Five New Packaging Innovations 05

From the Netherlands – Packaging Eggs in Cocas
The Rondeel is a unique housing system for laying hens. The concept was the outcome of a study by Dutch Wageningen University entitled “Houden van Hennen” (Keeping Hens) which was set out to explore the options for a sustainable husbandry for laying hens for the production of eggs for consumption achieving a balance between economy, animal welfare and market requirements. The research team studied the areas of conflict between corporate social responsibility, the needs of the laying hen and an optimum working environment for the poultry farmer.
These various perspectives resulted in a package of requirements which formed the basis for designing new methods of keeping laying hens, called the “Rondeel”. A circular habitat where the animal can drink, eat and rest and in which nature is incorporated.

With it, of course, came the need for a special packaging design, initiated by Albert Heyn, the number one Dutch supermarket chain. The packaging also is circular and is made of recycled coca fibres. Each packaging holds seven eggs.

From Sweden – FibreForm stretchable paper
The normal stretchability of paper is usually between 2 and 4 per cent. Some sack papers can reach up to 7 per cent. FibreForm, a prodcut of Billerud in Sweden, is a high stretchable packaging paper, that can be formed with a stretchability of up to 20%. Consequently, it can replace plastic where it was previously impossible. Fibreform offers new opportunities for packaging solutions such as deep-drawn trays as it can be converted in normal thermoforming machines without any major investments being required. It is also possible to make really deep embossings, something that has previously been impossible on paper.
FibreForm is biodegradable, recyclable and FSC certified as well as approved for contact with food.
It doesn’t have to be a fancy packaging to work with FibreForm. Marks & Spencer launched sliced meat in paper trays based on Billerud FibreForm. The new packaging offers product safety equal to that of the plastic tray since a protective barrier, a coextrusion coating of PE/EVOH/PE, preserves the product’s quality and taste.

From France – Pure-Pak Curve for sugar
French supermarket Systéme U launched two new packages for its own brand caster sugar (poudre) and brown sugar (cassonade). Both 750g speciality sugar products were re-packaged in 1 L Pure-Pak Curve cartons with Elo-Cap UP, and are filled by Azucarera Ebro, the leading Spanish sugar producer.
The products were previously packaged in bags, however, Systéme U selected the Pure-Pak Curve for their speciality sugars due to the convenience of the package with the cap which enables good pouring and keeps the product fresh. These are the first cartons used to package sugar by the French retailer.
Elopak considered the ergonomics of the new carton and designed it with score lines on the side and the front that improve handling and pouring. The grip leads to a squeezing of the carton giving a more secure feeling in the hand.

From Germany – The Double Piston Can
Conventional aerosol spray can technology suspends fine solid or liquid particles of consumable and other ingredients in a gas, and expels them through a traditional spray nozzle in a diminishing pressurized stream – until the can is empty; not necessarily of ingredients, but of propellant.
Rocep-Lusol Holdings Ltd. of Scotland and Lindal Dispenser GmbH of Germany developed a risk-neutral, propellant and aerosol free, environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional spray can technology – one that doesn’t require incendiary gasses to propel contents or emit high VOCs (volatile organic compounds). The product, known as the LinRoc Double Piston Can System with Actuators, is unique in that it facilitates the aerosol and propellant-free, uniform and continuous spray of any viscous product, ranging from water to heavy creams and oils. The system is 100% recyclable, and as it does not require gasses to propel contents, it is non-flammable and transport risk-neutral, and does not contribute to ambient air pollution.

The patented LinRoc Double Piston Can technology consists basically of three elements; an uncontaminated and propellant-free environment for storing liquid and viscous ingredients, a wholly separate containment area for pressurized dead air, and a spray valve. The Double Piston Can relies on innovative physics and risk-neutral dead air to propel ingredients in a uniform stream or mist until the can is empty of ingredients.

From Switzerland – The Past Revives: The Klick-Klack Tin
When pressure is applied from above, the can opens with a “click” and pressing sideways on the edge of the lid causes the teeth to close tight again around the body with a “clack”. For many decades, this packaging format was used to market an extremely wide variety of products, ranging from confectionery and medicines to fish-bait. However, the “old” click-clack fell more or less into oblivion at the start of the 1990’s. The sharp, unprotected edges of the lid were considered to be a risk in terms of product liability.
But the click-clack revived when a renowned German manufacturer of confectionery was looking for a smart, fresh packaging for a new product aimed at a young target group.
It was the Swiss company Hoffman Neopac AG, which solved the problem with the sharp edges of the lid due to a new process, representing an innovation in tin plate packaging.
The lid is easy to open and close: removing the product is straightforward, and the can is refillable.
The Hoffmann Klick-Klack tins meet the safety requirements and are approved for sales in the USA and in Europe. They also meet the requirements of the European Regulations for Food and the FDA requirements in the USA and can safely be used for children’s products.