A Real Snow Bird

Rare sighting this morning outside the Pied Piper window, a Snow Bird!  Look carefully in the middle of the photo, a small nest with a little snow bird resting peacefully.  And you  thought they had all escaped to the South or South West for the winter!  Not sure what the lab can come up with to protect that little birdie form unwanted sun!
The Pied Piper

Steel Drum Beat

Drum Island!  We make sweet music with our drums. We tap out the rhythm of American Made Products every day here in Wisconsin.  The song of Industry rings out from the sound of the steel drums in use.  We cool them, we heat them, we save them, we savor them.  They store all the secret and not so secret ingredients of our stock in trade.

The Pied Piper

Pecan Pie and Pumpkin Spice for the lips.

All of the Alliance Family wish you and yours the best Thanksgiving ever!  We have much to be thankful for here in mighty Saukville Wisconsin.  Packers won yesterday! Yea.  Business is good! Yea.  Our many products are in use around the globe! Yea!  We seem to be reasonably healthy!  We are an American Manufacturing Company with Made in America products! Yea!  We are raising kids, taking care of aging parents, enjoying empty nests, volunteering at various community service organizations and charities, supporting our freedom of religions, working hard and enjoying life.  Some of us are hunting during deer season.  We are rooting for our favorite teams.  And the weather is very nice for this time of year.

We hope you are doing as well and enjoy the time with your families.

And if you would like a sample of one of our seasonal lip balms, send a note along to us.

The Pied Piper

What flavor are your lips?

I was sorting through some lip balms at my desk and ran across these two that were done for a client to be given away at a state fair.  And I go to thinking about the various flavor lip balms we have done lately.
Beer, Butter, Cream Puff, Pecan Pie, Pickle, Vodka, Pine Tree, Tea Tree, Mint, Peppermint, Tangerine, Vanilla, Blarney, Bacon, Chocolate, Milk Chocolate Orange Truffle, Cocoa Noir, White Chocolate Chai Tea, Plain, Banana Cream Pie, Cherry, Mango, Passion Fruit,Strawberry, Cranberry, Lemon Twist, Root Beer, Green Apple, Blueberry, Hibiscus, Grapefruit, Blackberry, Watermelon, Margarita, Mustard and Ketchup are just a few of the flavors that have been cooking around here.

The fine art of finding your personal taste in lips is always a work in progress!  Let me know what you would like to taste!  Yesterday someone wanted Buffalo Sauce lip balm...and so it will be!

The Pied Piper.

Slippery Facts about Mineral Oil

I was snooping around in the batching area yesterday as they were working on a super secret recipe for a sporting good manufacturer for whom we are making a new wonder product and I saw the boys put in some Mineral Oil.  And while the product they were making was not a cosmetic, I thought I would address the issue of Mineral Oil in cosmetics. 

Mineral oil provides many benefits for skin and hair. . Is mineral oil safe for cosmetic use?

Mineral oil is a common cosmetic ingredient that can be found in many skin and hair products. Over the years as natural products have grown in popularity, a number of beauty experts have criticized the ingredient and questioned its safety.  Misguided thinking.

Cosmetic Grade Mineral Oil

Mineral oil is a derivative of petroleum that is clear and odorless. The cosmetic grade mineral oil has been refined into a substance that is hypoallergenic, noncomedogenic (your new word for the day, means won't clog pores) and has many conditioning properties. After refinement, it does not resemble the same properties as petroleum or industrial mineral oil.

Cosmetics expert and beauty journalist, Paula Begoun, wrote on her website that cosmetic grade mineral oil is "one of the safest and most nonirritating moisturizing ingredients ever found." She points out that many of the critics of mineral oil are misinformed about cosmetic mineral oil and are also selling a natural alternative product. She also questions their motives.

The beauty industry often uses mineral oil as a conditioning ingredient because it is well-tolerated by people with sensitive skin, is noncomedogenic, and seals moisture into the skin effectively. Many of the most moisturizing body lotions contain mineral oil.

