Abstract: The present invention provides a container having an improved clarity and color. The container includes a multi-layered wall. The wall may have one or more polypropylene layers, one or more ethylene-vinyl alcohol layers, and one or more tie layers. The tie layers include an adhesive or adhesive mixture for bonding adjacent polypropylene and ethylene-vinyl alcohol layers. The adhesive mixture may include a mixture of polypropylene and maleated polypropylene. Polypropylene in one or more of the layers including the tie layers may be of a clarified grade. A colorant may be added to one or more of the layers. For example, a transparent polymeric colorant may be added to one or more of the polypropylene layers. A dye may be added to a polypropylene layer wherein adjacent ethylene-vinyl alcohol layers inhibit the dye from migrating out of the polypropylene layer.

Abstract: A package and method for products is provided. The package includes a non-planar package comprising a wall formed of polymeric material, and at least one tracking device partially embedded within a thickness of the wall during forming of the package such that the tracking device is exposed and visible on a surface of the package.

Abstract: A package for a food product that is packaged in dry form and is prepared by adding liquid such as hot water, comprises a primary container formed as a tapered plastic drinking cup, and a cup holder also formed as a tapered plastic cup. The primary container and cup holder are configured so they are nestable inside each other. The package is convertible between a packaged configuration in which the cup holder is nested inside the primary container, and a serving configuration in which the primary container is nested inside the cup holder. The food product can be contained in the primary container or in the cup holder. A membrane can seal the cup holder closed. An outer wrapper such as a shrink band or label can hold the cup holder in the primary container and provide tamper evidence, and can also serve as a moisture and/or oxygen barrier.

Abstract: There is provided an overcap that includes a storage compartment for receiving a product to be mixed with a hot liquid. The overcap includes a top wall defining the storage compartment in an underside of the top wall surrounded by an annular portion. The overcap includes an aperture in the annular portion. The overcap also includes a skirt extending downward from a rim surrounding the annular portion. The skirt extends below a lowermost surface of the top wall and can define a grip surface which a consumer may use to hold the container assembly, such that the grip surface insulates against heat if a hot liquid is held in the container. The storage compartment is sealed with a membrane that is relatively impermeable to moisture. In addition, the skirt includes a plurality of spacers on the inside surface of the skirt that are circumferentially spaced apart and that extend downwardly from the rim of the overcap.

Abstract: There is provided a container with an opening formed by cutting a panel from the container body. A pull feature is joined to the panel and the panel is reattached to the container to cover the opening. The panel is reattached with a sealed, frangible interface so that pulling the pull feature of the panel removes the panel from the container to provide access to the contents within the container through the opening. The pull feature may be a pull tab joined to an outer surface of the panel or may be a pull tab and a ring. To facilitate the formation of the sealed, frangible interface, the ring may be positioned between an outer edge of the panel and an inner edge of the container or may be positioned to overhang the outer edge of the panel and to contact the container proximate the opening. The container may also include a second opening at an opposite end of the container that includes a closure sealed to the container.