of the marketing mix, packaging is key to attracting a customer's attention; especially when consumers often make a judgment about the contents of the box, bag, or container based on it. Read on to find out how some food and beverage consumer packaged goods companies are creating innovative packages to help their manufactured goods stand out in grocery stores and elsewhere.

Today's consumers are more in touch with where their products originate. In addition to seeking items that are organic, local, and economical, buyers are looking for "green" packaging. In response to this preference, many companies have reduced, reused, and recycled the materials that make their packaging. In particular, many of today's water bottles are made with less plastic. Nestlé Waters' brands like Deer Park and Ice Mountain, as well as PepsiCo's Aquafina, and Coca-Cola's Dasani have all created eco-friendly bottles made with less plastic.

Even though cereal companies were the first to start creating their boxes from recycled paper and cardboard, with Kellogg's using recycled board for most of its products since 1906 and General Mills since the 1930s, the companies have recently done more to reduce their materials and consumer waste. By getting rid of the cardboard backing from Special K Cereal Bars, Kellogg's eliminated 4 million pounds of packaging. Kellogg's removed another three million pounds of plastic packaging through liner reductions in 2006. General Mills reduced its carbon footprint for Hamburger Helper when its packaging team reduced the number of pouches in each carton and its product development team changed the shape of the pasta to pack it more tightly in the box.

Recently, I noticed a pack of eight Quaker Chewy Granola Bars on a Target shelf, not in a box, but held together by a type of stickers or tape. Innovative and less waste! And who can forget this fall's SunChips controversy, when Frito-Lay ditched its compostable bag due to a backlash from consumers over the bag's loud rustling noises.

Packaging can also change to accommodate more product. In the case of Heinz, the 141 year old company decided its small ketchup packets weren't enough for most users, and just last week launched its dual-function Dip & Squeeze ketchup package for the food service industry, giving consumers three times more ketchup per packet.

Companies might also work with their packaging design to update a product's look, or to make it easier for consumers to find a product by adding brighter colors, removing wording to highlight the product better, or inserting text to explain benefits like low fat or whole grain.

If you're interested in learning more about packaging, online articles can help to explain the choices companies make when choosing their packages. You can also visit the Institute of Packing Professionals, the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute, or Interpack, the process and packaging international trade fair, for more information.

When at the supermarket, what have you seen on shelves? New packages? Creative packages that solve a problem? Leave a message and tell me more!