Concept Bottle: PET and paper in combination

At this year’s Anuga FoodTec, production and process technology are major topics – but not the only ones. We’re also presenting an innovation on the field of packaging for milk and juice.

Behind it lies the idea of a reclosable PET bottle that protects the product against light and at the same time is simple to re-use. The goal: it should be easy to separate the transparent, bottle-to-bottle-recyclable container from the label, a light protection made of cardboard, which is also amenable to recovery. A similar principle has already been incorporated for yoghurt tubs. In addition, this packaging should be visually assignable to the milk and juice filled into those bottles.

Especially those photosensitive beverages are challenging in terms of packaging and design. White milk, for example, has to be protected from exposure to light to extend its shelf life. Otherwise the white gold would spoil. For the team at Krones Plastics Technology, one thing was very clear: all light-resistant milk packages so far have the disadvantage that they are very difficult to recycle. The reason is that usually the liquid-proof part (a plastic) is almost impossible to separate from the light-proof part (cardboard or opaque coloration).

Following extensive concept studies, and after completion of an analytical dissertation, this idea of a combination of a PET container and a paper label was developed to maturity together with experts from the Krones Labelling Technology department and the Töpfer company (which manufactures carton labels). Extensive tests regarding the bottle and the label materials that can be used finally led to the desired result: a visually appealing, light-proof and recyclable bottle.

The most important information at a glance:

–          1-litre premium PET bottle with integrated recessed grips and a large-format label with pleasant paper haptics

–          Use of common recyclable packaging materials that in this combination offer an innovative packaging concept with a multiplicity of advantages

–          Integration of special design elements at the bottle for improved handling and pouring characteristics, and tosupport the adhesion of the label on the PET bottle without any additional glue application

–          Different bottle weights and label thicknesses are possible, enabling solutions to be created that range from a resource-economical discounter bottle to a premium product with very upmarket haptics

–          Large design area for product marketing on the label

For a fast integration into the existing market, when developing the concept a provision was made for simplified implementation on existing lines in the dry end. A Krones Canmatic therefore can be used for labelling.