Poppack for UNILEVER: Superior Functionality for Packaging

Home , Bovril, Continental (food brand), Rinso, Solero (ice cream)

EasyPop® by PopPack® – An easy-open, multi-sensory and functional packaging design for flexible and semi-rigid packaging: Pop the air bubble to easily open the package and enjoy!

PopPack for UNILEVER: Superior Functionality for Packaging

Submission Date: 27 July 2020

Summary

PopPack’s EasyPop® is a tactile air bubble incorporated into a flexible or semi-rigid package. When the air bubble is popped by the consumer with one hand, the package’s top seal is broken, making the package very easy for the consumer to open, dispense and consume the product. EasyPop® is an innovative design-tech feature.

PopPack’s EasyPop®: Superior Functionality for Unilever A globally patented and trademarked portfolio of next generation packaging design-tech enhancements that improve consumer interactions for packaging that attracts, protects and brings convenience, sensory experiences (audio-visual, tactile), product protection and practical functionality for Unilever’s consumers.

EasyPop®: An innovation that offers an easy-open, cost-effective all-in-one solution: PopPack® is changing the way people of all ages, throughout the world open packages – with a simple, novel and sensational “pop” of an air bubble. EasyPop® uses an high-performance feature to open packages using the Power of Air™.

The EasyPop® design-tech feature makes Unilever’s flexible and semi-rigid packaging containers easy and safe to open and use, functional, convenient, attractive, interactive and sustainable. The EasyPop® air bubble design is ideal for many types, shapes and sizes of packaging – for single-use, multi-use and re-fill products – suitable for diverse consumer lifestyles. EasyPop® for Unilever can make packages sensory through a unique “popping sound”, with a visually distinctive appeal, tactile experience with practical and durable functionality. Its design-tech is a simple, innovative concept – fully adaptable and convenient packaging solution (including sachets) for liquid products, flowable products and packaging for solids, powders, and a wide range of consumer goods.

EasyPop® provides an interactive, multi-sensory experience: EasyPop® for Unilever offers its global consumers a multi-sensory experience while having single use, multi-use or re-use solutions, with consumer-friendly designs that can instantly differentiate and further promote Unilever’s product brands. Packaging with the EasyPop® air bubble also brings a novel experience to the consumer-user through tactile touch of the air bubble, with visual distinction, and a defining “popping” sound to open. EasyPop® for Unilever creates a positive, simple, memorable, sensational experience. This design-tech is engaging, memorable and fun for all ages and abilities.

EasyPop® is ideal for high-performance and light-weighting packaging with superior functionality: The EasyPop® packages are designed for customer convenience and protection - anywhere, anytime. This unique packaging design feature minimizes contamination and pathogens – with strong protection and durability to ensure that the Unilever package has not been tampered. The package can be easily opened with one hand allowing controlled dispensing and consumption. If needed, the package for solids can also be re-closed by the customer with an added, standard product-safe pressure adhesive. EasyPop® packages and sachets for liquids and flowable products have a functional self-closing design, which are lightweight with reduced plastic, and without caps or lids. Packages do not spill after opening – even after multiple uses.

EasyPop® is a marketer’s delight: EasyPop® for Unilever offers a novel consumer experience, convenience and functionality with customized effects and visible, audible, and tactile distinction. The popping bubble can be used in a variety of ways – for creating brand loyalty, customer convenience, child-friendly and senior-friendly packaging, special promotions, and smart, personalized packaging connectivity at point of use with unique or interactive third-party serialization, or smart mobile device activation sensors and other technologies. The air bubble itself is a valuable, high-performance enhancement to any package or container.

Cost-effective, instant integration with online packaging machinery filling and sealing: Unilever can incorporate EasyPop® for custom-packaging development across multiple product types and brands. Existing packaging machinery can be cost-effectively customized on VFFS, HFFS or thermoform packaging lines to produce EasyPop® – adapted for standard packaging production systems while maintaining or improving line-speeds. The design-tech minimizes excess packaging materials, such as hard caps, fitments, lids, tear strips and other materials. The design thereby reduces materials cost and increases production line efficiencies.

