This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
This Website Uses Cookies
By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn More
This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
Packaging Strategies logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Packaging Strategies logo
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Archives
    • The Packaging Guide
    • Design Gallery Directory
  • Featured
    • Packaging Perspectives Podcasts
    • Packaging News
    • New Packages
    • Web Exclusives
    • Blogs
    • Supply Side
    • Supplier Products
    • Top Food Packaging Companies
    • Top Beverage Packaging Companies
  • PS News
    • Digital Editions
    • Special Reports
    • Subscribe
    • Sample Issue
    • Reprints
    • Customer Service
  • Machinery
    • Automation / Controls
    • Case Forming / Packing / Sealing
    • Cartoning
    • Coding / Marking / Printing
    • Components / Parts
    • Conveyors
    • Form-Fill-Seal / Filling & Closing
    • Inspection / Detection / Vision
    • Labeling
    • Unitizing / Palletizing
    • Robotics
    • Track & Trace / Serialization
  • Vertical Markets
    • Beer / Wine / Spirits Packaging
    • Beverage Packaging
    • Candy / Confectionery
    • Dairy Food Packaging
    • Food Service Packaging
    • Household Packaging
    • Meat / Seafood Packaging
    • Personal Care Packaging
    • Pet Food Packaging
    • Pharma / Medical Packaging
    • Produce Packaging
    • Snack Food Packaging
  • Materials
    • Adhesives / Sealants
    • Beverage Multipacks
    • Blister Packaging
    • Cans & Bottles
    • Closures/Lids
    • Films & Coatings
    • Flexible Packaging
    • Labels
    • Paperboard / Corrugated / Cartons
    • Rigid Containers
    • Sustainable Packaging
  • Brand Packaging
    • Design Gallery Directory
  • Events
    • Converters Expo
    • Converters Expo South
    • Global Pouch Forum
    • Industry Events
    • Webinars
  • More
    • Videos
      • Pack Expo 2019 Videos
      • PMMI video series
    • Book Store
    • Classifieds
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • eBook
    • eXTRA eNewsletter
    • Interactive Product Spotlights
    • Market Research
    • The Packaging Guide
    • Polls
    • White Papers
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Home » Closure suppliers put on their thinking caps

Closure suppliers put on their thinking caps

January 1, 2009
Randy Hofbauer
Reprints
No Comments
How responding to consumer demands for lighter, stronger and eye-catching closures is the best bet for food and beverage companies during uncertain times.


Closures are a big deal. Even though it may seem like a smaller part of a bigger whole, the closure is as important as a container in terms of keeping a product fresh. And during a time when economic instability is forcing consumers to think twice about a purchase, companies are answering consumer demands for everything from material reduction to tighter sealing to on-shelf appeal.

Phoenix Closures' third generation of Dean's Milk Chug bottle twist cap maintains the same look and capability of the closure's second generation version, but contains 20% less plastic and provides shelf-apparent tamper evidence.

Performing better with less material

Though times are tough and budgets are tight, when faced with a choice between package A and package B, consumers will generally go for the more sustainable package if they’re priced similarly. This is why, even with the cost of petroleum decreasing, companies need to keep lightweighting closures. It benefits the package as a whole.

“Certainly, when you go from a 43 millimeter [size] to a 38 or 33, you’re saving a significant amount of weight not only in the closure, but in the container,” says Bill Thomas, director of technology commercialization at Silgan White Cap Americas.

This is especially important with hot-fill polyethylene terephthalate (PET). If weight is taken out of plastic packaging, performance can be decreased and the package may not be able to withstand product temperature.

Silgan is changing the shape and increasing the ribs on the sides of its closures to add some abuse resistance back into a lightweighted closure. According to Thomas, the technology is still being introduced to customers, but in 2009, several applications should be using this technology.

Tetra Pak has also redeveloped two of its brik pack closure types to enhance pouring capabilities while reducing material. The redesigned pre-applied closures will have a 50% larger pouring area, and the post-applied closures will be about 25% larger than before. According to Riccardo Vellani, manager of openings and closures for Tetra Pak, the second generation of post-applied closures will have a 30% opening force reduction, and the targeted weight reduction for both cap types is 20%.

