“Beyond being lightweight, clear and easier to handle than glass, PET
now has the added advantage of taking up less space,” says Ray Bourque,
director of packaging and processing technology at Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc.,
Lakeville-Middleboro, Mass. Ten 64-oz. rectangular bottles fit in the same shelf
space as eight round bottles, Bourque says, and the ability to use smaller shipping
containers appeals to distributors. A squared-off shape also means easier storage
in consumers’ refrigerators and pantries, he adds.
Ocean Spray and Graham Packaging developed the round Easy-Grip bottle two years
ago. While that was an improvement over glass, “we are now going beyond
that and providing our consumers with an improved grip feature and a more efficient
shape,” says Bourque. Ripple Grip was designed by Yoshino America Corp.
and tested last year in Florida.