Top DuPont Award Goes To Flex-Rigid Mono-Material Container
A mono-material package that marries flexible and rigid packaging wins top DuPont 2015 Packaging Innovation Award.
When DuPont announced the winners for its 2015 Awards for Packaging Innovation, it noted that this year’s competition will be remembered as the year of design since 77% of the winners were honored for design excellence in enhancing the users’ experience. “This year’s winners stand out as leaders in packaging innovation. They exemplify how collaboration, innovation and packaging excellence converge to generate game-changing solutions that positively impact our lives,” said William Harvey, president of DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers.
This is certainly exemplified by the winner of the Diamond Award, the program’s highest honor. It went to Canada-based IPL, Inc. for its design and production of SkinnyPack, a salsa container for Ana’s Foods of Austin, Texas. Honored for excellence in technological advancement, responsible packaging, and enhanced user experience, IPL’s new hybrid flexible-rigid, mono-material container is allowing Ana’s Foods to be a standout on store shelves, and the technology certainly has potential for other applications. Through their collaborative effort, Ana’s Foods replaced its rigid salsa containers with the unique new package.
IPL’s SkinnyPack is an injection molded PP container that is made by fusing a thin, flexible in-mold label (IMLO film to a sturdy, rigid frame. The process reportedly ensures that a strong adhesion exists
Between the film and injected plastic, allowing the packages to remain sturdy and strong throughout production, filling, transport, distribution and consumer use.
The lightweight, thin-walled SkinnyPack uses 54.8% less plastic than the original containers. The mono-material-material packaging structure makes the container 100% recyclable. Prior to use, the empty SkinnyPack is nestable to maximize warehouse space. After use, SkinnyPack can be easily crushed to optimize space during the recycling process. On each salsa package, Ana’s Foods communicates their commitment to sustainability with their consumers: “Tub made with less plastic for a greener world.”
Meanwhile, the package’s design differentiate itself on store shelves. The high-clarity film windows offer a look inside to give consumers confidence in the product prior to purchase, and the in-mold labeling offers high-resolution for high-impact shelf appeal. The package’s round mouth offers easy access to the product while the square edges of the bottom provide better grip and handling. The unique square-round (squround) shape of the container ensures distinction on store shelves while also providing ease for food manufacturers to adopt the new package. The squround shape is compatible with most current packaging equipment, whether it is for square or round containers.
Want to find or compare materials data for different resins, grades, or suppliers? Check out Plastics Technology’s Plaspec Global materials database.
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