The UK's number two supermarket, Sainsbury's, has begun selling a range of its soups in square cans in an attempt to try and gauge consumer's preferences.
The square cans will be sold alongside the traditional round cans, marketed in an exactly the same way and containing the same produce, in an attempt to see whether or not people will buy them.
Until the advent of the peel-back lid, it had been a necessity to manufacture round tins to enable them to be opened by tin openers. However, now that that is not a requirement, packaging manufacturers are openly exploring the possibilities of square tins, simply because they are easier to handle.
Sainsbury's believes that the square tins could make significant savings for transportation and storage because they can be stacked more efficiently.
If the trial is successful, the company says that it will start to stock the new square tins in all its stores across the UK.
Sainsbury packaging innovation manager Terry Robins said: "A square can makes complete sense. Our trolleys, baskets, boxes and even lorries are all square - now we're putting a square peg in a square hole.
"We are providing customers with a truly square meal (but) we will have to see how popular they are before taking any decisions. The only square canned product we have ruled out is pineapple rings."