“Grip pack” is the new black

23-Jun-2013 - Last updated on 24-Jun-2013 at 09:02 GMT

RPC Kerkrade's smaller 475ml bottle is designed for Pastarom's toppings

RPC Kerkrade has developed two user-friendly “grip pack” bottles for Dreidoppel, a manufacturer of specialist bakery, confectionery and ice cream ingredients in Langenfeld, Germany.

The polypropylene packaging has been created with both wholesale and food service users in mind, with both packs suitable for hot filling.

A larger 950ml bottle has been blow moulded in monolayer polypropylene for Dreidoppel’s food flavouring line, Pastarom Classic.

Meanwhile, the smaller 475ml bottle has a co-extruded multilayer design and has been designed for Pastarom’s range of toppings for ice creams, desserts, milkshakes and waffles.

The new packaging was designed with the objective of improving user convenience; both bottles include a ‘grip pack’ feature, with indented, ridged sides. The makers hope that these will “make the bottle comfortable to hold and product easy to dispense for accurate portion control”.

Six-layer structure maintains freshness

Altogether, the new bottles took six months to develop. The packaging will help keep the bottles’ contents fresh for 18 months, a useful quality as Pastarom Classic flavourings do not contain preservatives.

The smaller of the two bottles improves shelf life by incorporating a “multi-layer PP/EVOH/PP construction,” explained Isabelle Dull, Key Account Manager at RPC Kerkrade, to FoodProductionDaily.com. Here, ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) is sandwiched in a six-tier structure between polypropylene layers, forming a barrier that protects against excessive penetration of oxygen to keep contents fresh.

The larger bottle is manufactured using blow-moulding, specifically extrusion blow moulding (rather than injection or stretch methods). Here, plastic is melted and squeezed into a hollow tube called a parison. The parison is placed into a metal mould, and air is blown into the parison, inflating it into the shape of the hollow bottle.

Shelf life trend

“The new bottles ideally reflect the quality of our products, and their user-friendliness further enhances brand image,” said Dietmar Hartkopf, Purchasing Manager at Dreidoppel. “We are delighted with RPC Kerkrade’s contribution to this project.”

RPC Kerkrade acknowledges that the demand for ‘grip pack’ bottles may be part of a wider marketplace trend. “Longer shelf life is an important aspect in the squeeze bottle market. We do get a lot of enquiries for this type of produced bottles, ” said Dull.

The Pastarom Classic line, for which the 950ml bottle was designed, is used by wholesalers as flavouring in baking, pastry, and ice cream. It is available in 10 varieties, including mocha, rum, and pistachio.

The toppings, which are sold to food service providers in the new 475ml grip bottle, come in caramel, chocolate, raspberry and strawberry.