Shrink sleeves for dairy pots cut costs and boost convenience

“The new sleeves, which assume the role of both label and cardboard sleeve, can cut packaging weight by up to 70% and costs by 30%,”​ the company’s business development manager Kursat Uysal told FoodProductionDaily.com.

Eliminating the need for a cardboard sleeve cuts the weight of individual pots from 11.5gm to 7gms, says the company. “For the average-sized dairy, producing perhaps up to 20m pots a year, that means a weight saving of 132t​,” said Uysal. In addition to transport costs savings, the new design helps to cut carbon dioxide emissions by reducing the weight that is to be transported.

Printing flexibility​

The shrink sleeves, applied to containers used for yoghurts, cream, dips and other chilled products using pots, are also said to deliver greater printing flexibility. “Heat activated adhesive allows the sleeves to conform to the curvatures of any pot. Unlike labels (​which stick to one part of the container) sleeves allow decorations and printing to cover the whole container – not just part of it​,” said Uysal.

“Compared with the majority of food manufacturers which still use cups employing conventional cardboard sleeves, labelling or direct printing, shrink sleeves offers much greater benefits and will bring the UK in line with the rest of Europe, where the technique is widespread​,” he added.

The latest addition to Chadwicks' range allows the company to offer a dual service to customers incorporating pre-cut lidding and shrink sleeves, which are designed to be compatible, eliminating the need to use two companies, claimed Uysal.

Hot melt adhesive​

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Suitable for multipack or duo products, the pots are stacked lid-to-lid and the shrink sleeve is applied to the product using a hot melt adhesive. Individual pots can then be separated via a specially designed horizontal perforation where the pots meet, which allows the sleeve to remain intact on the individual pots for advertisements or other product information.

After consuming the pots’ contents, consumers can remove the whole sleeve via a vertical perforation along the length of the pots to enable recycling without the risk of contamination from printing inks.

Chadwicks is part of the Flexible Packaging Division of the Clondalkin Group which has over 40 manufacturing sites located across Europe and North America.