According to the Beautifulwithbrains.com site, many critics of mineral oil called it pore clogging and claimed it could suffocate skin. The site points out that cosmetic grade mineral oil will not clog pores and is nothing like the highly comedogenic (pore-clogging) industrial mineral oil.

Cosmetic grade mineral oil is occlusive and forms a barrier on the outside of the skin to hold moisture in. It does not suffocate skin. However, mineral oil shouldn't be used in a product that has pore-clogging ingredients because it could seal them in. There are also people who frequent acne boards, like acne.com, who experienced break-outs from using products with mineral oil in them

You are in safe hands with us!

The Pied Piper

The life of lips.

Let’s talk about lips.

You can give lip service, leave lip prints, chew on them, kiss them, lick them, like them, bite them, paint them, cut them, pinch them,.. lips can chap, age, weather, crust, burn, crack, bake,  brown, balloon, swell, sing, swallow, push, beckon, blind, warm, wet, whistle, sigh, sunburn, smile, frown, gape, spit,  sneer, snarl,  smirk, moisten, pout, purse, plump, cool, dab and be injected amongst other things.

And what is the best thing you can do for your lips?  Apply lip moisturizing balm on a regular basis and get them kissed on a regular basis!

Lip Balm in lots of flavors!

The Pied Piper

A little lesson in Anatomy

The Anatomy of a new product.   Development: Part One

We meet multiple times a month to discuss "the week that was" and to toss around new product ideas.  Ideas that are new to us anyway. 

 One idea that came up concerned oil diffusers for the home and office.  We have been making massage oils with fragrances and thought this might be a natural extension for us. 

So we started the process to see what kind of containers we could use but knowing the primary market would be promotional product rather than package for retail.  We quickly discovered that the traditional size jar and oils involved with retail diffusers were going to be too big and too costly. 

 As we started up the path to downsizing the product, a new thought occurred.  Using the existing and available containers we usually work with, can we develop a small tube for use in the car or cubicle or home that held pre-soaked pieces of bamboo?

 

The lab made some up and we discovered that the fragrance evaporated to quickly.  So the project was parked for a few weeks.  Then we got back after it and made the following decision. We need to test a vaiety of substrates to find a workable solution.

We are testing a wide variety of materials from cork to cotton to find  a vehicle that will provide consistent  and longer term aroma therapy…come back and find out how we did!

I’d give up chocolate, but I’m no quitter.

Yesterday was chocolate day in the back.  Chris and Lee were cooking up a big batch of our dark chocolate based cocoa noir for lip balm making.  The whole plant and offices were awash in the delicious aroma of chocolate.  Is it any surprise that there are now cookies available in the office area.  One good day of absorbing the chocolate lead to baking sessions at home and sweet dreams for all.

Things about chocolate:


A new British survey has revealed that 9 out of 10 people like Chocolate. The tenth lies. – Robert Paul

Put “eat chocolate” at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you’ll get one thing done.

There’s nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with chocolate. – Linda Grayson, The Pickwick Papers

After a bar of chocolate one can forgive anybody, even one’s relatives.

There are only three things in life that matter – good friends, good chocolate and, oh dear, what was that other one?

Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. – Sandra Boynton

A little too much chocolate is just about right.

Chocolate is nature’s way of making up for Mondays.

If chocolate is the answer, the question is irrelevant.

I take chocolate from strangers.

There’s a thin person inside of me screaming to get out, but I keep her sedated with chocolate.



Chocolate is cheaper than therapy and you don’t need an appointment.

Chocolate isn’t a food, it’s a medicine – an anti-depressant.

