Available across Europe the IML project was developed by Unilever in partnership with injection molder Miko Pac.
Packaging supplier
Karl Hermans, MD, Miko Pac, said the company is one of the main suppliers of ice cream packaging for Unilever.
He added together with Verstraete IML, it was asked to translate design ideas for Magnum Pints into packaging suitable for mass production.
The product is a dairy vanilla ice cream with Magnum milk, a white chocolate top-disc and shards, encased in a Magnum chocolate shell.
“Magnum Pints are ‘Carefully made to be broken’,” said Rahul Rajpal, brand development, Magnum Europe.
“This means the consumer cracks the chocolate shell around the vanilla ice cream by squeezing both sides of the packaging. To make this possible from a technical perspective and to give the consumer a unique ‘cracking experience’, we opted for IML technology.”
Rajpal added it chose to use IML because of the pack appearance, which has a premium appeal.
He said the quality of IML packaging is better for protecting the product against moisture, changes in temperature and it is recyclable.
'Press to Crack'
“The Press to Crack instructions show where you need to squeeze the container. And, the instructions stand out because of the Metallic IML, Matt and UltraGloss IML finish,” said Benedict Adins, regional sales manager, Southern Europe, Verstraete IML.
“The logo also has a luxurious glossy Metallic look. The metallic effect radiates luxury and quality, and creates a beautiful contrast with the Matt IML finish on the rest of the label. It makes the packaging a real eye-catcher in the freezer.”
Rajpal said there were technical challenges with the packaging design, with the lid but together the team found an alternative method.
“The Magnum Pints shape made it difficult to create an IML label. A very precise design and a superbly-functioning robot system were needed. But, Verstraete IML had a range of technical options,” added Hermans.