Originally Published PMPN February 2005
OTC Drug Packaging
Counter Intelligence
Increased information requirements and the
need to stand out on the shelf are leading OTC packagers to develop unique solutions.
by Ben Van Houten
Senior Editor
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| Nosco’s Fix-a-Form expanded-content labels are designed to add copy space to OTC packages. |
“There has been an explosion of OTC drugs that used to be prescription-only,” confirms Hal Grossman, president of Generic Pharmaceutical Services Inc. (GPSI; Hauppauge, NY). “And a lot of those drugs are also generic, which has helped our business.” But with that added business comes a variety of new challenges. For one thing, companies must try harder than ever to get their products to stand out on increasingly crowded drugstore shelves.
“It can be really difficult to differentiate your brand when there are already thousands of products on the shelves,” says Ed Hudson, executive vice president for The Nosco Printing Group (Waukegan, IL). In addition, since physicians and pharmacists are removed from the patient counseling process with OTC products, package labeling is more important than ever. And with FDA’s Drug Facts box requirements already taking up premium package space, package designers are facing even bigger challenges.
Competing For
Counter Space
“There’s no doubt that companies are competing for counter space today,” says Grossman. GPSI, which specializes in pouches, blisters, and capsule bonding, is currently working on a specialized package for a generic form of the allergy drug Claritin, according to Grossman. “With OTC pharmaceuticals, we’re finding that customers want to offer smaller samples of these products, similar to what’s happening in the nutritional market,” he says. “And obviously that means smaller package designs, such as 2-, 4-, and 6-unit doses.” He says GPSI has been producing a high frequency of stand-alone blister cards with Drug Facts on the back. The front of the package acts as the billboard for the product, complete with graphic elements. “A matchbook in a blister card casing is the most popular request, and also the most professional-looking package you can have,” he adds.
Visual impact and shelf appeal are also key considerations, according to Howard Thau, president of Sonic Packaging Industries Inc. (Westwood, NJ). “Our customers are asking to use secondary packaging to do that, using that billboard space to really advertise the drug,” he says. “That’s a challenge, because much of the new OTC packages need to be smaller unit-of-use versions. So we have to make sure we can use that space in a creative way, while also using all the regulatory and consumer safety information. You need to look at the primary and secondary package as equally important.”
The use of vivid colors and other attention-getting graphics is also becoming a widely used design tactic. Innovative Creative Packaging Solutions (South Plainfield, NJ) is one of the companies being asked to provide more color on OTC packages. Last year, Innovative acquired a new digital label press that enables the printing of much more colorful graphic elements. “High-impact graphics are popular in OTC right now, and this gives us the ability to help get that across,” says Steve Lindy, sales manager for the company. The new press is designed to accommodate clients that need image changes and special colors, he says. “It also allows for production on many different substrates,” he adds.
Innovative also worked with one of its pharmaceutical customers to develop packaging for the OTC allergy drug Loratadine. That package’s graphics used different colors and styles for different retail distributors.
“Another big trend we’re seeing is an increase in requests for packaging film-strip solutions,” says GPSI’s Grossman. “So many of the new OTC drugs use film applications or delivery systems. As such, they need to be packaged in blister card overpacks, with the product placed in the billboard. OTC manufacturers also don’t want their products to go into sleeves anymore.”
The challenge, as always, is to find a way to keep costs down, according to Grossman. “When you’re designing things outside the box, so to speak, it can quickly become more expensive,” he says. “Customers want their product to jump off the shelf, which means more color or some interesting package element. We’ve found a way to keep material costs down by working with vendors that are willing to work with us.”
Child-Resistant Features
Sonic’s Thau reports that, no matter what new design trends transpire, OTC customers are always looking for a combination of ease-of-use and security with regard to packaging. “You have to make sure the consumer doesn’t have to struggle to open it,” he says. “At the same time, child-resistance is always a key as well. That can be a balancing act, of course.”
Indeed, child-resistant features are becoming an increasingly popular choice for OTC packagers. Sharp Corp. (Conshohocken, PA), for example, offers child-resistant pouches for its OTC sample packs. Consumers open the pouches by folding the sealed foil at one corner, exposing a notch in the film that allows them to tear open the package. The company also modified its pouch production operation by adding a function to its vertical form-fill-seal unit that would simultaneously seal the pouch and cut the notch. A second die station was then added directly under the existing sealing station to smooth out the notch.