Circular and sustainable supply-chain solutions aligned with Unilever’s Sustainability Living Plan: Importantly, PopPack’s package solutions are designed for affordability and sustainability – to minimize resources expended and to reduce waste. EasyPop® for Unilever offers significant enhancements across the entire value-chain while interactively engaging the customer and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in line with Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan. The engaging “popping” sound provides assurance that the package contents are fresh, safe, clean and un-tampered. Since the package does not tear or rip after opening and can be made using only one (mono) film type, with no loose parts or tear-off pieces – the lightweight package can be easily recycled in its entirety after use, collected and sorted, thereby also reducing flow of plastic waste and excess plastic materials.

EasyPop’s versatility & universal applicability for multiple channels: EasyPop® for Unilever can be applied to flexible and semi-rigid packages of many shapes, forms and sizes – for both liquid and solid products. It has been tested for numerous food product types and uses – with a proven durability to withstand extreme temperature variances, UV light and moisture conditions. EasyPop® can use a broad range of high-quality standard food-grade films, recyclable films and compostable films. EasyPop® can be an integrated feature for Unilever bags, pouches, stand-up pouches, stick packs, semi-rigid containers, bottles, trays, sachets, and blister packs, and can combine with standard reclosing features. EasyPop® can be applied to many types of foods, refreshments, and beverage products for Unilever brands – with designs to extend shelf life and reduce plastic and packaging waste.

Market readiness via global IP, patents and trademarks: PopPack’s packaging and sensory marketing patents, issued and pending, offer proven technologies for Unilever which are market-ready for customization by brand and product line. PopPack has multi-year relationships with some of the world’s leading packaging machinery manufacturers to promptly facilitate cost-effective deployment and purpose-built implementation of packaging and marketing solutions.

Desired Outcomes & Key Success Criteria:

PopPack’s EasyPop® aligns with delivering the desired outcomes, per Unilever’s Open Innovation Call, specifically as follows:

Desired Outcomes: PopPack’s EasyPop® Packaging Key Success Criteria Solutions for Unilever: for Unilever:

Unilever’s Growth EasyPop® packaging with superior EasyPop® aligns with Unilever’s Fundamentals: functionality and efficiency provides and focus on high growth priorities: • Improved penetration facilitates the following: • Superior functionality • Impactful innovation • Attractive, with novel, multi-purpose • Performance/protection • Design for channel packaging/product enhancements • Consumer interaction/appeal • Purposeful brands • Convenience with high performance • Consumer convenience • Fuel for growth • Sensory (audio, visual, and tactile) • Cost effective • Extended shelf-life and durable • Less plastic/better plastic product protection • Lighter weight, yet premium • Supply chain efficiencies Interactive packaging - Consumer functionality and While enhancing consumer brand solutions for diverse convenience, for diverse lifestyle uses experience and sustainability consumer lifestyles Novel packaging triggers a sensory, through: and product channel positive experience for consumers - Functionality and performance applications - Visual, sound-based, touch-based - Convenience experience - Ease of use and re-use - Inhibits/prevents spillage or mess, with - Customer interaction, easy to open, dispense, use, multi-use, attraction, appeal and safety and re-use, with portion control - Cost-effective - Protection against damage Easy to open, user- - Ideal for single/multiple uses and refills - Tamper evident for safe use friendly, high- - Easy to open and use for consumers of and anti-counterfeiting performance all ages and abilities, (tested globally) - Recyclability and recovery, with packaging - Universal innovation, suitable across positive, more sustainable, eco- multiple product lines and brands friendly impacts, light-weighting Functional, - One-handed opening and dispensing and waste reduction mechanical - Visual, tactile and audio enhancements - Interoperable digital capabilities performance of aid in customer accessibility and for health benefits, product sealed packages functional uses safety authentication, product information, simplified after use Uses broad range of - 100% compatible with flexible recycled - Premium protection recycled and films including semi-rigid films and film - Retention of product freshness recyclable films with materials with recycled content and shelf-life less material and less - Uses a single (mono-material) film type - Uses 100% recyclable films, plastic - Lightweight – eliminates excess plastic compostable materials, and materials (caps, fitments, lids, tear films with recycled content strips and covers) - Recyclable and easily collected

