Beyond Sprays
Pressurized Packaging
Innovations continue to push the envelope beyond sprays…
If you are reading this article, you are likely closely connected
to the aerosol industry. Readership of this magazine spans
marketers, technical professionals, suppliers, end users and
others, but we all have that same common bond—a love and passion
for the magic pressurized packaging can deliver.
For the bulk of my 20+ year career, I have been a Packaging
Engineer fascinated with how packaging can seamlessly meld
with “formula” to create transformative product magic. Before
university, I bagged groceries and stocked shelves at a grocery
store just outside of Augusta, GA. That is where I first formed a
deep appreciation for the aerosol package. During that time, and
for the better part of three years, I touched virtually every single
aerosol sold through the grocery channel…from deodorants and
disinfectants to hairsprays and spray-on antifungals. At that time,
I only knew aerosols as sprays, more or less a convenient form
of the perfume atomizers my mother used. For me the words
“aerosol” and “spray” were synonymous. It wasn’t until I enrolled
into the packaging program at Clemson University that I began
to understand the magic aerosols can create beyond sprays. It was
there that I began to scratch the surface of understanding what
aerosol systems were and began thinking about how we could
stretch the boundaries of leveraging these technologies.
The difference pressurized packaging
makes in our lives
In reflection for this article, I began to think about the roles
non-spray aerosols played in the rhythm and cadence
of my day to day life. Like millions around the
world, every day I take my favorite postfoaming
shave cream and lather up for a
rich, close shave. The ritual of expressing
that emerald gel into my hand and
watching it magically transform
into a smooth, indulgent shave
cream is a simple little joy that
completes my morning grooming
ritual.
On occasion, I have found myself unexpectantly parked along
the highway or interstate due to a sudden loss of tire pressure.
Without fail, my always-ready tire inflator/sealer effortlessly fills
my tire with a high pressure, non-flammable, expanding sealant
foam that helps me get my family and myself back on track.
As well, no home weatherizing project is complete without expanded
foam insulation. I’ve lived in both Wisconsin and Florida
and this stuff is pure magic that can take virtually any crack, crevice
or hole and efficiently fill it with a durable, weather-resistant,
bug-resistant insulation.
Yes, our world is filled with many examples of non-spray pressurized
packages and the innovation in this area continues to
accelerate in important and meaningful ways. As Sir Isaac Newton
once said, “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders
of other men.” The innovations of the past have helped to
pave a path for the innovations of today and they are increasingly
plentiful.
Pressurized packaging and its role
in health care compliance
Medications not taken as intended can lead to inadequate treatment;
it is easy to understand, but surprising how often this fact
is ignored.
In a report on medication adherence, the World Health
Organization (WHO) quoted Haynes et al as saying, “increasing
the effectiveness of adherence interventions may have a far greater
impact on the health of the population than any improvement in
specific medical treatments.” Among patients with chronic illness,
approximately 50% do not take medications as prescribed.
The obvious question is, “Why?” The reasons can be as varied
as the treatments needed. In some cases, it is physically difficult
for a person with limited mobility to treat the areas of the body
they are asked to administer topical products to. In other cases,
the product treatment experience isn’t easy for the user-patient to
tolerate.
28 Spray November 2018
Scott carpenter
Vp, Marketing & partner Innovation,
Formulated Solutions
This paper was originally presented at the Aerosol & Dispensing Forum in New York.