The Labeling Challenge
FDA’s Drug Facts ruling, now in its sixth year, continues to affect OTC package design. Under the terms of the ruling, pharmaceutical companies must standardize information such as active ingredients, purpose, uses, warnings, directions, and other data into an easy-to-read format. Likewise, the labeling must adhere to specific requirements for headings, subheadings, and minimum type sizes. The agency also recommends that each format be placed on both primary and secondary packaging.
FDA also recently released a new guidance on OTC labeling that clarifies the Drug Facts issue for those still dealing with labeling revisions. One OTC packager, Diamond Packaging (Rochester, NY), has created a packaging line, dubbed Design Relief, which seeks to deal directly with the challenges of Drug Facts. The line features a carton with a foldout panel that fastens to the outside of the carton. However, the carton can be easily opened to reveal the Drug Facts. An additional carton contains a pull-tab panel that extends to reveal the Drug Facts, promotional coupons, or compliance information. “It’s been very successful for us,” says Lisa Palvino, Diamond’s director of marketing. “It offers our customers a very versatile design that gets around some of the challenges of incorporating so many elements onto one package.” In addition, the Design Relief packages allow space for logos and other branding elements.
Nosco is another company helping OTC manufacturers with labeling challenges. Nosco’s Fix-a-Form is a multi-panel label product line designed as a more effective way for brand managers to communicate product benefits to consumers, packagerc. “Multi-panel labels are more and more in demand due to areas of minimum point-size requirements,” says Nosco’s Ed Hudson. “They also offer the potential for some companies to eliminate inserts for challenging applications. The other big value is for brand managers to provide more information and also for cross-promotional purposes. It becomes an interactive piece and offers a manufacturer the chance to better communicate with the public.”
Nosco’s multipage pressure-sensitive leaflet label is also designed to add significant copy space for increased product or promotional messages. Fix-a-Form stays affixed to the carton or bottle and is accessible multiple times, and can be applied using current labelers without impacting packaging line speeds, according to Hudson. In addition, single or layered overt, covert, or forensic security features can be added to Fix-a-Form as part of an anticounterfeiting strategy. Nosco also offers another expanded-content multipanel carton that creates even more space.
The company packages a variety of OTC products using pressure-sensitive labels, cartons, printed literature, and Fix-a-Form products. Using label printing processes that produce paper, opaque, and clear film products, Nosco can create more combination graphics. “Innovation and lower total package acquisition costs are major trends,” says Hudson. “By working with more creative graphic elements through this process, a high-impact package can be developed to increase shelf presence.” He adds that the Fix-a-Form is well-suited for multiple-language labels. “It can be part of a cost-controlling program, because one package worldwide can be manufactured with substantially lower production costs,” he says.
Two-In-One
Another OTC trend on the rise is the use of copacking two distinct brands or sizes together. “It’s possible to use creative packaging and alternative delivery systems as a way to differentiate yourself from the competition on the shelf,” says Sonic’s Thau. “As more OTC manufacturers move toward alternative delivery, it presents an opportunity for packagers to combine two products into one package, since it is more convenient for the consumer. Again, that’s a great way to stand out.”
It’s also another challenge. “Because more marketers are combining two completely different drugs, that presents a whole new challenge for OTC packagers,” adds Thau. “It can be especially hard if the drugs are totally dissimilar, such as a tablet and a powder, or a tablet and a liquid. Package consolidation for those two products is good for the consumer, but tough for the packaging company.”
Some companies, such as Sharp Corp., are meeting that challenge with new designs. Sharp recently developed a package design called Tri-Lam that is used specifically for tandem packaging of dual products that allow single-delivery applications.
Going forward, drug-delivery technologies will likely lead the way in terms of OTC trends, according to GPSI’s Grossman. “The next wave of OTC drugs will include new opportunities for packagers to come up with creative solutions, whether it involves packaging a film strip or copacking several different products,” he says. “I’d guess that we’re only seeing the beginning of this trend now.”
Copyright ©2005 Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News
