R&D/Leverage Expertise Helps Entrepreneur Launch Breakthrough Concept in Wine Packaging

LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo., Sept. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The technical and beverage-specific expertise of R&D/Leverage (www.rdleverage.com) helped a visionary entrepreneur successfully launch his "now-why-didn't-I-think-of-that!" product in only a few short months, shatter the limitations of popular wine packaging and position the company for eventual national distribution.

Stacked Wines LLC (www.stackedwines.com) was conceived by creator and company co-founder Matt Zimmer, who sought a stylish, portable and recyclable packaging solution for informal consumption, be it tailgating or in the backyard. He teamed with two fellow MBA students at UC-Irvine to develop a product that offered quality taste, simple style and, importantly, ultra-convenience.

What the team envisioned, and sketched, was a practical and easily-stored four-pack of stem-less wine glasses that vertically stacked to form the equivalent of one full 750ml bottle of wine. Each individual serving was to communicate the look and feel of a real wine glass and deliver the durability of plastic. A foil seal would preserve the wine's freshness within each single serving and an overwrap would deliver brand messaging and consumer product information. The compact, stacked format, Zimmer correctly reasoned, would also appeal to shelf-space starved retailers and would allow 30 percent more cases per truckload than other format options.

"R&D/Leverage was highly recommended by an industry source," Zimmer said. "We needed expertise into how to commercialize our vision. And with so many launches in our industry, time was of the essence, since we compete against standard bottled wines and boxed wines, which are increasingly popular.

As a start-up, with limited capital and a new concept, we needed to get into production fast and have the design and tooling right – the first time," Zimmer said. "R&D/Leverage proved to be a great partner to work with, and they delivered on all counts."

According to Jeff Beason, Project Engineer, R&D/Leverage, his team tweaked the customer's initial product sketches and delivered a manufacturable design with the snap-together feature that was a key to enhanced consumer and trade functionality. The design was completed and approved in just three weeks. "Our design evaluation was done in early April of 2011 and we got an approved design on April 22nd," he said.

Critical to the success of the stacking design was the creation of a snap-together feature that involved precise undercuts. "It was a challenge, and we got it done -- and quickly," Beason said. The unit tool was built in early June, with a final sample delivered three months later, in late August. The production tool was shipped November 10th.

"The wine industry is gravitating towards alternative packaging solutions, with the acceptance of bag-in-box, aseptic packs, cans, screw caps and more. Sometimes, today's on-the-go consumer just wants one glass of wine without opening an entire bottle," Stacked Wines' Zimmer said. "Thanks to the technical support of R&D/Leverage, we commercialized a breakthrough concept loaded with consumer and trade appeal. Regional sales volumes have validated our vision. As a result, we will continue to expand distribution and, in time, become a national brand," he said.

Photo:
http://www.ereleases.com/pic/2012-StackedWine.jpg

ABOUT R&D/LEVERAGE

R&D/Leverage USA, headquartered in Missouri, services the food and beverage, home and personal care, and healthcare industries. It is the only company to offer both structural brand development and mold manufacturing capabilities. Structural brand development capabilities are upfront research such as retail audits that include trend and color study, ethnographic research, consumer focus groups, concept development, validation, and implementation. Mold manufacturing capabilities include full mold manufacturing for PET tooling, IBM tooling, Injection molds, as well as unit tool development, testing, validation, and training.

R&D/Leverage Europe is recognized as one of the world's leading suppliers of single stage tooling, and supplies bottles and jars in PET. Services include product evaluation, tooling design, tooling manufacture, and technical service assistance. The company also has on-site injection stretch blow molding machines (ISBM), from which the company offers pilot tooling, material trials, color trials, and production tool qualification.

Combined, R&D/Leverage Global serves customers in 32 countries, and is the first and only company to provide this full range of packaging solutions. For more information, visit www.rdleverage.com or email [email protected].

Contact: Robert Schiavone
R&D/Leverage
816/525-0353
[email protected] 
www.rdleverage.com

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SOURCE R&D/Leverage