A line of gel and cream body washes from Method Home Care, San Francisco, packaged in custom, 15-oz, teardrop-shaped polyethylene terephthalate bottles, is geared toward upscale urban women. It is being sold at mass-merchandise retailers, most notably Target. The line features four varieties—two gels and two cream products—each in a tinted bottle, whose color reflects the contents: orange for Mango Mint; pink for Cassis Flower; green for Olive Leaf; and purple for Lavender Thyme. The body wash sells for $3.99.

Innovative packaging design is one of the critical elements that drives Method's business, so the company used the services of well-known industrial designer Karim Rashid to create the look for its body-wash line.

The bottles are supplied by Amcor PET Packaging (www.amcor.com). This marks Amcor PET Packaging's entry into the personal-care field. "At first, I didn't think we would be a good fit," explains Gerry Chesser, Method's vp of operations. "As a small player, we didn't want to be thrown in with the big boys." However, Amcor recently established the Personal Care business unit as part of its Diversified Products division. "Paul Davis, business manager for the new venture, came to me and told me that he was starting a 'company within a company'—one that was being set up to handle the needs of smaller, personal-care marketers," he adds. "They proved they were able to take the design and commercialize it within a very short time frame. It showed their ability to take on a small project and devote resources to it. The passion they showed for the product and engaging in the whole process was amazing."

The new bottles, which have a 24/410 finish, are topped by a two-color, Disc-Top closure from Seaquist Closures (www.seaquistclosures.com). The disc matches the bottle color, with transparent white being used for the closure skirt. The back bottle panel also features an embossed Method logo and a recessed area for the back label. Both the front and back transparent, pressure-sensitive, four-color labels are supplied by Pamco Label Co., Inc. (www.pamcolabel.com).

Method received positive feedback on the product and package, Chesser says.

Method says it also chose Amcor for a hand-wash bottle.