Minimalist protection

29 November 2005



Board competes with plastics, aluminium, tinplate and glass for market supremacy in the beverage-packaging sector, but is more than capable of holding its own as Rodney Abbott discovered


According to The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) beverage cartons provide excellent protection of their contents using minimum materials.

"Cartons are hermetically sealed, protecting the contents from light and air contamination and protect food's nutritional value, freshness and colour, including the vitamin content. Aseptic cartons reduce the need for refrigeration, contributing to energy saving and they can be stored for extended periods without the addition of preservatives."

In the UK, ACE works under the banner of the Liquid Food Carton Manufacturers Association (LFCMA), whose members include Tetra Pak, SIG Combibloc and Elopak, with environmental, government and industry partners in the areas of packaging and recycling.

Maximum content/minimum packaging characterises the beverage carton. For example, a packaging weight of around 28g can hold 1-litre of milk. The packaging accounts for less than 3% of the total weight. Even so, board is reliant on other materials for its continued success in some sectors. For example, all beverage cartons use a very thin layer of high-quality polyethylene to laminate each side of the liquid packaging board, thus sealing the contents and protecting the food from bacteria and moisture.

For long-life [aseptic] products, a thin layer of aluminium foil [thinner than a human hair] is also included. Combined with the appropriate processing techniques, this package provides a longer product life than the fresh/chilled beverage carton without, as mentioned above, the need for refrigeration.

"The materials in a beverage carton have been reduced by 20% since the 80s," says LFCMA director Jenny Francis. "Flat-packed, light and efficient to transport, they use less fuel and create fewer carbon dioxide emissions. As the only drinks package made principally from a renewable resource – paper grown in sustainable managed forests – beverage cartons lead the way in environmental credentials.

"We have 20 local authorities now collecting cartons as a separate resource and another 20 who collect them with mixed paper, depending on the end reprocessor. Elliot Morley MP inaugurated the first dedicated carton recycling facility in July 2004. Since then volumes of waste cartons arriving at the mill at Smith Anderson in Fife have risen to 100 tonnes per week – that's about 5M individual packs.

"The industry strategy is to achieve 10% carton recycling by 2008 (the current rate is 1.8%). Recent LFCMA research reveals a further 144 councils are interested in adding beverage cartons to their dry recyclable collections, a goal the LFCMA intends supporting by establishing collection systems.

"The association has also just launched Wales's first carton recycling project in partnership with Carmarthenshire County Council and Carmarthenshire Recycling. Fruit juice, soup, sauce and milk cartons are being collected at the county's civic amenity sites and schools for recycling into carrier bags and composting sacks".

According to Tetra Pak UK juice category manager Dina Soliman the soft drinks category is one of the most dynamic in the retail grocery industry. "Historically, carbonated drinks have occupied the biggest share of the market and still do. However, consumers are becoming more concerned about their health and well being, a trend we are seeing reflected in the market place.

"Examples of this shift include water and juices occupying more space in stores, growing their share of the category; new products being introduced with natural and 'good for you' positioning; and labelling that increasingly emphasises 'no added sugar', 'natural' and 'fresh' claims for products.

"On the other hand", she continued, "there is a drive for variation. Although orange is still by far the biggest flavour, consumers are demanding more exotic variants and tastes. This represents a great opportunity for brands to differentiate and provides a very healthy platform for innovation through new product development, which is very salutary for the category".

Soliman says one of the biggest challenges for cartons is to build consumers' knowledge and awareness levels of the benefits of cartons, not only to consumers but throughout the value chain. "For example, there is a misperception that chilled juices are generally healthier or of better quality than ambient juices. In fact they are exactly the same products with the same nutritional values. The difference lies in the packaging.

She also notes that cartons are facing some challenges, "especially in the impulse on-the-go channels. In these areas, functionality and convenience are key and PET is a well-established system for this sector. However, cartons still retain competitive advantages that will secure their position, especially on the ambient side where cartons allow for the product protection for longer without the need for additives or preservatives."

Innovative engineering is undoubtedly the key to board's success. Tetra Pak understands that only too well and that is why another first from the company is in the launch phase in the UK. The company has developed a new food contact barrier, called Wide, to deliver superior package performance using a new generation of tailor-made polymers.

"Several years of extensive development work has led to a new kind of polyethylene which makes the seals of the inner barrier of packages tighter and stronger," explains product manager Ian Williamson. "Wide seals at an extended temperature range, using induction heating, which is an industry benchmark for reliability and consistency.

"In addition, packages made with the new material have improved sealing and greater crack resistance than those made with current extrusion laminated (non-film) specifications. Customers will also benefit from increased filling machine efficiency with fewer adjustments leading to lower operating and system costs.

"In 2004 96% of our paperboard solid process waste was recycled and the amount of waste going to landfill was reduced by 26% against 2001 levels for every 1000 standard packs produced. Polyethylene waste has similarly been reduced by 32% during the same period and all waste aluminium continues to be recycled."

Colorado Wineries

When the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board sought to create a Colorado wine promotional pack that local wineries could both display and use to sell take-home, mix-and-match three 750ml bottles of wine, Steve Warneke, president of Denver's Warneke Paper Box, opted for Forte, a 36pt solid fibre board from MeadWestvaco.

