Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee Wins Double Silver in Global Packaging Visionary Awards

RealCup™ Single-Serve Capsule Business Recognized in Development & Design and Product & Operations Category

MISSISSAUGA, ON, June 11, 2014 /CNW/ - Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee Inc. was recognized by the global packaging industry last night in New York City with two Visionary Awards.  The company's RealCup™ brand single-serve capsule business received silver awards in both the Development & Design Category and the Product & Operations Category, marking another milestone in the brand's extraordinary growth and impact in the single-serve capsule category since it launched in 2012.

In the Development & Design category, Mother Parkers' Innovation and Technology Team received the Silver Visionary Award for developing the new EcoCup™ capsule packaging for Higgins & Burke® loose leaf tea.  The team took the project from concept to market in less than eight months, responding to consumer demand for a better single-serve beverage capsule that has less impact on the environment and changing the face of the capsule market.   The new and innovative packaging design for the RealCup™ brand ensures a clean separation of the components for recycling and/or composting by using a breakaway tab that makes it easy for consumers to do the right thing.

Mother Parkers' Operations Start-up Team for the RealCup™ brand business was recognized with a Silver Visionary Award in the Production & Operations Category for a complete overhaul and expansion of an existing manufacturing facility to accommodate the brand new capsule business start-up.  The facility put more than 180 SKUs of single-serve capsule coffee and tea into production in under two years by building flexibility and vertical integration into operations and using people in cross-functional roles in both packaging and engineering to maximize expertise and accelerate the packaging development cycle.

"We are thrilled to receive these awards from the global packaging industry and a  'visionary' award is especially appropriate for the teams that made our RealCup™ brand business a reality," said Dennis Paynter, Vice President of Operations for Mother Parkers.  "It takes tremendous vision, as well as hard work, innovation and perseverance, to get a new product line developed, manufactured and in market in less than two years.  Our teams are delivering quality, innovation and choice to Mother Parkers' customers and consumers and leading significant change in the single-serve marketplace."

The global packaging industry's Visionary Awards pay tribute to individuals and teams who showed vision and leadership in advancing their company's goals of innovation, differentiation, savings and growth.  Submissions were judged by an impartial panel of third-party jurors with expertise in packaging.  The Visionary Awards are presented by UBM Canon Packaging Group and sponsored by Packaging Digest, Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News and EastPack. 

About Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee and RealCup™ and EcoCup™ brand single-serve capsules:
RealCup™ and EcoCup™ capsules are compatible for use with *Keurig® K-Cup® single-serve brewers. RealCup™ and EcoCup™ single- serve capsules are manufactured for Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee, one of the largest coffee and tea manufacturers in North America. The company combines state-of-the-art technology and new product innovation with more than 100 years of quality and service excellence to deliver an exceptional beverage experience in mainstream and specialty coffee, tea, and complementary beverages.

*RealCup™ and EcoCup™ brands have no affiliation with Keurig Green Mountain Inc., Keurig® or K-Cup®.  Keurig® and K-Cup® are registered trademarks of Keurig Green Mountain Inc.

SOURCE: RealCup(TM)

Media contact: Kerry Morgan, Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee, 905-273-2491