Plastic packaging was at the forefront of conversations at RPC, which hosted a global press event at its packaging production facilities in Bramlage, Germany recently.
RPC draws on injection-moulding, blow-moulding or thermoforming technologies to create a vast array of rigid plastic packaging options. The company believes that the growth in rigid plastic packaging will outstrip growth in glass and metal between now and 2016 in western and emerging markets, as plastic is increasingly substituted for other packaging materials.
Food accounts for 59% of RPC’s business, with dairy representing 7% of that total, and in all sectors innovation is driving the uptake of plastic. RPC invests around €70m a year on research and development, which has resulted in products such as its new Eco&Pack container, developed by RPC Bebo France.
The lightweight Eco&Pack is designed to bring environmental benefits to customers, such as Isigny Sainte Mère, which is already using the Eco&Pack for its Delisse Fromage Blanc range and Granja Teisol SA which has opted for Eco&Pack for its cream yogurt. It can be specified in a variety of sizes and manufactured in PS, PP or multilayer PP/EVOH/PP for an extended ambient shelf life.
A choice of decoration options includes ‘Gauguin’ high definition offset printing, which creates excellent quality graphics to enable packs to be personalised in order to create individual brand identify and on-shelf differentiation. This technology has recently been adopted by Lactalis for high-impact decoration for its Bridelight brand.
The Eco&Pack containers are packed in cardboard boxes on more-hygienic plastic pallets, which help to increase storage space by up to 30%, according to RPC, which points out that, combined with the light weight of the containers, a company’s overall carbon footprint can be reduced by as much as 15% by using the new Eco&Pack and Gauguin combination.
Danish dairy company Nordex Food turned to RPC Superfos Nordic Region to create a custom-designed small pack with a large surface area for brand display for blocks of its Taverna white cheese.
Part of the brief was that the pack should contain 200g, but still give a visible facing on the supermarket shelves.
“We wanted a small cup with a new and different visual appeal,” said Martin Pedersen, Nordex Foods’ commercial development manager. “At the same time, we wanted to keep a large surface on the packaging to be able to reach out to our customers from the supermarket shelves through clear visual communication. The elegant shape has never been seen before in the cheese category and despite the relatively small amount of cheese, the packaging comes with a big surface that allows fantastic facing. It is small, tall and slender.”
RPC Superfos’ solution has a slight resemblance to a flask and thus a large surface for decoration and branding. Opening and closing is easy thanks to a tiny flap on the lid. Nordex Food picked up a gold medal at the Cheese Contest World Championship 2012 in the US with a goat cheese from the Taverna range, packed in the bespoke packaging solution.
RPC Superfos has also worked with Arla Foods recently to create a pack for a new soft cheese for retailer Tesco. The new Yum brand includes soft cheese varieties such as Full Fat Original, Garlic & Herb, Green Pesto and Pink & Black Peppercorn. For the packaging, Arla Foods has used black as the dominant colour in combination with different vivid colours reflecting each cheese flavour.
The tub is a customised thin wall packaging solution, and the lid is made using in-mould labelling, resulting in a perfect finish and a razor sharp image. It not only looks good, it’s also functional and user-friendly. It makes a click sound when reclosed, which reassures consumers that it’s closed correctly.
These and other innovations from RPC provide dairy processors with a wealth of plastic packaging options to consider.
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