Phoenix, already known for its work with Dean’s in creating its Milk Chug closure, introduced the third generation of the closure last summer. It’s goal was to provide a closure that was more environmentally friendly, delivered improved operating efficiencies and still maintained the premium look and geometry for which the Milk Chug package is known.

Len Ekkert, Phoenix’s vice president of engineering, came up with a design that uses the same visual clues as the previous generation closure, but is produced with more than 20% less plastic. It maintains the same sealing system, but uses its new tamper band system, providing shelf-apparent tamper evidence with the addition of improved application efficiency.

Crown's new closure finishes, including matte, metallic sparkle and a color-changing lacquer, offer customers the ability to differentiate and market a product beyond the label.

Opening up and staying strong

Even if a closure is lightweighted and reinforced to withstand heat, it has to still open easily. This is especially important for children and seniors, two demographics particularly targeted by functional and healthy beverage categories such as juice.

PepsiCo released several of its Tropicana orange juice products in a redesigned package with a lightweighted closure from Bapco Closures that increases functionality. Previously sporting a screw cap, the package now has an injection-molded flip-top closure over a foil seal, which allows consumers to open and pour with the snap of a finger and the turn of a wrist.

But just as a closure has to be easy enough to open, it also has to provide a tight enough seal, especially with carbonated beverages.

“The absence of 360 degrees of thread engagement is the number one cause of poor seals in a cap and container marriage,” says Timothy Ferrel, vice president of sales at Phoenix Closures. “To get a full 360 degrees of engagement, the closure manufacturer must design a cap that actually has more than 360 degrees of thread.”

Bericap’s Double Seal closures provide hermetic sealing for carbonated beverages, as well as water, juices, teas and syrups. However, as pressure must be retained, it also must vent appropriately. Bericap introduced its line of HexaLite closures which, at less than 1.5 grams (g), save a minimum of 0.5g of plastic, which allows savings of 2.0g per package.

Bericap also recently won a WorldStar 2008 award from the World Packaging Organisation for its SuperShorty closure, which uses the Double Seal technology, has a venting capacity that has been enlarged to 4.5 volume percent carbon dioxide, allowing consumers to unscrew the cap at excessive speed with less of a risk of it blowing off.

Sidel's oddly-shaped PET beer bottle breaks through the restraints of the traditional glass bottle to offer a package that, when turned upside down and fitted into its overcap, resembles an elegant stem glass.

Matching personalities

There’s more to a closure beyond strength and seal, however. With the economic crisis driving competition to be stronger than ever, food and beverage companies need to make their products stand out. This involves thinking outside of the box and using every part of the package to differentiate, not just the labeling.

“We’ve always felt that the closure is a great marketing tool, but just wasn’t being taken advantage of,” says Thomas. “When you have just a plain white closure on a package, you’re really relying on the label to jump out on the shelf.”

Closures have to match a package’s personality. With this in mind, Crown Closures USA recently brought some new ideas to the table, introducing several new finishes to the market, including a matte, metallic sparkle and a special color-changing lacquer that changes with the turn of a package, which can both withstand pasteurized and, in some cases, sterilized filling processes.

It also introduced a special ink to print promotional messages on the inside of metal closures. This is a useful tool to differentiate a product, since it leaves something that cannot be experienced on shelf, further encouraging the customer to purchase the product. Polish juice and jam packager Agros Nova is one of the first companies to use this technology, printing a series of cultural messages inside fruit juice twist caps as part of a brand-building promotion.

Target’s Archer Farms has innovated in the dry cereal category by is using Sonoco’s Linearpak canister, which sports a hinged snap-shut overcap that keeps cereal fresh, eliminating the less reliable paperboard flaps of a typical cereal box. Other companies are following in these footsteps to not only make packages stand out with their closures, but by rethinking the functionality aspect of their closures and bring added value to the package. Here are a couple examples:

• Sidel’s collector’s edition PET beer bottle features an ingenious use of an overcap. The unusually shaped bottle can be turned over, its overcap can be removed and the bottle can be turned upside-down to fit inside the overcap, causing the bottle to resemble a stem glass.

