The children’s beverage brand Capri Sun, owned by German food ingredients manufacturer Rudolf Wild (Eppelheim; www.wildflavors.com), has developed a new type of clear packaging for its one-portion pouches that it says illustrates transparency both literally and figuratively. The US launch is being flanked by a USD 45m advertising campaign and follows a public discussion about what is inside the packaging.

In 2012, the mother of a young consumer reported her son had found a worm in the bottom of a drinks pack. The news spread like wildfire on social media, creating negative publicity for the US arm of the company. Its experts subsequently identified the supposed animal matter as mould – that can sometimes settle in the bottom of a pouch containing products like Capri Sun, which get by without artificial preservatives.

To make it clear in particular to parents what is inside the packaging, the company replaced the material on the bottom of the pouch with a transparent nylon. The 2-ply laminate uses the same inner material as the existing foil laminate, with a durable and transparent outer layer that is resistant to punctures. Initially, the new clear-bottom package will be for sale only in the US market.