‘FlexiBowl' caters to consumers on the go
In another take on the stand-up pouch, Kapak has launched its FlexiBowl, a new flexible, stand-up, single-serve "fill, seal and eat-from" bowl. The container is the latest rendition of on-the-go packaging and single-serve convenience.Available in both retort and non-retort grades, the FlexiBowl can be made from a range of laminations and barrier materials, depending on the product being filled and the desired shelf life, according to Minneapolis, MN-based Kapak.
The FlexiBowl has a laser score opening, eliminating the need for scissors to gain access. In order to create a bowl with maximum stability, especially for applications where liquids are either added or heated, determining the placement of the laser score required a significant amount of research and development time. In addition, the resulting bowl that is created once the top, peel-off strip is removed had to offer the consumer easy access to the contents.
The FlexiBowl can also be designed with a pinch grip seal that can be placed on either side of the container, below the score line, allowing the consumer a visible place to grip the container.
While the FlexiBowl is being targeted toward single-serve applications, sizes up to two pounds can also be manufactured. According to Kapak spokesman Adam Rubinger, Kapak is working with a customer that will use the FlexiBowl. The product is scheduled to hit store shelves soon.
For more information:
Adam Rubinger,
Kapak Corporation,
adamr@kapak.com,
952-693-2449
Poore Brothers gets ‘Looney' with snacks in stand-up pouch
Poore Brothers is no stranger to the power of pouches to help make its snack foods stand out. After finding market success in 2001 using stand-up pouches for its first licensed line of snack foods under the T.G.I. Friday's brand name, the Goodyear, AZ-based snack food marketer has turned to pouches again for its new Crunch Toons snacks.The Crunch Toons product is a result of Poore Brothers' multi-year licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, which grants Poore Brothers exclusive snack category brand licensing and promotional rights for Looney Tunes characters. Crunch Toons are three-dimensional shaped, salted snacks featuring Warner Bros. Looney Tunes characters in Original, Cheddar Cheese, and Nacho Cheese flavors.
Like many foods and beverages in stand-up pouches, this product is marketed toward children. In doing so, the graphics had to catch the eye of the child, while the pouch had to have the practicality and functionality that Mom will approve. Poore Brothers achieves this with bold graphics featuring Looney Tunes characters printed on a resealable pouch.
"We choose a stand-up pouch primarily because it merchandises effectively on the shelf," says Poore Brothers Marketing Director Jeff Gaunt. "Consumers like the product and the pouch design. Specifically, Moms really like the resealable zipper - they complain that their other chip bags often go stale, because they don't always have enough chip clips available or their kids forget to put them on."
According to Poore Brothers Plant Director E. Brian Foster, the 6-oz. multilayer pouches are composed of 48 gauge polyester/three layers of polyethylene/55 gauge metallized polypropylene and are printed in six colors in Atlanta, GA by Printpack. The pouch also features Fresh-Lock reclosable zippers supplied by Presto Products and is filled at Poore Brothers' plant in Bluffton, IN.
Poore Brothers plans to launch Scooby-Doo Crunch Toons in the first quarter of this year.
For more information:
Cheri Moravek, Printpack,
cmoravek@hotmail.com,
404-460-7514
Thomas Winter, Presto Products,
tom.winter@alcoa.com, 920-738-1747
CPET dual-ovenable food trays
Coextruded Plastic Technologies, Inc. (CPT) introduced a new line of rice and soup bowls for the home meal replacement and frozen meal markets. Available in a range of sizes and styles, the bowls are the latest addition to CPT's line of CPET (crystalline polyethylene terephthalate) dual-ovenable food trays. Made for meals that can be prepared in the oven or microwave, the bowls come in 18 oz., 13 oz., and 10 oz. sizes for adult and children's portions.
