It’s pretty tough to get a patent on a beverage or a beverage package. But here DeKuyper claims a patent on the package. The back label says: “DeKuyper Fruit Twisters Tangerine brings you a fun and flavorful drink experience with a unique patented twist cap technology that keeps its delicious fruit flavors and vibrant color separate until you twist the cap to release them.” This patent application was published two months prior to the label approval and looks related.
This seems like a great, great idea. Unfortunately, it does not seem to have gone anywhere. I can’t find a trace of it, two years after its 2007 approval. In addition to Tangerine, Jim Beam Brands Co. also has approval for Twisters Pear Liqueur and Pink Lemonade Liqueur.
Functional Packages, Part 4
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Robert C. Lehrman is the principal attorney at Lehrman Beverage Law, PLLC. Robert founded the firm in 2001 after 12 years at the Washington, DC office of a larger firm that specializes in federal and state administrative law. From 1998...... Read Full Bio
Are the bottle contents just a neutral malt beverage with all the flavors in the cap?
It’s clear that it’s a liqueur/distilled spirit, not a malt beverage (see box 5 on the approval). But it’s not clear whether all or most of the flavor and color was in the “patented twist cap.” There is only one formula approval showing at box 10, and there probably should be two (as on this approval for another product with more than one “chamber”: http://bevlog.bevlaw.com/dss/twistee-rules-aggregate-packaging).