So how do parents and schools replace sugar-laden drinks with plain old H2O and milk as exciting, viable options? Maybe all it takes is a change in marketing and packaging.


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When it comes to kids, there's a golden opportunity in the marketplace right now. No doubt about it. Several factors have recently converged to create a "perfect storm," and that always opens the door to new, unprecedented opportunities.
The perfect storm: Childhood obesity has been steeply rising. Obesity rates have more than tripled in kids aged 6-11 over the past 30 years. Carbonated soda and sugary drink machines are being expelled from schools due to public outcry. Parents are pushing for better options to meet their growing children's nutritional needs.
There's always a queue of new kids' beverages debuting, and there's even greater pressure now, since consumer packaged products companies are scrambling to fill the void that soda is beginning to leave behind.
As the president of a consultancy that specializes in branding and packaging–as well as understanding kids' demographic groups–I can tell you that there are unique challenges when it comes to marketing kids' products.
So how do parents and schools replace sugar-laden drinks with plain old H2O and milk as exciting, viable options? Maybe all it takes is a change in marketing and packaging. The Palm Beach Post recently published an article about making milk more palatable to the students in Martin County, Florida.
Simply put, milk that used to be sold in pint cartons, is now appearing in 8 ounce bottles dubbed "chugs" and pint-sized plastic bottles. Brightly colored plastic bottles, and options: regular, vanilla, chocolate and strawberry milk ought to catch a child's eye, with a new, and added appeal. The only "downside" to this is the cost: plastic packaging raises the price of milk by 10 to 15 cents more per unit.
This new way of merchandising milk in elementary and middle schools, is not unique to one Florida school district. According to the article, of the 1,200 school districts surveyed by the School Nutrition Association, 36% offer plastic milk bottles at the high school level; 28.4% at middle schools and 14.2% at the elementary school level.
The purpose: To persuade kids to drink milk after they leave elementary schools.
And what about H20? By brand packaging water in unique, rocket ship shaped 11 ounce bottles, and naming it "Aquapod," Nestle may have hit on something big.
Nestle is clearly committed to this concept, it has allocated serious resources to the launch of Aquapod. Aquapod's tag line: "A blast of fun" is being utilized in highly animated advertising and deluging Nickelodeon and other popular kids' channels with spots.
On the company's own web site, kids are invited to "Pull here for a blast of fun," enabling them to see an animated storyline and participate in games.
Aquapod ads are full of fun and action, decrying any idea that drinking water is... well, dull. Aquapod's packaging has been specifically designed to make drinking water cool, enjoyable and fun. This is clearly a take-it-anywhere package, from the ball park to the beach, school lunches and every other venue where kids used to bring soft drinks. Suddenly, it's cool to be drinking water!
Nestle has launched the Aquapod sub-brand for each of its regional water brands in the U.S. with heavy distribution in grocery stores and mass merchandise operations: Poland Springs, Northeast; Ice Mountain, Midwest; Deer Park, Mid-Atlantic, Arrowhead, Western states, among others.
Will these brightly colored, structural packages help sell kids on better beverage choices? I'm betting they will.