Copacker Eco-Container Corp. was created two years ago to produce fruit purees for Dole Packaged Foods Canada.

Every container company is playing the green card these days, so it isn’t surprising that a new Canadian copacker would choose to call itself the Eco-Container Corp. While the sustainability of its multi-layer polyethylene and foil pouches is open to debate, Eco-Container’s partnership with Cheer Pack North America is attracting attention from other copackers.

Cheer Pack itself is a partnership between Japanese, Italian and US packaging companies. The American firm is CDF Corp., a Plymouth, MA, plastic container maker serving as the point of contact for Hosokawa Yoko Co. and Gualapack Spa. Between them, Hosokawa and Gualapack sell 1.2 billion pouches a year, according to Steve Gosling, CDF president. Only 50 million pouches were sold in North America last year, but exposure at the recent Private Label Manufacturers Association’s trade show in Rosemont, IL, could pave the way for significant growth.

Gosling, who doubles as sales director for Cheer Pack, received positive responses from copackers at the show to a laminated pouch with a large safety cap designed with small children in mind. Mississauga, Ont.-based Eco-Container was founded in April 2008 to hot-fill the pouch’s first application, an applesauce-based fruit snack called Squish’ems for Dole Packaged Foods Canada. More recently, Plum Organics contracted with Eco-Container to fill its Tots MishMash fruit purees in Cheer Packs.

The resealable, gusseted pouches require a premium price at retail over conventional containers, Gosling allows, but the convenience and safety of the over-sized HDPE cap are an appealing fit for mothers with young children. The laminated film delivers at least 12 months shelf life for applesauce-based products, and the 12-micron thick outer layer of PET provides a glossy look for reverse-printed rotogravure labeling. 

For more information:

Steve Gosling, Cheer Pack North America LLC, 508-591-6741, sgosling@cheerpackna.com.