Companies constantly innovate and redesign their packaging to boost performance, enhance sustainability and improve marketability. Here’s a look at three recent packaging product launches or revamps on Packaging Dive’s radar.
Get a handle on it
Smurfit Westrock introduced its Bag-in-Box Powergrip, a fiber-based BIB product with a built-in handle. It was designed as an alternative to high density polyethylene bottles and two- and five-liter jerrycans, and it contains 70% less plastic than the HDPE form, the company says.
The BIB’s cardboard casing has a built-in handle to allow users to pour its contents with one hand. The handle itself also is made of cardboard. That substrate allows for various printing techniques and customization options just like with standard boxes, according to a company spokesperson. The product is suitable for holding fluids including cleaning materials, oils and agrochemical products, per a news release.
Powergrip is made at Smurfit Westrock’s Turnhout plant in Belgium. The company says this product will help customers comply with the plastic reduction and packaging sustainability measures in Europe’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.
Track record
Reusables.com received a U.S. patent for its tap-to-reuse food service operator system that tracks containers without requiring consumers to make a deposit or have their sensitive payment information stored.
The reusable packaging systems company said this is the first technology to integrate with existing point-of-sale systems that separates asset management from payment processing, which it says provides benefits for security, compliance and scalability.
This system will only apply a refundable charge if the consumer does not return the container within a specified time frame. Reusables.com does not charge consumers upfront and it does not store their payment information. The company says its goal is to make reuse more cost-effective and convenient for consumers than disposing single-use products.
"We've essentially solved the integration problem that has kept reusable packaging confined to niche applications, and now we have the IP protection to scale this approach across the entire retail ecosystem,” said co-founder and CEO Jason Hawkins in a news release. “Retailers can offer reusables without changing their operational workflows, and consumers get the convenience benefits without the friction of paying deposits or downloading additional apps.”
Foiling fakes
Germany-based lubricants company Mannol is launching new screw caps for its product containers that feature visible authenticity markings to avoid counterfeiting, the company announced.
Product piracy negatively impacts manufacturers and poses safety risks for consumers, the company says, citing estimates that counterfeit engine oils comprise a double-digit percentage of the global market.
Mannol’s new screw caps are designed with clearly recognizable brand features to ensure authenticity, including the company name, motto and silver color. The top of the cap has an embossed texture with an iridescent effect that shimmers in certain light; that detail is intentionally added because it’s difficult to copy, the company says.
The new caps already are being rolled out globally and eventually will be used across Mannol’s product containers, including for engine oils, transmission oils and industrial oils.