Maintains efficient - Minor adaptations to existing - Pre-tested, produced with machine production packaging machinery major multi-national packaging and filling-line speeds - Maintains 100% line speeds machinery companies - Production compatibility for customized - Successfully works with a packages on VFFS, HFFS and range of packaging machinery thermoform packaging/filling lines and filling lines - Higher supply chain efficiencies

Market-ready for - Novel designs patented for multiple - Global patents available for global growth, with packaging types, shapes, sizes and growth markets IP portfolio formats - Immediate partnership, ready - Ready applicability for solids, powders, for product licensing and flowable products, liquids and commercialization beverages - Global IP protection; patents and trademarks

PopPack: Commercial-Ready Design-Tech Packaging

PopPack’s design-tech offerings have achieved ready deployment status. Of these, several packaging designs are ready for market viability testing and are being licensed or commercialized- thereby introducing the innovative - power of air™ in a bubble which, when popped, breaks the seal(s) of flexible packages.

These EasyPop® packages are opened by merely popping a bubble embedded in the seals of the packages. The popping sound engages, interacts and delights the consumer. The contents of the packages are easily consumed without ripping or tearing the film(s) or causing excess packaging waste.

PopPack has produced a number of novel, market-ready packages at Multivac, Germany, the world's largest manufacturer of thermoform packaging machinery. The machinery is well-suited for sachets, stick packs and trays to contain foods, refreshments, personal care, beauty and household products. Other prototypes have been manufactured on vertical form fill and seal packaging machines. Multiple patents for the EasyPop® innovation are issued, and a few other patents are pending worldwide.

PopPack has developed EasyPop® stick packs, sachets, pouches, stand up pouches and bags which are well-suited for Unilever’ food and refreshment brands such as Ben & Jerry’s, Bovril, Continental, Flora, Hellmann’s, Knorr, Marmite, and Heart brand ice cream products such as Magnum, Cornetto, Solero, Vienetta and Carte d’Or.

The EasyPop® packages are also ideally suited for Unilever’ consumer-centric brands for high growth personal care and beauty products, such as Dove, Lux, Lifebuoy, Tresemme, Vaseline, Cream Silk, and Comfort, to empower consumers with interactive packaging for solids and flowable products. Additionally, EasyPop® packages directly apply to Unilever’s line of home care and household products, such as OMO, Persil, Rinso, Surf, Cif and other Unilever brands.

In the event that introducing such innovations for beverages, refreshments and liquids is of interest to Unilever, PopPack has developed EasyPop® package designs specifically for liquid products, which could include Pure Leaf, Lipton, Pureit. These designs have been tested for water, teas, juices, and other still (non-carbonated) liquids.

EasyPop® packages are a cross between a bottle and a pouch and have the potential to replace the aseptic juice box, carton, PET bottle or glass bottle altogether, with a no-spill, self-reclosing feature, after the bottle or pouch is opened. EasyPop® also applies to refill pouches and sachets, and is consistent with Unilever’s sustainable strategies, especially in the More for Less category.

PopPack: Intellectual Property Status

PopPack holds scores of issued patents in North America, South America, Europe, and throughout Asia. Other patents are pending. Patents have been initially filed in the United Sates, and they are held by PopPack LLC. We estimate the total population in these countries is about 5 billion.

Countries where patents are issued include: Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Great Britain, Poland, the Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine, China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Israel, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. The PopPack patent portfolio aligns with Unilever’ global brand markets (both current and potential) in these countries.

