In China, the nests of swiftlets—bird’s nests, literally—have been consumed as a health food for centuries. Now U.S. consumers can easily partake of this nutritious delicacy in liquid form. Ready-to-drink Blessing Birdnest, sold in multipacks, is an authentic bird’s nest product produced in the United States.

The Blessing Birdnest beverage packaging uses a combination of English words and Chinese characters on bottle labels and cartons to communicate the product’s position as a delicacy in the Far East. The two-pack and six-pack cartons are also printed with a Made in USA icon on the front panel.

To highlight the shapely 5-oz glass bottles, imported from Italy, the cartons have dual die-cut windows. The bottles are packed side by side into the cartons for visibility through the windows. Clear thermoformed inserts hold and cushion the bottles, keeping them slightly separated to prevent glass-to-glass contact. Eco-friendly inks are used to print the cartons, which are shrink-wrapped after being filled with bottles.

Graphics on the labels and cartons portray swiftlets in flight, adding energy and elegance to the package design. Sandra Lim, general manager for Blessing Birdnest, fields some questions about the product and packaging. Lim is also the chemist who developed the Blessing Birdnest drink.

Where is the Blessing Birdnest drink produced?

Lim: The raw materials come from Indonesia, but the product is produced in New Jersey.

What do the Chinese characters printed on the packaging mean?

Lim: The seven characters’ translation is: "Pure, Natural Sugar Bird's Nest."

Do you use a custom bottle?

Lim: It's a customized glass bottle with our birds logo at the bottom of the bottles.

How are the bottles decorated?

Lim: The bottles are decorated with a shrink-sleeve label.

Is the cap a standard metal vacuum closure?

Lim: It’s a metal screw-off cap in which the middle pops to indicate it has been opened.

Did Blessing Birdnest work with a packaging design firm on this project?

Lim: Linny Zhang is the designer for lids, labels and retail-box designs.

How widely available is the product in U.S. stores?

Lim: This is a nice specialty item. At this time, Blessing Birdnest is available through select specialty stores that cater to Asian consumers (mainly Vietnamese and Chinese). We are working on expansion, as more and more diverse customers recognize the benefits of bird’s nest.

Retailers were initially resistant to the unusual horizontal configuration of your six-pack. How did they get past that?

Lim: Retailers embraced the unusual shape of the package because it popped! It was different from anything else on the shelves.

*****************************************************************

Find new ideas for beverage packaging design at EastPack 2016, June 14-16, in New York City. Check out the agenda for the Food & Beverage Packaging conference at EastPack.