ScorCreative at Amcor, the award-winning structural design studio co-located at Amcor Rigid Plastics, has won a BrandPackaging People's Choice Award for its innovative redesign of the Hoist rehydration/sports drink bottle from Hoist LLC, Cincinnati, Ohio. The Hoist design was voted best rigid plastic package of 2014 by BrandPackaging magazine readers in the annual competition which drew stiff competition, including world-class global brands.The BrandPackaging award is the second design honor for the Hoist redesign in the past year. "This is a great accomplishment and honor for a start-up and regional brand and a great testament to ScorCreative at Amcor's great arsenal of talent and the value it offers customers," said Mike Enayah, director of industrial design for Amcor Rigid Plastics. All award winners were featured in BrandPackaging’s December Design Gallery issue.
ScorCreative created a new ambient-filled 16.9oz (500ml) polyethylene terephthalate (PET) package that effectively competes with existing 20oz rehydration sports drink offerings. Hoist is said to be a true isotonic that offers rapid rehydration, versus hyper- or hypo-tonics which are less effective rehydration solutions. The brand's original package was a short, stout 12oz container that picked up steam in the medical market but lacked penetration in the sports drink space.
"We completely redesigned the primary package, recommended moving up to 16.9oz, revisited their branding, and even changed the tagline," explained Damien Moyal, the senior design lead for ScorCreative who spearheaded the project. "We're very proud of our redesign which basically re-positioned and elevated the brand so it could effectively compete in the sports drink market."
Since the project targeted active, athletic consumers, ScorCreative explored silhouettes that communicated fitness, and were lean and svelte in form. Gender-neutral designs were developed, conveying movement and energy. Most importantly, ScorCreative incorporated panels that currently serve no performance function since the product is cold-filled. But if the brand gains traction and increases volume, the panels can be replaced with vacuum-absorbing technology if the product ever moves to a hot-fill process (when vacuum becomes a concern). The strategy behind these "place-holder panels" is that when the time comes to swap them out for performance panels, the brand can retain all of the equity it has built, as the bottle would not incur significant changes to its iconic form. This pre-emptive strike, which addresses both brand and manufacturing concerns, is a testament to ScorCreative's extensive technical and design expertise.
To make the package cost-effective and quick to implement, ScorCreative ensured that the design was compatible with existing preforms. The new Hoist bottle is designed to run on existing filling lines with minimal changeover.
The injection-stretch blow molded container features a 38mm finish and partial shrink wrap label. Hoist premium hydration - available in starfruit, strawberry lemonade, and orange - will be commercially available at retail stores in the Midwest and Southwest (TX, AZ, NM, CO, OK).