Coextruded Plastic Technologies, Inc.;
608-884-2244;
www.cptplastics.com
A pouch that can handle the bubbly
While stand-up pouches for beverages are nothing new, developing a flexible stand-up pouch that can contain a carbonated beverage has been somewhat of a challenge to pouch producers. PPi Technologies, the Sarasota, FL-based company that specializes in stand-up pouch development, claims it has crossed this technical obstacle with its CarboPouch.The CarboPouch, marketed by PPi Technologies' PouchPac Innovation division, is the concept of filling carbonated water, fruit juices, energy drinks and lightly-carbonated beer into a pouch. Still in the early stages of development, the process, film structure and pouch design is patent pending.
"A traditional standard stand-up pouch is fine for liquids for single use applications like Capri Sun or other juice pouches where a straw is used to access the product," explains Charles Murray, president of PPi Technologies. "The structure is fairly thick, giving some stability to the pouch before opening, but very little stability after opening."
The CarboPouch was developed to create a rigid pouch for low-carbonation drinks (excluding carbonated soft drinks) that offers stability after opening and also allows beverage marketers to use carbonation to help offset off-flavors in beverages such as water, says Murray.
Unlike traditional stand-up pouches, the CarboPouch stands in an inverted position, resting on its tamper-evident closure, which is over the threaded drinking fitment.
"The film structure is designed to handle the pouch ‘stretch' after carbonation, and the filling process is such that there is no headspace after filling," notes Murray. "The pouch has a unique stand-up and drinking and pouring feature that makes the end user comfortable with the pouch itself." The combination of these features makes the CarboPouch a true innovation for the flexible packaging industry, claims Murray.
PPi is working with several partners in both the development of the pouch and the filling/sealing machine. "Once the patent issues, we will address the film structure, the method of filling and sealing, and the use of a very small pouch design compared to other similar pouch sizes," says Murray "The fitment also has some nice features for handling and drinking and pouring."
The pouch is available in a 150ml size for children and is used for water; 200ml, 250ml, and 300ml sizes are also available.
Murray also says that his company is currently working with two breweries and a large soft drink company to bring the CarboPouch to the commercial market. "Our plan is that the CarboPouch will take about another six to 12 months to be commercial," he says.
For more information:
Charles Murray, PPi Technologies,
cmurray@ppitechnologies.com
941-359-6678
Innovative folding carton barrier coating draws the line on moisture
In its effort to enhance protection from moisture vapor damage to dry goods such as powdered milk, rice, potato flakes, and baby cereal, Appleton has launched MoistureBloc - a folding carton barrier packaging substrate engineered to prevent moisture from entering the package and thereby extending the product's shelf life.According to Appleton, MoistureBloc provides moisture vapor protection without the need for a separate overwrap or laminated film through the application of an innovative barrier coating. "The coating chemistry is proprietary," says Appleton spokesman Bill Van Den Brandt. "The design is complex and consists of multiple coatings combined in such a way to produce an optimum moisture barrier."
"Our product provides a moisture vapor barrier defined by its moisture vapor transfer rate," adds Van Den Brandt. "MoistureBloc keeps the contents of the package at a constant moisture level - it does not let moisture vapor in...or out."
This barrier coating technology, which meets FDA requirements for food packaging, is applied to the inside of the carton and thus reduces the amount of packaging that is required. The unique aspect of the MoistureBloc coating is that it helps to extend shelf life through one barrier coating as opposed to multiple laminates. "The shelf life will vary by application, however the performance of our product is on par with similar moisture barrier products in market today," says Van Den Brandt.
"What differentiates our product from the others is that it reduces packaging because it creates a single component structure as compared to a bag in box, poly overwrap, or foil laminate. Value is further enhanced because MoistureBloc is repulpable and recyclable -which ultimately reduces waste."
