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Bottled Water Gets Wake Up Call Thanks to T.H.E.M.

Kraft Foods promotes its Crystal Light® On the Go brand to the world by spreading the news that 's8220;something really big is happening to water.'s8221; But the really big news about Crystal Light is not big at all. It comes in the form of single-serve flexible stick packaging, perfected by a company called Technical Help in Engineering and Marketing, otherwise known as T.H.E.M.



Ken Botterbrodt, Senior Vice President of T.H.E.M., explained the growing popularity of single-serve packaging. 's8220;Let's8217;s face it,'s8221; says Botterbrodt, 's8220;plain bottled water can be boring after a while. Products like Crystal Light® On the Go make it easy for bottled water drinkers to add a literal dash of variety.'s8221;



Kraft Foods first contacted T.H.E.M in the summer of 2004 to adapt their Slim Stick® flexible stick packaging technology to Kraft's8217;s Crystal Light® brand. According to Botterbrodt, 's8220;On the Go enables active lifestyle consumers to do more than give their bottled water a little flavor kick. It also enables them to put some of the important minerals back into their favorite brands of bottled water.'s8221; Botterbrodt explains that most people do not drink pure spring waters rich in mineral content. 's8220;The bottled water most people carry around is processed by the big bottlers. Reintroducing some of those missing minerals is a good idea.'s8221;



Legions of bottled water toting consumers simply snap open a single-serve Slim Stick®, pour it into their water bottle, shake it up and enjoy any one of four flavors anywhere, anytime. Crystal Light® On the Go now comes in Lemonade, Raspberry Ice, Iced Tea and Peach Tea. The product is sugar free, adds just 5 calories to water, and contains no carbohydrates.



Other big names using stick pack technology from T.H.E.M. include 4-C, Unilever, and Nestlé. The Marlton, New Jersey-based company recently completed a major expansion of its pilot plant operations, nearly doubling the size. In the past eight months, the company added four new packaging rooms, all dedicated to prototype stick packaging. And according to T.H.E.M., another three stick packaging lines will be added by the end of 2006.



In addition to products in powder form, stick packaging can accommodate liquid, paste, cream agglomerations, lotions and gels. Depending on the quantity of product, they can fit in anything from a wallet to a purse.



T.H.E.M is unique in the packaging world in that it excels in small volume flexible stick packaging, a critical element of any new project initiative. Quantities can range from one to 50 million. Small quantity production is ideal for market evaluation and testing, scale-up, specialty merchandisers, or line extensions.



Every current facility owned and operated by T.H.E.M. meets industry standards for quality and consistency. They also offer comprehensive laboratory support to evaluate, test, and launch products in flexible stick packaging. Each packaging suite is equipped with state-of-the-art HEPA air handling systems with humidity control, and all have integrated bulk handling capability.



As production requirements scale up, T.H.E.M. also offers stick pack customers access to leading, national contract packagers that specialize in this innovative form of single-serve. Power Packaging, an Exel Company, is the leading producer in North America for powder beverage in stick packs



Founded in 1973, T.H.E.M. has served as the gateway for North American companies to find innovative packaging solutions. By monitoring packaging trends globally, T.H.E.M identifies innovations from all over the world for application in a diverse range of industrial and consumer product companies in North America. Visit http://www.them.net.



For more information on T.H.E.M.'s8217;s products and services, please contact:

Ken Botterbrodt

Senior Vice President

T.H.E.M.

5A Stow Road, Marlton, NJ 08053

Tel: 856-988-8436, x 36



For more press information, please contact:

Ed Delia

Delia Associates

295 Route 22 East, Suite 102w

Whitehouse, NJ 08888

Tel: 908-534-9044

http://www.delianet.com



Go to http://www.them.net/Press_Releases/PR-Wake_Up_Call.html for a downloadable version of the release and photo.

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