Top Editors ... The SHAPE of things to come

Title: The SHAPE of things to come
Date: 13/06/2008
Autor: Claire Rowan

As the market place for food and beverage products becomes increasingly competitive,
manufacturers are turning to packaging suppliers to optimise their product propositions, and the experts in canning technology are rising keenly to this challenge.
The past year has seen leading can manufacturers launch innovations in shapes, texture, colour and print finish to boost the shelf appeal of brands throughout Europe and further afield.
In The Netherlands, Heinz worked with Impress to perfect the new shaped can for the relaunch of its Karvan Cévitam brand of fruit syrups that replaces the brand’s original straight walled cans. The attractive distortionprinted three piece cans are produced from fine stone finished steel, and pneumatic blow forming tooling was specially designed to create a shaped can that is both full of impact on-shelf and easy to grip. The syrups have been relaunched with improved recipes containing 70% fruit.
For the introduction of a new range of premium soups for the UK market, German soup manufacturer Stockmeyer selected fluted cans created by Crown Food Europe.
“We wanted a package that would evoke the premium quality of these soups to help us capture market share,” said Klaus Weber, marketing manager of Buss Fertiggerichte, which fills the soups for the UK market. “Crown’s unique flute-shaped panels offer a refreshing take on the traditional straight soup can.”
Manufactured at Crown Food Europe’s Seesen plant in Germany, the steel, shaped food can features Crown’s EOLE III easyopen ends and attractive lithographic decoration that accentuates the vertical fluting of the 400g can, which is fully compatible with existing customer filling lines, and continuous or static retort systems.
With its core focus on beverage applications, Rexam’s latest shaped can innovation draws on 360 degree debossing technology and has been chosen by the Swedish brewer Spendrups for its Bright Brew and Premium Gold brands in a fluted design.
“As a local brewery competing with strong international brands, it is imperative that we constantly deliver new and innovative concepts to capture consumer attention,” said Fredrik Sverkersten, brand manager of strategic beer brands at Spendrups. “Rexam’s 360 degree debossing technology coupled with the matt varnish signalled to the consumer that is was no ordinary can.”

Beverages
Both Ball and Rexam have introduced developments in aluminium shaping technology with new aluminium bottles designed to help boost the sales of beverages that might otherwise be turning to glass or PET alternatives.
Ball Packaging Europe presented its aluminium beverage bottle, Alumi-Tek, for the first time at the Brau Beviale exhibition last year. Produced by Ball Corporation, Ball Packaging Europe’s parent company, under licence from the Japanese Universal Can Company, this re-sealable aluminium beverage bottle is available in 325 and 355ml sizes. Alumi-Tek is designed to be lightweight and recyclable, and to give on-shelf appeal to products such as carbonated soft drinks, juices, energy drinks and coffeebased beverages.
Rexam’s new Fusion aluminium bottle combines aluminium and conventional can manufacturing techniques to create DWI (drawn wall ironed) bottles that can vary in serving size, shoulder shape, neck length and closure options. Developed in conjunction with the Italian company Frattini, the Fusion bottles are shatterproof, cold to the touch, lighter than extruded metal or glass bottle equivalents, and 100% recyclable, according to Rexam. They are designed to be filled on traditional bottle filling lines with minimal disruption, and are suitable for both carbonated or non-carbonated beverages.
Rexam unveiled several beverage can innovations last year, including what it claims is the largest capacity, two-piece aluminium can available in the world: the 1 litre super sized can. Already introduced to the Russian market by the Baltika brewery, the new 1 litre format is boosting sales of two Baltika brands, which are enjoying enhanced shelf impact.
Also driving the eye-catching properties of cans is Rexam’s new Sparkle varnish, which has debuted on a new cider based cocktail beverage for shops, bars and nightclubs in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Launched by the Estonian brewery A le Coq, Fizz Diamond is packed in 50cl cans, which are produced on a specially created production line at Rexam’s Fosie plant.
“We are very impressed with the effect the Sparkle varnish has given the Fizz Diamond cans. They stand out from the crowd and look great in a bar and nightclub environment,” said A le Coq’s Pilvi Tering.
“The result is eye-catching and fun, perfect for attracting our target audience of 18 to 25
year old females.” Rexam has also worked with A le Coq to create a distinctive looking can for its new cocktail range, Chill. Available in three flavours: Sex on the Beach; Cuba libre and Cosmopolitan, the Chill cocktails are sold in cans decorated in black matt varnish, with a black end, seam and tab.
In Ireland, Coca-Cola selected new high definition graphics technology from Ball Packaging Europe for its limited edition, 330ml cans with six different colour designs for low calorie Diet Coke. Initially developed for black and white designs, the latest high definition finish allows pin-sharp colour designs to be applied to steel or aluminium cans at a constant production rate.
For maximum consumer attention to detail, Ball Packaging Europe has also perfected its thermochromic ink technology for use on steel cans, which change colour according to temperature and therefore communicate directly to consumers that the contents are cold enough to drink.
“Thermochromic inks add value to the can for the consumer by enabling them to identify quickly which beer is ready to drink,” said Tom Feinson, customer marketing director at Coors, which is already using the technology for aluminium cans for its Coors Fine Light and Grolsch brands.
“Consumers measure value by quality and the key quality signal for lager is coldness.
Our research shows that 86% of consumers think that it’s important to drink cold beer and they are prepared to pay for it.”
Originally perfected for use on aluminium cans that are traditionally coated with clear varnish, which protects the temperaturesensitive ink from abrasion, the thermochromic technology has now been developed for use with steel for which clear varnish was neither necessary nor usual. Ball Packaging Europe’s new thermochromic printing ink is sufficiently abrasion resistant to withstand the production and filling processes for steel cans without the need for a clear varnish.
Coors Brewers in the UK is now using the innovative steel can with temperature indicators for its Carling brand. A printed indicator on the ‘Cold you can see!’ cans of Carling change colour to blue when the beer has reached its optimal drinking temperature.
Colour and can finishes have also driven development work at Crown, which developed a glow-in-the-dark package incorporating a special decorating ink with phosphorescent pigments that emit a green glow when in dark environments for the limited edition Halloween promotion from Cott Beverages. The reduced sugar orange
cream soda used ink supplied by custom special effect ink company Chromatic Technologies Inc.
“Crown consistently strives to incorporate advanced packaging technologies that can truly bring brands to life,” said Neill Mitchell, vice president sales, account executive, Crown Beverage Packaging, USA.
For food applications, Crown has developed a new black polymer-coated can technology in cooperation with the private label manufacturer of Alaskan salmon, the Bear & Wolf Salmon Company. The twopiece steel food can is used by the Bear & Wolf Salmon Company for its premium skinless-boneless salmon products. It features a black pigment incorporated into its polymer-coated exterior, which allows the can to contrast dramatically with traditional silver and gold coloured cans on-shelf. The package is compatible with EOLE and PeelSeam easy-open ends and runs on traditional filling lines.
“Colour is an important aspect of the consumer brand experience, and black is a colour that denotes premium value,” said Timothy Lorge, vice president sales, Western Region, Crown Food Packaging USA. “By combining a striking aesthetic effect with easy-open technologies and technical support, the black coated food can is an
innovative and effective tool for brands looking to set themselves apart from the competition and appeal to more varied consumer segments.”