FDBusiness.com

RPC is capturing increasing numbers of food manufacturers that are switching to plastic packaging from other materials – and not just for lightweighting – the company claimed at its press conference last week. 

It gave the example of seafood processor Bornholms in Scandinavia converting most of its packaging solutions from cans to Superfos plastic boxes.

The manufacturer had cited improved logistics, user friendliness, decreased costs and an ambient shelf life of two years as core reasons for the shift, according to RPC . The packaging firm has developed four types of packaging with an entirely new oxygen barrier solution especially for Bornholms, which have been launched in supermarkets in Denmark.

In the long run, the two businesses aim to drive up product shelf life to three years using the packaging, which has already been launched in the catering sector in Europe. This could help strengthen Bornholm’s export trade, which involves time consuming shipping and customs clearance, said RPC .

‘Increase filling speed, reduce cost, optimise logistics’

“The conversion allows us to increase the filling speed, reduce the cost of the packaging material and optimise logistics,” said Bornholms managing director Christian Sieverts.

“Another very positive effect is the reduced carbon footprint. According to our estimates, we will save more than 200,000 km [travelled] by truck every year, which in part is due to the location of the RPC Superfos distribution centre, but also closely linked to the shape of the packaging.

“Before our packaging was straight-sided; now thanks to the new design we work with a conical shape and can put a significant amount of extra units on each truck.”

30% of the warehouse space

The shape of the packs meant the empty pots only occupied up to 30% of the warehouse space previously required for Bornholms’ cans, said Sieverts.

Meanwhile, Spanish hot chocolate maker Chocolates Santa Maria has switched from cardboard to RPC Superfos UniPak plastic for its instant cocoa in a bid to refresh the brand.

“Our product sold well before, but with UniPak we hope to increase the number of distributors and thereby get an increased market share,” said Chocolates Santa Maria general manager Javier Morales.

‘Practical and time saving‘

“The former packaging was a cardboard box with a metal bag inside with 1kg of our instant cocoa directly versed into the plastic pot from RPC Superfos. It is practical and time saving at the filling line and easy to use at home, in cafes and in catering companies.”

Again, the conical shape of the pack means that it stacks easily, enabling more efficient use of storage space and distribution.

Morales said the company had decided not to change the packaging design that much to maintain the brand’s image in the eyes of consumers.

RPC revealed the development work at its press conference at Dinklage in Germany on April 18.