The substrate, which combines a bright-white coated facing stock with a kraft board, is reputed to deliver both sturdy cartons and "brilliant aesthetics". With compression strength equal to or greater than F, G and N mini-flute board, Forte was strong enough to hold the wine bottles, while its smooth printing surface did justice to the photographic approach of the vineyard sunset on the carton exterior.

After gluing, the boxes are shipped flat to the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board's main distribution centre. The individual wineries usually erect and display filled sample cartons in their wine-tasting areas and place unfilled cartons in their gift shops where visitors can pack their own selections. Partitions inserted during carton manufacturing prevent the bottles from banging together.

A recent innovation from MeadWestvaco is Kraftpak, an unbleached folding carton board with a clean, natural look, reputed to provide a shade consistency that can help to bring out the best in a colourful brand package. It has a characteristic brown appearance and distinctive graphic-reproduction capabilities to project brand images, and, above all, differentiate products at the point of sale.

Kraftpak is a low-density, high-yield paperboard so it delivers significantly more cartons per ton than higher-density paperboards. At the same time, Kraftpak has tear strength and stiffness characteristics comparable to higher-basis-weight products, and its virgin fibre make up is said to give it added strength in high-moisture environments like reach-in consumer refrigerators.

Where board is used as secondary packaging, particularly for alcoholic beverages, to provide a greater degree of protection, ease of transit and added shelf impact, the Field Group has a habit of developing packaging award winners, so their opinions are worth listening to. "Looking at the spirits sector in particular," says group marketing director Bob Houghton, "brands have been using packaging to help reinforce the move upmarket. The 'premiumisation' has been clearly evident in the whisky sector and brands have used a combination of different board substrates or multi-substrates to achieve the desired effect.

"Constructional design has also been a key to provide differentiation and enhance a brand's appearance. Many of the larger producers have also made a concerted effort to extend and improve their marketing activities, and export sales for the premium brands, often in a gift carton, have been growing.

  "The key sectors will need to maintain a high level of innovation to retain their position," he says. "The global drinks sector is very competitive and certain sectors will need to ensure they appeal to existing customers, while attracting younger, new drinkers. This is particularly relevant to the spirits industry, which faces strong competition from beers and wines. Packaging can help convey the right image and the use of polypropylene cartons could be seen as a way to reinforce that wider appeal".

  One of Field's latest developments is the Carry-Me bottle carrier which is designed to ensure that the weight of the bottle is transferred away from its base to the central handle, which adds to its strength. It can be used for six bottles and its solid, smooth base eliminates the possibility of any bottles falling out as well as the potential for it to catch on the conveyor belt at the point-of-sale.

Whether in the US or Europe and whether it is for soft drinks, beer, or bottled water, the Fridge Vendor by Atlanta-based Graphic Packaging International, formerly Riverwood, is reputed to be dramatically changing the drinking habits of consumers and, in the process, significantly boosting sales for beverage manufacturers.

In the late 1990s Graphic Packaging conducted extensive consumer research, which showed that traditional 3x4 beverage packs did not use space efficiently in the refrigerator. Consumption suffered because beverages were being stored elsewhere and only a few cans at a time were being transferred to the fridge.

Graphic Packaging's answer was to develop a paperboard packaging concept that uses a 2x6 beverage format to fit efficiently into limited refrigerator space, especially the so-called wasted area at the back of shelves. The package, dubbed Fridge Vendor, makes chilled beverages more easily available and, because of this, is claimed to increase consumption and sales.

Customer co-operation

"Our best innovations in packaging are usually the result of close co-operation with our customers," explains Graphic Packaging European marketing manager for beverages Keith Brimble. "The more we understand the problem and the need, the better we can respond with an appropriate and cost-effective solution."

For example, Graphic Packaging recently teamed up with Interbrew UK to develop a different multiple packaging concept for the company's 284ml [half pint] can that is intended to encourage consumers to store an entire pack of beverages in the refrigerator. The pack is designed either for storage as a whole or for convenient splitting into two halves, which can be stored in the door shelves.

"Using the pack effectively is made easy for consumers with step by step illustrated instructions on the top panel of the pack and with a tear strip opening that allows access to the cans," explains Brimble. "Glued end panels ensure that the pack will maintain its performance integrity, even after the pack has been opened."

"The 1x6 pack," adds Brimble, "has a much larger area for graphics compared with the more conventional 2x3 pack. This is important when you're packaging a smaller primary container and need to achieve maximum branding impact."


MeadWestvaco's Forte 36pt solid-fibre board was used by Warneke Paper ... MeadWestvaco's Forte 36pt solid-fibre board was used by Warneke Paper ...
Interbrew's half pint can fits neatly into Graphic Packaging's 1x6 ... Interbrew's half pint can fits neatly into Graphic Packaging's 1x6 ...
This clever design by Field provides the Glenmorangie brand excellent ... This clever design by Field provides the Glenmorangie brand excellent ...
Field’s bottle carrier, Carry-Me, is designed to ensure that the ... Field’s bottle carrier, Carry-Me, is designed to ensure that the ...
Tetra Pak (above and below) says water and juices are ... Tetra Pak (above and below) says water and juices are ...


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