this new packaging is made of durable flexible materials. it makes difficult for children to unpack the coin sized batteries. hence, it reduces the risk of incidents such as kid swallowing battery. this packaging contains bear warning message and icons conveying the dangers that are associated with coin sized batteries. it also contains information about where and how to seek medical assistance if the batteries are swallowed by the kid. once the pack is opened by an adult, a warning sticker on the back of the batteries greets the opener with a home safety message. according to rebecca oesterle, who is the leader of global packaging development of energizer, the revamp of packaging is in adherence to the company&rsquos mission of serving consumer needs. she further mentioned that this kind of packaging is a solution for the increasing incidents of children swallowing batteries. such incidents are increasing because the numbers of devices that run on coin sized batteries are increased. though the rate of such incidents is relatively low, oesterle says that the time has come to take the initiative to constrain such incidents. though, there was no compulsion from the government regarding the child resistant packaging, as company understood the need of such packaging, it has come up with it. along with introducing a child resistant packaging, energizer is trying to bring this change in the entire industry by advocating for change, conducting deeper research and creating awareness about this problem. to constrain and treat battery ingestion, energizer supports the national capital poison center. along with this, energizer is working with a child safety advocacy and education group safe kids usa. this is for spreading awareness among the consumers, medical community and caregivers through a campaign the battery controlled. oesterle further said that even before it became an official project, the company was looking at the concept. the ideation session was facilitated by oesterle, and they came up with this child resistant packaging design. after various brainstorming sessions, a team came up with twenty different children resistance packaging ideas out of which four were selected by judging them on various parameters. then the best one was selected, which can fulfill the requirements of the company and its customers, as well. chris campbell, who is the brand manager at energizer, has a great experience in the field of conducting shopper research. campbell mentioned that regarding this particular type of child resistant packaging, the consumer&rsquos requirements and goals are fairly put forth. campbell further said that, for coin and watch batteries, they knows how the shopper make a purchase, and what customers look for. a customer neither requires big and bulky packaging, nor many big messages on it. a customer looks for a quality and reliable product. a customer wants to see the packaging and knowing about the number of it. according to campbell, energizer packaging depends on clear indication of product numbers and color coding, in order to let shoppers easily understand which product they need at a glance. he further mentioned that a company aims to trim down its packages where possible. for the multipacks, energizer is trying to use smaller packaging for its product line in order to reduce the footprint. staff engineer steve reed mentioned that whenever the change has to be done in any of energizer&rsquos battery packaging configuration, it involves a lot of team efforts and great communication. he further said that marketing folks were discussed to ensure that the existing equipments will be useful even for the changed packaging configuration. the designs are made in such a way that it will take minimum time for change over. this new child resistant packaging is made of laminated stock, and it consists of white polypropylene, polyester, and another polyester layer. the laminated stock and blister film are supplied by bemis curwood. the production of packaging is done in energizer&rsquos benington, vt, plant. reed said that the energizer&rsquos packaging staff ensured the quality of the material provided that will suit the company&rsquos needs. staff also made sure that the provided material is compatible with the existing packaging equipments. in july 2011, energizer transitioned its battery products to zero mercury content. today, the company is altering its packaging to put across the change. campbell mentioned that the changed product had a little effect on the packaging construction. the artwork and package text conveyed the message. according to him, the best way was used to make customer understand that this is the zeromercury product. zeromercury batteries were mandatory in only three states. then too, energizer implied this change everywhere the company functions. omitting the use of mercury was a proactive initiative by energizer. energizer is constantly and closely working for improvising battery packaging with the help of innovative ideas. lock packaging for hearing aids & ez turn are few among the energizer&rsquos invention. the packaging design includes long tabs that are attached to each battery to facilitate easy handling and insertion. furthermore, energizer has used &ldquopill pack&rdquo foil packs for packing its smaller batteries. this facilitates consumers to carry one or two batteries at a time than the entire package. along with the final consumer, the staffs at energizer makes sure that even the retail customers are completely satisfied. sam&rsquos club was one of the tackled projects by energizer, in which a conversion was made with reseller packaging. energizer was challenged by the sam&rsquos club to improvise reseller, as well as everyday member packaging. a lot of research was done by the energizer and focus groups were formed. now for two years, it&rsquos been in the market in the reseller packaging. the regular club member, who doesn&rsquot want more packaging, was not alienated by this packaging. however, at the same time, this packaging addressed the needs of small businesses and retailers. campbell said that due to the research work, this was the fun project. as child resistant packaging involves a lot of scope for improvisation, it involves an exchange of ideas. oesterle pointed out that as this packaging is made of tougher material than earlier, it will require scissor to open. this may cause a bit of frustration for some customers. oesterle further mentioned that it is a pitfall of the design and the company is willing to accept. source of information httpwww.blisternews.comtagblisterpackaging
