Pepsi Americas Central Europe Group (PAS CEG) has re-launched its Toma brand, the leading quality juice in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, in new-style Pure-Pak® Curve™ cartons from Elopak. At an opening ceremony at Pepsi’s General Bottler plant in Prague on May 30, Toma juice in distinctively-shaped cartons (gable-top with a unique curved fifth panel) began coming off the filling line.

While Tropicana is the top Pepsi juice brand in the Americas and Western Europe, Toma has been the leading brand in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland for many decades. Packed in a brick-shaped carton, the product has lost some ground in recent years, so the company decided to update its image for today’s younger, more assertive Eastern European consumers. Extensive consumer research showed that the distinctive shape of the Curve aseptic carton would help re-position Toma in the competitive, fast-growing juice market.

“We did a thorough market analysis in our home markets, including consumer interviews,” said Otakar Rezek, v.p. of marketing of PAS CEG, “and found that Elopak’s Pure-Pak® Curve carton with the innovative curved panel and the Pure-Twist™ screw-cap was clearly rated the best packaging for our Toma range.

The new Curve carton with new graphics is a key to the re-launch of the Toma juice line.

“The pack has emotional benefits with its new shape and design, and clearly stands out from the crowd on retailers’ shelves — an important asset in today’s competitive environment. In this respect, the new package has been an important element of our marketing mix.”

Based on this consumer research, successful re-launches of brands in Curve cartons in Greece and France, and an intensive evaluation period, Pepsi ordered from Elopak an entirely new aseptic packaging line. This included a filling machine, screw-cap applicators, wrap-around machinery, and related conveyor systems. All had to be operational in less than six months to re-launch the Toma brand of eight different juices and nectars, and this target was met.

In the opening ceremony at Pepsi’s Prague plant, Christophe Guillé, senior v.p. and gen. mgr. of PAS CEG and Bjorn Flatgård, pres. of Elopak, untied the knot of a symbolic, huge ribbon, officially starting the new filling line. Also attending the ceremony were Peter Raeder, Norwegian ambassador in the Czech Republic, Bjorn Bjoernsen, commercial councillor at the Norwegian Embassy and Johan Andresen, owner of Elopak.

The Toma cartons, sporting a new graphic design, are now in supermarkets. A strong media campaign will support the re-launch, including television and movie spots, print and point-of-purchase activities, and eye-catching hypercubes in front of 70 selected hypermarkets in Czechia. Great attention is given to superior in-store presence, with specially branded metallic displays.

Elopak, Inc. is the North American business unit of the Elopak Group, a leading global supplier of packaging systems for non-carbonated liquid food products. Best known for its Pure-Pak® gable-top cartons and fillers, Elopak also supplies caps, portion pack fillers, and materials handling equipment.