Chocolate causes certain endocrine glands to secrete hormones that affect your feelings and behavior by making you happy. Therefore, it counteracts depression, in turn reducing the stress of depression. Your stress-free life helps you maintain a youthful disposition, both physically and mentally. So, eat lots of chocolate! – Elaine Sherman, Book of Divine Indulgences

My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished 2 bags of M&M’s and a chocolate cake. I feel better already. – Dave Barry

Eating chocolate can have significant influences on mood, generally leading to an increase in pleasant feelings and a reduction in tension. – Peter Rogers, Ph.D., Institute of Food Research

When no one understands you, chocolate is there.

Hot fudge fills deep needs. – Susan Isaacs



The 12-step chocoholics program: NEVER BE MORE THAN 12 STEPS AWAY FROM CHOCOLATE! – Terry Moore

I’d give up chocolate, but I’m no quitter.



So noble a confection, more than nectar & ambrosia, the true food of the gods. – Dr. Bachot, 1662

The Greek term theobroma (Latin name for cacao) means literally food of the gods. Chocolate has also been called the food of the devil, but the theological basis of this claim is obscure.




Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands – and then eat just one of the pieces. – Judith Viorst

If you are not feeling well, if you have not slept, chocolate will revive you. But you have no chocolate! I think of that again and again! My dear, how will you ever manage? – Marquise de Sévigné



Chocolate is a perfect food, as wholesome as it is delicious, a beneficent restorer of exhausted power. It is the best friend of those engaged in literary pursuits. – Baron Justus von Liebig (1803-1873), German chemist
The superiority of chocolate, both for health and nourishment, will soon give it the same preference over tea and coffee in America which it has in Spain. – Thomas Jefferson

All of the evil that people have thrust upon chocolate is really more deserved by milk chocolate, which is essentially contaminated. The closer you get to a pure chocolate liquor (the chocolate essence ground from roasted cacao beans) the purer it is, the more satisfying it is, the safer it is, and the healthier it is. – Arnold Ismach, The Darker Side of Chocolate

Chocolate is a Vegetable: chocolate is derived from cocoa beans. Bean = vegetable. Sugar is derived from either sugar cane or sugar beets. Both are plants, which places them in the vegetable category. Thus, chocolate is a vegetable. To go one step further, chocolate candy bars also contain milk, which is dairy. So candy bars are a health food.

I do recommend a piece of good-quality dark chocolate as a healthy snack . . . It is a source of polyphenols, the same type of antioxidants found in red wine, and the fat it contains is stearic acid, which doesn’t affect cholesterol levels. The latest good news for chocolate lovers comes from a study indicating that flavonoids in chocolate are good for your heart. These compounds reduce the stickiness of platelets, cells that play an important role in blood clotting. By eating a 1.5-ounce milk chocolate bar, you get the same amount of these protective compounds as in a 5-ounce glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. – Andrew Weil, M.D.

Nitric oxide plays such an important role in the maintenance of healthy blood pressure and, in turn, cardiovascular health. If our research results continue to support a link between consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa and nitric oxide synthesis, there could be significant implications for public health. – Norman Hollenberg, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard Medical School

Chocolate contains large amounts of the same beneficial plant chemicals that now have burnished the reputation of tea. In fact, just one ounce of chocolate has about as much of these plant chemicals as a cup of brewed black tea. One large, ongoing study of the benefits of exercise found that men who eat chocolate in moderation live longer than those who eat none. – University of California-Berkeley Wellness Letter

We already know that increased consumption of fruits and vegetables results in an increase of antioxidants in our blood. We believe chocolate consumption may have the same effect. We forget that chocolate is derived from cocoa beans-the fruit of the cacao tree-a fruit that is a rich source of these potentially beneficial substances. – Penny Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University

Chocolate just stands out [for antioxidant content]. It’s much higher than anything else. – Joe Vinson, Ph.D., University of Scranton

Chemically speaking, chocolate really is the world’s perfect food. – Michael Levine, nutrition researcher
In 1724, Dr. Richard Brookes claimed that chocolate prolonged life and cured ringworm and ulcers. He also suggested cocoa butter for skin treatment, piles and gout.

