FDBusiness.com

A new display tray has been developed by SIG Combibloc, to be utilized for tall, slim beverage cartons. Its Combidome carton bottle that offers “industry first” benefits both in transit and at point of purchase.

The smart design of the Hero tray ensures that carton packs are evenly stacked and safely protected during transport, SIG said, but they can also be used on shelf by retailers and allow consumers to remove cartons easily.

Georg Schulte, project manager downstream/secondary packaging for SIG Combibloc, said: “Sometimes it’s difficult to accommodate both of these requirements. While a completely enclosed type of secondary packaging is ideally used for transport to protect the carton packs, a very shallow tray offers the best solution for presenting the cartons and makes them easier to remove from the packaging. With our new Hero tray, we’ve developed a solution that meets both requirements.”

The trays are the first in the market not to be the same height as the beverage cartons stored inside, the Swiss-headquartered company said.

Schulte continued: “Using the new tray lowers costs for beverage manufacturers, because less corrugated board is used than in trays that are the same height as the carton packs. The bottom line: these savings don’t have to be offset by higher logistics costs.”

The trays are shallow at the front, meaning virtually the entire front communication panel of the carton pack is visible, and the carton packs can be lifted out of the tray effortlessly – even from higher shelves. The tray back, which is the same height as the carton packs, ensures the carton packs are not crushed during transport, and pallets can be loaded with the maximum number of layers. In the tray formation of two by four carton packs (stacked in five layers), 800 carton packs of 1 litre each fit on a Euro pallet without overhang. For slim carton packs, this is a unique solution in the market, SIG said.

Georg Schulte reiterated: “For beverage manufacturers, the Hero tray means lower costs for secondary packaging material, while logistics costs remain unchanged. For the retail market, handling costs go down, because the carton packs can be sold straight from the tray, and even straight from the pallet. There’s also less packaging to dispose of. And the consumer also benefits from the new SIG Hero tray, thanks to attractive product presentation and effortless removal of the products from the tray.”

The rise of discount retailers such as Aldi and Lidl has brought the integration of primary, secondary and tertiary packaging to the fore, as many discount retailers present products on shelf in their original cases or pallets to save on labour costs.

Having launched the trays in Germany’s convenience channel, the company plans further market launches in the near future.

Sig Combibloc is globally one of the top system providers of carton packaging and filling machines for drinks food. The company provides complete systems including both the packaging materials and the corresponding filling machines.