Military hydration pack enters consumer market

Edited by Lisa McTigue Pierce, Executive Editor -- Packaging Digest, 10/17/2013 6:05:05 PM

  The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) has implemented the ORAL I.V. hydration aid product across multiple specialty units county-wide. The deployment includes SWAT, K9, EOD, HIDTA, Lake Patrol, Search and Rescue, HSU, VCU, CAST and the Animal Crimes Unit.   The MCSO has received its initial order for 1,500 ORAL I.V. 4-packs and will be issuing the product to approximately 200 deputies and detectives for use in training and missions. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office is a fully integrated law enforcement agency and serves one of the largest jurisdictions in the country, comprising 9,200 square miles and more than four million residents.   "Our office and specifically our SWAT team have found ORAL I.V. to be a very useful and effective product," says Deputy Mike Puente, sniper instructor for the SWAT division, Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. "ORAL I.V. was introduced to us about two years ago by Warrior Wound Care and has been used on numerous occasions. Working and living in the desert is hard enough as it is, but doing all that for extended hours on missions, in training, or conducting schools for other agencies, makes it that much harder. ORAL I.V. has allowed our team to stay on task despite extreme temperatures and extended hours in the heat. It immediately hydrates and allows us to proceed with the mission at hand."   Deputy Puente continues, "We have been so impressed with the product that at every SWAT school or sniper school we put on, we hand out samples so the other ‘boots on the ground' can also complete their mission of saving lives. When other teams and officers are having a hard time maintaining hydration or focus, we no longer worry about that because it has become common practice to take ORAL I.V. before a mission or a training day. As ORAL I.V. might be a new product to most, for our team, it is a necessity."   ORAL I.V. is a hydration aid product based on a proprietary formula of crystalloid electrolytes in purified water. ORAL I.V. is intended to assist an individual's existing hydration strategy and can be used along with water in any environment, condition or situation where physical exertion or the possibility of dehydration exists. ORAL I.V. does not contain any sugars, caffeine or stimulants, or artificial ingredients. The product is packaged in lightweight, individual vials so it can easily be included in tactical kits.   "Our product is used by the Military and we're now entering the consumer market and have had tremendous success in a short amount of time," says Brian Miller, director of Hydration Solutions, owner of the Oral I.V. brand. "We are literally revolutionizing the way people hydrate based on the secret of our formula. We can deliver hydration in a 13.8ml dose."  

The product packaging is made up of two parts. The primary package—a 13.8ml blow-fill-seal vial—was chosen with the military service members and law enforcement officers in mind.

  "ORAL I.V. has a long history of serving all branches of the military and the law enforcement community. We wanted something that could easily be carried by soldiers, sailors and Marines that did not take up valuable space for other mission-critical gear," Miller explains. "ORAL I.V. vials can easily be placed in medical packs and stored in small stowaway pockets in battle dress uniforms. The same applies for law enforcement, especially tactical teams such as SWAT who require lightweight, portable ways to keep hydrate during missions and operations." ORAL I.V. has recently crossed over into the consumer market. "We support endurance athletes who also require a lightweight and portable way of staying hydrated. Runners, cyclists and triathletes, for example, have been known to tuck them in their waist band or small packs for use during competition," Miller says. "In fact, we are going to make athletic arm bands for the vials to slide into so they can be worn during competition. Even the weekend athletes can use them when they bike, kayak or paddleboard." The secondary part of the packaging is a pouch for retail sales. "We wanted something that caught the attention of shoppers but was also convenient to carry. The 4-pack pouch can be thrown in a purse, backpack or glove box in your car," Miller says. "The design concept of the pouch is based on the look and feel of something that would be given to a patient by a doctor or medic to aid in hydration. The pouch also can be seen as a reference to an I.V. bag. We wanted the pouch to look medicinal but still have consumer appeal." A larger 25-pack pouch is being designed for warehouse club retailers like Costco. "The 25-pack is great for trips or to place in your home pantry for grab-and-go purposes. This pouch will look and feel like the smaller 4-pack pouches," Miller explains, adding, "and a 50-pack was designed for sports teams or possibly federal agencies like FEMA. We will be wholesaling the Oral I.V. 4 packs in a 12-count, tear top, counter display. Our individual vials will also be shrink-sleeved for retail with product info and logo's."