I have this theory that chocolate slows down the aging process…. It may not be true, but do I dare take the chance?

Talking Tubas and cork grease

Tubas are on my mind today for three reasons.

 Reason number one is the fact that we make cork grease and package it for clients and the fact is, it is damn fine cork grease!

 The second reason is my son plays the Tuba and has his solo and ensemble performances this weekend.  It should be a fine time for all the musicians in the area.  If you have not done so, go to one of these judged performances.  You will be amazed at the sheer number of nice and even great musicians.

The third reason is that I caught an article not long ago that reported the Tuba is on the must steal list for thieves.  In California it seems they steel them and probably sell for scrap not knowing what the real value is!

I do love the marching Tubas of the University of Wisconsin.  Go to a Badger football game and watch them as they march the stands in the fifth quarter!

In big breath,
The Pied Piper.

Football Legend Terry Bradshaw and skin care products?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n5uVavkJL4&feature=email


Jump onto You Tube and see what Terry has to say about Alliance Packaging Group.  5 minutes long, so grab a cup of coffee!
And Good Morning!
The Pied Piper

Why Did the Pickle Cross the Road II

A Campaign With Juice
By: Tama Underwood, Associate Editor
Issue: 2012jan

A pickle-flavored lip balm promotion is so spot-on that the end buyer adds the product to its line.


In a world of one-off product campaigns and here-today-gone-tomorrow promotions, it’s a nice surprise when a product promotion becomes a regular order on which you can rely.

Last summer, Van Holten’s, a Waterloo, Wisconsin-based pickle manufacturer whose pickles in a pouch are sold around the nation, was approached about developing a dill pickle-flavored lip balm. The company jumped at the offer and began handing out Big Papa Dill Pickle Lip Balms at tradeshows to help make people aware of the company and its products.

The product was such a hit with Van Holten’s customers that it decided to add the lip balm to its product line and sell it in stores. “It kind of evokes the same feeling as our pickles-in-a-pouch,” says Steve Byrnes, president of Van Holten’s. “It’s fun, it’s quirky and we got the same reaction from the lip balm, so we thought it was the perfect extension.”

Does dill-pickle flavored lip balm sound strange to you? “That’s the appeal,” Byrnes says. “It gets a reaction. It’s a novelty. It’s fun, and people who really like pickles are using it. And it’s a really good lip balm.”
January 2012 issue of PPB magazine

ROI Formula

I am trying to find a formula for determining the ROI on brand awareness using Calculated Intangible Values.  I think I remember a formula where you take 3 years of pretax earnings for a company, subtract 3 years of the industry average return on assets and subtract the company's tangible assets. 

Which sounds like a lot or work. 

I know I can work through an ROI based on cost per impression and retention of that impression.  Which leads me to the effectiveness of something like a lip balm used as a promotional product.  The PPAI tells us that recipients of a promo product giveaway - 84% will remember the gift and 62% will have done or will do business with the promo product giver.  Then take a peek at the cost per impression, say about .004 per impression and you  have a pretty impressive ROI for promotional products!

Buy more lip balm, lotion, face paint, sanitizer and sun products!

The recent ppai show was great.  Attendance seemed to be down a little but the ASI Orlando show should be up!
The Pied Piper

An Ode to Hyperglycemic Crashes

We welcome Alyssa M today as a new lab technician with a cornucopia of baked goods. 
What she must think seeing cookies at every turn, a cookie tree, spiced nuts and raisins, chocolate candies and a frosted yule log!  I am sure things were different when she interviewed.  So i anticipate the post cookie eaters early afternoon crashes. Fortunately we have Peppermint Lip Balms floating around so we can use them as a pick me up!  To bad we don't make burner balm yet (has caffeine), that would get people moving..
The Pied Piper

You butter watch out, you butter not cry

Butter, it's whats for dinner.  In light of butter shortages in Iceland or Greenland, we thought we better make some butter lip balm and ship it over so they can remember what it tastes like.