PopPack also holds trademarks which are aligned with its patents. Some of the trademarks include PopPack®, EasyPop®, Pop 'N Open®, Pop ‘N Fresh®, Pop ‘N Pour®, Pop 'N Squeeze®, Pop ‘N Snack®, Pop 'N Push®, Pop 'N Peel®, EcoPop®, and Pop 'N Press®, Just for the Fun of It ®, and PopPouch®. The trademarks have been issued in the United States, throughout Europe, in India, China, and Japan. The patents and trademarks referenced above are registered and owned by PopPack LLC, USA.

Benefits of a Packaging Innovation Partnership with Unilever

An innovative packaging partnership with Unilever means that PopPack’s EasyPop® is a market-ready design-tech solution, which could be customized across Unilever’s product and marketing channels. EasyPop® has the potential to be a “defining and functional solution” to accelerate Unilever’s progress towards rapidly achieving more sustainable packaging, reduction of plastic materials and waste, more efficient, high-performance design – with increased consumer appeal and engaging interaction.

PopPack to have an association PopPack solutions are fully with Unilever, a global leader with aligned to Unilever's focus areas: its Sustainable Living Plan & Sustainable Living and Growth, curent innovation call for superior Plastic Reduction, Circularity & functionality in packaging. Transformational Change.

Unilever Sustainable Living Plan

Goal #1: Half the environmental footprint of Unilever Products Goal #2: Help more than 1 billion people improve health & well-being

Contribute to the Circular Economy and the Sustainable Development Goals Less plastic. Better plastic. No plastic. Cost effective. Lighter, yet premium. Supply chain efficiencies.

Mutual Benefits & Opportunities for Co-Development

Mutual Benefits: Co-Development Opportunities:

Development PopPack to augment Unilever’s market development Customization & and global market success across product channels Commercialization

1. PopPack will have an opportunity to work globally with Unilever for the • Patents & EasyPop® suite of packaging solutions across Unilever’s product offerings. Trademarks

2. PopPack will have an opportunity to scale its innovations and continue to • Consumer develop and expand its patent portfolio. Interaction, Engagement 3. Unilever can direct the EasyPop® market viability testing worldwide (including & Appeal testing for children, seniors and persons of all abilities.)

• Industry 4. PopPack solidifies partner relationships with packaging machinery companies Collaborations and film companies for ergonomics, future polymers, mono materials, smart IoT for Shared Value interoperability and technology integration. & Research 5. PopPack will have an opportunity to leverage the investments and activities by • Sustainable its affiliate entities (i.e. Vivia Ventures and Vivia Foundation - Netherlands) for Living and on-going research and sustainability assessments. Growth, SDG’s, Circular 6. PopPack has viable “working” production model(s) for the Circular Economy” Economy and which result in positive impacts aligned with the Sustainable Development Environmental Goals (SDG’s). Stewardship 7. PopPack has an opportunity to work with interactive and interoperable • Technology technologies – with a deeper integration of: Integration

o sustainability assessments for the supply chain, such as ESG, SDGs o smart packaging, connectivity to sensors, mobile devices and blockchain o personalized packaging (with promotions, tokenization, mobile, etc.) o social packaging (promotions related to communities and new initiatives) o packaging for e-commerce and direct to consumer delivery o behavior modifications promoting recycling of plastic packaging waste o pathogen resistant packaging o supply chain data and information embedded in packaging films

PopPack’s Research & Industry Networks to Accelerate Global Market Viability

Research and Assessment Activities

1. Development of patents, trademarks and legal strategies, with over 150 packaging patents issued and pending for sustainable, easy to open package design-tech innovations

2. Ergonomic research and design-tech assessments for hand-related stress factors (with metric calibrations for hand-opening by consumers of various types, shapes and formats of packaging)

3. Research, assessments and collaborations with the Arthritis Foundation, USA for testing functional, easy-open packages designed for the elderly, disabled and handicapped

