O-I Announces Partnership with Specialty Soup Maker Bookbinder Specialties

Glass offers superior protection for the delicate flavors of our soups and is 100 percent resealable, locking in the quality and taste customers expect and making it an excellent packaging choice for our products.

01 Dec 2010 --- Owens-Illinois, Inc., the world’s largest glass packaging manufacturer, announced a partnership with specialty soup maker Bookbinder Specialties, as the company introduces its new line of all-natural, gourmet vegetable soups packaged in glass.

"At Bookbinder Specialties, we are focused on providing the ultimate in quality and convenience for our consumers," said Sean O’Neil, president of Bookbinder Specialties. “Glass offers superior protection for the delicate flavors of our soups and is 100 percent resealable, locking in the quality and taste customers expect and making it an excellent packaging choice for our products.”

Bookbinder’s soups have been a staple in the Philadelphia-based Old Original Bookbinder’s Restaurant since 1865. The restaurant created a foods division in the early 1970s to share the original restaurant favorites as packaged foods sold throughout the United States. Today, Bookbinders Specialties carries on the tradition of the restaurant while catering to the expectations of the nation’s gourmet consumers.

Bookbinder’s Gourmet Vegetable Soups are available in 15-ounce glass containers in four flavors, including Brandywine Mushroom, Butternut Squash and Mushroom, Sweet Burgundy Onion and Zesty Tomato. They will be sold in natural and specialty food stores across the United States.

Bookbinder Specialties conducted a series of consumer focus groups to determine consumer preferences in soup packaging. The findings demonstrated a consumer need for portion control and resealability, as many do not consume the entire portion typically found in cans. O-I’s glass packaging offers an ideal solution to these needs.

“O-I has been a tremendous partner, offering a combination of supply availability, the right sizes, an attractive price point and an ideal working relationship,” O’Neil said. “Also, for the soup category, the glass really stands out on the shelves. We have received a great response from those who have seen the product, as it is clearly differentiated from everything else in the soup aisle and allows consumers to actually see the product they are purchasing.”

Additionally, glass is made from all-natural materials and are virtually impermeable, non-porous and odorless, which allow it to best protect the purity, flavor and taste of foods. Glass will not interact with the product it contains and can help provide an extended shelf life.

“We’re thrilled that a company like Bookbinder Specialties—one that prides itself on its legendary taste and quality—is packaging its all-natural gourmet soup line in O-I’s pure and natural glass containers,” said Angela Luring, O-I Marketing Manager, Food Category.