 In our plant as we make various flavors and add scents and essences to our products, you can walk through production and think you are in a bakery on some days.  Today Chris and Lee cooked up some butter lip balm followed by Key Lime Pie lip balm and segued into ........


Pumpkin Pie lip balm and Pecan Pie Lip Balm.  You could smell the toasted pecans!

One of the unwritten perks of the job is to find out what the "menu" is and take an olfactory walk around the plant.
The Pied Piper

My feets too big

The week has officially been kick started.  WE have a new Paw Balm trialing at the Humane Society to work it's magic on all those puppies and kittens that need adoption. 
At the urging of one of our retail marketing agents we have come up with the world's best foot balm.  Just the thing for stressed and abused dogs, excuse me, feet. We will do that for retail and make available for our promotional clients.
And we have the lab working on a new item for a client, very nice healing oral spray that will be on the market soon.    All fueled by last weeks Turkey dinners!!
The Pied Piper

Thanksgiving

It is the week of Thanksgiving and we do have much to be thankful for.  We so appreciate our clients and the business the generate for us. Today we thank Kim for the wonderful pumpkin cheese cake she made over the weekend, she is really evil to do that to us, but, wow is it good!.  Some of our staff is off deer hunting, helping to thin the herd.  Those of that are still here are very grateful that the weather has been relatively benign.  We are thankful for all the creativity in house as we get ready to unveil new products and new product lines.  We are thankful that all the fill lines are humming.  We are thankful for all the late autumn festivals and events to keep us entertained. 
What are you thankful for?
The Pied Piper

Deer Season hits Wisconsin

Well Campers, it is that time of year.  Hunters are priming for the hunt.  Guns are cleaned, ammo bought, bows strung, arrows readied and knives honed.  Let's see the checklist: beer, steaks, bread, cereal, bacon, beer, eggs, bacon, milk, coffee, beer, orange outfit and of course camo lip balm.  We hope for a safe season for the hunters and root for the deer.  Thinning the herd is a must or the deer population will overgrow the lands ability to sustain them. But letting your lips chap is not to be done.

They say there are more armed men in the woods of Wisconsin than were in the European Theater during world war II.  That is some army.  I would guess about 700,000 hunters will hit when season is declared open!
The Pied Piper

chocolate chocolate chocolate

Can you ever get enough choclate?  Not if it is real!

cocoa shoppe lip balms

One of the nicest parts of my job is to give the world chocolate flavored lips!  I was in Madison yesterday and once again I have converted another to the cocoa shopper world of lip magic. our Cocoa Shoppe Lip balms are indeed the most deeply evolved chocolate lip balms ever.  Hits the lips but not the hips!

The Pied Piper

On the Road

While I wish I had done a road trip with those two, I am not sure I was alive yet!


Spent the last few days on the road in Chicago and heading to Minneapolis this week.  I am finding cautious optimism on the street.  The economy is still stinky and end users have changed budget habits.  But the enduring thing is that Business has to promote, advertise and market to remain viable.  Have gotten a great reaction to some of our new products we are introducing.  Friction Free body lubricant, face paint, all purpose household lubricant and others will soon be staples in the promotional product industry!
The Pied Piper

Contract packaging? What is that?

When I tell people that we are a prime manufacturer of lip balm, body and skin care products in a state of the art cGMP/FDA facility specializing in formulation, private label and contract packaging services, I often get as many questions as words in the paragraph.  Formulation is easy to explain.  We have a lab with chemists who create or verify formulas to make lotions, gels, balms, oils and a variety of other things using a wide variety of ingredients, flavors and essences.  When you make all natural products and organic products you have some unusual ingredients on hand.  Mink and Emu Oils come to mind.

More soon form the pied piper at Alliance Packaging Group