Polyoak Packaging’s Design First division put a lot of effort into designing and developing the Gourmet Squeeze bottle and pourer. ‘It’s been exciting and challenging working with Willow Creek on this
project,’ comments Alison Louw from Design First.
‘The bottle was designed to be squeezable and reflect the same look of Willow Creek’s glass bottles – right down to the small details on the base of the bottle. This ensures the familiar brand look and feel and enhances customer recognition,’ she continues.
‘We’re extremely pleased with the end result.
Manufactured by Polypet, a division of Polyoak Packaging, the bottle’s oxygen barrier and UV filter (built into the bottle’s brown hue) offers another favourable selling point as it ensures the oil’s shelf life at a minimum of two years.
According to Alan Caldwell, national executive at African Closures (another division of Polyoak Packaging), there were plenty of challenges while developing the pourer insert. ‘We aren’t aware of anything similar, that’s been done in South Africa, using a standard 28mm ROPP closure on a PET bottle,’ he notes.
‘One of the development challenges that faced Design First and African Closures was to ensure accurate enough tolerances so that the pourer could be pre-inserted into the cap, enabling the bottle to be capped in one step on the filling line,’ Alan concludes.
The pourer also ensures the olive oil drips back into the bottle after pouring to ensure there’s no mess.
The handful of chefs, including James Martin and Evita Bezuidenhout, were given a sneak preview of the bottle at the recent Good Food & Wine Show and are very excited about its qualities.
Willow Creek Olive Estate is known not only for its award-winning olive oils but also for its ground-breaking innovation in product packaging.
In fact, as we go to press, we learn that Gourmet Squeeze has won a distinction at the esteemed L’Orciolo d’Oro Olive Oil Competition in Gradara, Italy. This is quite a feat considering other entrants included olive oil from masters in Italy, Greece and Argentina.
‘We want our customers to have an extraordinary experience when using our products – both in terms of quality and superior taste, as well as modern efficiency,’ comments Andries Rabie, Willow Creek’s managing director.
Polyoak Packaging
T +27 021 7109200
Willow Creek
www.willowcreek.co.za