4. Research and development of valve technologies for packaging of liquids; testing the dispensing and flow rates of liquid products of varied viscosities

5. Research on flexible films and their properties; assessment on film types such as recyclable, compostable, bio-degradable; meetings globally with polymer and films engineers and developers to understand the potential for film properties in the future; meetings at the India Institute of Packaging and IIT – India (various campuses), Michigan State University; Wageningen UR; Multivac (Japan, Germany and India), with testing and assessments of film types and properties for optimal performance

6. Assessment of cold plasma technologies for future, more sustainable and efficient liquid and beverage processing including design of packaging lines to reduce water and energy use and waste

7. Assessment of efficient traceabilty and sensor technologies, vendors and supply chain systems

8. Supply chain traceabilty projects with Vivia Foundation (Netherlands) for groundnuts, ranging from farmer to farm inputs to harvest, and post-harvest testing, food conditions, product shelf-life extension, hermetic storage, pathogen testing, and market accessibility, etc.

9. Market assessment with Vivia Ventures B.V. and MIT Haalbaarheiddsproject. – 2020 grant awarded

10. Identification of new technologies for pipeline development to control, identify and repel pathogens, especially for films developed for packaging food, personal care and health products.

11. Speaking engagements and trade show presentations in India, Europe, Japan, and USA

12. Packaging-related articles published to date about PopPack’s innovations in various packaging industry publications

Packaging Industry Awards

• 2015 Packbridge Easy Open Award: Packaging Innovation Award for Creative Packaging

• 2015 Japan Pack Innovation Award – 1st Place: Technology for novel bubble in the seal and easy-to-open packaging

Industry Research Collaborators, Memberships and Associations

• Active and Intelligent Packaging (APIA) • Michigan State University (School of • Multivac Sepp Haggenmüller GmbH & Co. Packaging) • Tokyo Foods Machinery Co. / Multivac • University of Lund • Pakona Engineers Pvt. Ltd. • Arthritis Foundation • PPI Technologies Group • Wageningen University and Research • Kawashima Packaging Machinery Co. (WUR), TKI Agri & Food • Rovema • Food Valley – Shaping the Future of Food • Bemis • World Food Innovations • Flextrus • Catalyze B.V. • A&R Packaging • ICRISAT – International Crops Research • Mitsubishi Plastics Institute of the Semi-Arid Tropics • Kuraray Films • IC Foods • IndiFoodBev • India Institute of Technology – India • IPP Star – Packaging, Design, Innovation • Indus Forum and Technology Conference • Packbridge – Scandinavia • Holland Circular Hotspot • Millennium Institute • University of California, Davis (UC Davis), • Vivia Foundation – NL Innovation Institute for Food and Health • Vivia Ventures – NL • California Institute of Food and Agricultural • OOST-NL Research (CIFAR) • Netherlands Ministry of the Environment – • University of California, San Francisco Circular Economy (Hand Orthopedics Department) • Millennium Institute, and others

PopPack Presentations for Unilever

Visual presentations incorporate several components detailed in this narrative for illustration and visual representation purposes. This narrative contains a comprehensive set of details and descriptions for the submission. Additional presentations submitted for Unilever for this call have been provided to augment this narrative summary as follows:

Videos: https://www.poppack.com/videos/poppack-for-unilever/ https://www.poppack.com/videos/just-for-the-fun-of-it/ Overview: A PDF presentation for Unilever has been provided.

Submitted by PopPack LLC

c/o Ms. Cheryl E. Harrison c/o Mr. Amit Jain PopPack USA PopPack India 301 Junipero Serra Blvd., Suite 220 502-Y1, Yamuna Pocket D6 San Francisco, CA 94127 USA Vasant Kunj New Delhi 110070 India +1 (415) 452-4272 +91 99896 98881 www.poppack.com www.poppack.com [email protected] [email protected]