For more information:
Bill Van Den Brandt, Appleton,
bvandenbrandt@appletonideas.com
Stick packs help preserves producer out of a jam
Flexible stick packs are making their way into more product categories where there is a need to dispense products easily and without mess. While stateside, consumers, particularly children, have enjoyed the fun and convenience of stick packs for items such as pudding and yogurt, now UK preserves producer F. Duerr & Sons has launched its new jam product called Squeezers in the TearStick, an easy-open stick pack made from plastic film by Amcor Flexibles. F. Duerr & Sons has called the stick packs "an interestingly different way of packaging and selling jam."According to Amcor, TearSticks use up to 40% less film than conventional four-side-seal sachets and are currently used throughout Europe to sell single-portion foods and beverages such as sauces and coffee granules.
The individual 15g TearSticks can be opened via Amcor's Fancy Cut easy-tear capability, instead of a traditional tear-notch, which allows the end to be torn off and the strawberry, raspberry, blackcurrant, or apricot jam to be squeezed directly onto the bread.
According to Amcor spokeswoman Alison Hilyer-Jones, Amcor's Fancy Cut technology, which is patented and licensed from Japan, eliminates the need for a tear notch and does not affect the package's barrier properties. It can be used in various pack styles such as pillow and gusseted, but is particularly successful on single-serve stick packs that contain powder or liquid.
Amcor's TearSticks are constructed of polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) coated polyester/50 gauge coex polyester and are reverse printed in seven colors at Amcor Flexibles Colodense in Bristol, UK. The TearSticks are formed on a five-lane stick pack machine produced by Stickpack Europe.
For more information:
Alison Hilyer-Jones, Amcor Flexibles Europe,
Alison.Hilyer-jones@Amcor-Flexibles.com
44 1452 634 115
Plastic closure for dairy market
The Alcoa Closure Systems International business division of Alcoa has expanded its presence in the $100 million fluid milk closure market with the introduction of its new Seal-MAX 38mm screw-on/screw-off closure. The Alcoa Seal-MAX closure was designed to prevent leakage in milk containers and offer improved tamper evidence, while remaining easy to open. The Seal-MAX closure features Alcoa's patented Extra-Lok tamper band, providing consistent tamper evidence. The closure is designed for single-serve to gallon-sized HDPE and PET containers and is available in a variety of colors.
Alcoa Closure Systems International; 800-311-2740;
www.alcoacsi.com
Self-venting film
Huhtamaki introduced a self-venting film with multiple polypropylene (PP) and CPET (crystalline polyethylene terephthalate) tray options for its Steam Chef line of ready meal packaging. With no flaps or piercing required by the consumer, the self-venting easy peelable lidding film enables cooking via steam pressure technology. The Steam Chef line of ready meal packaging is suitable for fresh or frozen chicken, seafood, or vegetables. The film can be printed in up to eight colors.
Huhtamaki;
+011 358-9-6868-8502;
www.huhtamaki.com
Shrink labels
Pechiney Plastic Packaging, Inc. now offers a greater variety of domestically available shrink films in North America with the addition of its new Signature Shrink labels. Pechiney's print capabilities offer customers the choice of 10-color rotogravure, 10-color flexography or digital flexography for the labels. The company's proprietary Jotto variable information system also allows for two-color backside printing for coupons, games and contests.
Pechiney Plastic Packaging, Inc.;
773-399-3680;
www.pechineyplasticpackaging.com
PET resin with UV light protection
Voridian recently launched a new PET resin that provides ultraviolet (UV) light protection for food and beverage products. Voridian's Vitiva PET PC715 contains an FDA-approved UV absorber that protects delicate colors, flavors, vitamins and nutrients in custom packaging applications. Vitiva PET combines UV light protection with technical performance while maintaining the crystal optical clarity of PET. Containers made from Vitiva PET will block virtually all UV light from 320 to 370 nanometers. Using existing injection-molding and/or blow-molding tooling, Vitiva PET requires no extra capital investment in machinery or tooling; it is a drop-in replacement for standard PET.
Voridian,
888-867-4342
www.voridian.com