• SpoonLidz single-serve yogurt cup overlid incorporates its own spoon. Referring to itself as a “why-didn’t-anyone-come-up-with-this-sooner” concept, the lid, which is made from renewable cardstock with a sustainable moisture-barrier coating, turns into a spoon with a single fold.

Overall, these new designs show that the closure is a key area where the consumer meets the package.

“Although sometimes overlooked, closures for food and beverage products are the most interactive part of a package, one that can certainly influence how people view a brand,” says Sheila Heath, director of marketing at Crown Closures USA.  F&BP

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Bapco Closures Ltd.

011-44-1483-243-310 (UK)


Bericap

909-390-5518


Crown Closures USA

215-698-5100


Phoenix Closures

630-420-4750

Sidel
678-221-3000

Silgan White Cap Americas
800-515-1565

SpoonLidz

415-924-0233

Tetra Pak
847-955-6000

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Smarter than your average cork

ZORK USA, a division of Portola Packaging Inc., introduced a solution to put to rest that nagging question every wine bottler asks: “Should I use a cork or a screwcap?”

The ZORK closure has three parts: an outer, tamper-evident cap; an inner foil oxygen barrier; and a plunger that pops like a cork and can be easily reinserted.

It eliminates the need for a corkscrew, seals tight enough for the bottle to rest on its side and is recyclable. Adding an extra style incentive for the consumer, the tamper-evident band can be worn as a wristband afterward.

To see a video of consumers trying out the closure and offering their thoughts on it, check out www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKszET-IWjI&feature=related.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

ZORK USA, a division of Portola Packaging Inc.
866-996-9675

PS Subscribe

Recent Articles by Randy Hofbauer

2009 PLANTS OF THE YEAR: Engineers produce unique candy carton

2009 PLANTS OF THE YEAR: 'DAIRY'-ing to be different

Good-for-you juice sells better in good-for-us-all packaging

UNCONTAINED: Recession proofing: Share the wealth by touting health!

UNCONTAINED: Plastic loses class: It's the glass, glass, glass!

Randy Hofbauer is the previous Associate Editor.

Related Articles

New developments seal the deal on freshness, shelf life

FOOD PACKAGER OF THE YEAR: Portion packs cater to on-the-go consumers

Good-for-you juice sells better in good-for-us-all packaging

Cartoners get smart and simple

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Subscription Center
  • Print & Digital Edition Subscriptions
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • PS News
  • FAQ
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Packaging Strategies Poll Promotion

Events

February 12, 2020

Converters Expo South

Converters Expo South is a one day expo that unites converters of paper, film, plastics and nonwovens with industry buyers, specialists and suppliers. With hundreds of attendees expected, Converters Expo South will be the place to find manufacturing partners, check out testing and prototyping equipment, meet with producers of disposables and learn the latest in flexo printing and packaging.

April 29, 2020

Converters Expo

Your one-stop shop for all things converting is back in 2020 with additional exhibit space! Celebrating 13 years as the only one-day expo exclusively located in the Midwest, Converters Expo unites converters of paper, film, plastics and nonwovens with industry buyers, specialists and suppliers.

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Packaging Job Woes

What is your top worry about your role in packaging?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

Managing Packaging Design for Sustainable Development: A Compass for Strategic Directions

Managing Packaging Design for Sustainable Development: A Compass for Strategic Directions

See More Products

Packaging Perspectives Podcasts Promotion


PMMI interview today's packaging

Packaging Strategies

PS1119_Cover-144px.jpg

2019 November

In the November issue of Packaging Strategies, we feature a new trend: Re-commerce, brands and Generation Z, resealable closures in food packaging, a pretzel company with filling & weighing equipment for more productivity and much more!

View More Create Account
  • Helpful Links
    • List Rental
    • Editorial Guidelines
    • Submissions Guidelines
    • Survey And Sample
    • Packaging Brands
    • Partners
    • Polls
    • Want More?
    • Connect
    • Privacy Policy
    • Subscribe
  • PS News
    • Subscribe
    • Customer Service
    • FAQ
  • Packaging Group
    • Flexible Packaging
    • Packaging Strategies
  • Subscribe
    • Print & Digital Edition Subscriptions
    • eNewsletters
    • Online Registration
    • PS News
    • FAQ
    • Subscription Customer Service

Copyright ©2019. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing