Gillette designs a decorated deep-draw blister for new portable razor

A women’s razor package from Procter & Gamble was the first commercial example of think4D technology used in the creation of a decorative, tactile, deep-draw blister. The two companies jointly developed the heat-sealed trapped-blister package for the new Gillette Venus Snap with Embrace on-the-go razor.

Launched in early 2014, the product is a short-handled razor that comes with an injection-molded storage pod. The product’s compact size—the razor is only 2.5 inches long—makes it easy to tuck into a purse, beach bag or toiletry kit.

To complement the product’s small size, the brand owner also wanted to minimize the size of the package. Therefore, the razor is packed into the pod before the pod is filled into the blister.

But with the razor not clearly visible through the blister, the team needed a package-decorating approach that would convey the product’s petite size, bright colors and sculptural, fingertip-friendly design.

The solution was a think4D blister with 1.5-inch depth of draw. Thermoformed into the blister’s consumer-facing curve is a tactile, nearly life-size representation of the product—with UV-coated, high-definition flexo printing registered to the shape of the raised image. The blister is made of amorphous polyethylene terephthalate (APET).

This approach eliminated the need for labels, including not only their cost but also the operational challenge of applying a label to the complex curve of the blister. The result is a cost-effective package with visual and tactile impact that stops shoppers in their tracks.

Mike Marcinkowski, principal engineer, R&D, at Procter & Gamble Global PackDev, led the project team on behalf of Gillette.