PepsiCo won this year’s AmeriStar Design Excellence Award for the Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel Re-Sealable Can. Developed in partnership with Xolution, the package can be opened and resealed as many times as necessary. The design represents a significant upgrade to previous resealable-can designs.

The Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel package is a 16-oz aluminum can that can be opened and closed using one hand. To open it, the consumer lifts a tab on the can end, slides the tab back, and locks it in the “open” position. This motion reveals a drinking aperture. The force required to open the can is less than what’s required to open current, non-resealable can ends.

Resealing the can is equally straightforward: The consumer slides the tab forward (hearing a click when the drinking aperture is covered) and then pushes the tab down to create a gas-tight, leakproof seal.

Instructions etched on the can end and printed on the body of the can explain how to open and reseal the package. In addition, the package design visually communicates when the can end is — and is not — completely resealed, preventing spills and damage to the resealing feature.

PepsiCo’s testing indicates that the resealed can retains the product’s carbonation for about the same amount of time as a reclosed 16-oz polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle, and the can is recyclable.

The can also features a no-slip grip to appeal to video gamers, the product’s target market. Tactile ink creates the grip texture.

“The added functionality of the resealable end is the most innovative feature of the package. It allows gamers to keep the beverage carbonated for a longer period of time. This makes it possible to enjoy Game Fuel and boost their accuracy and alertness throughout multi-hour or multi-day gaming sessions,” says Colin Haynes, associate principal engineer, PBNA Packaging R&D, PepsiCo.

“Additionally, the end can be operated with one hand to allow for continuous gaming; no need to hit the pause button. Finally, gamers love that a resealable can prevents spills that can damage expensive consoles and/or computer equipment,” he adds.

The new package design is compatible with the brand owner’s existing fillers and seamers, and filled cans may be packed into the existing secondary packaging PepsiCo uses for standard 16-oz cans. Thus, in contrast to other limited-production resealable cans, the Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel can is nationally scalable.

“The most challenging part was bringing in a new supplier, Xolution, and demonstrating to all the stakeholders — a supply chain, procurement, finance and others — that the resealable end met all line performance requirements — such as speed, efficiency, and durability — to make the initiative work,” Haynes says.

(Subsequent to entering the 2020 AmeriStar competition, PepsiCo renamed this product. It is now called Mtn Dew Game Fuel.)