Austrian dairy company SalzburgMilch recently offered a special promotion, where instead of each 500g tub of yogurt coming with a plastic lid, they were topped with dishwasher safe, and environmentally friendly reusable lids. The promotional lids were created with in-mold labelling (IML).
“We wanted to offer our customers an environmentally friendly and hassle-free alternative. The reusable lids don’t just function well, they look amazing!” Prok. Florian Schwap, marketing manager at SalzburgMilch, said.
“With their own lid conveniently on hand, it’s easy for customers to keep their dairy products fresh at home. There’s no need for each tub to come with its own disposable lid.”
SalzburgMilch worked with Greiner Packaging on the new lids. Greiner Packaging specializes in resealable packaging options that extend the shelf life of food while enabling it to be handled in a safe and secure way. There are some important factors to consider when designing a reusable lid. Firstly, it needs to be a perfect fit, meaning the seal must be secure so the food is kept fresh. Secondly, it needs to be easy to clean. Greiner Packaging’s multi-use lids are structurally stable, dishwasher safe and maintain their integrity wash after wash.
“Our multi-use lids can be used over and over again,” Thomas Knoll, key account manager at Greiner Packaging, said.
“They’re made from polypropylene (PP) using injection molding and decorated with IML. This combination ensures they’re dishwasher-safe, and when they eventually need to be disposed of, they’re completely recyclable. Less plastic is used overall and more of it is kept in circulation.”
The dishwasher-safe IML labels on the lids were created by Verstraete IML.
“Greiner Packaging pushed us to our limits,” Peter Mertens, regional sales manager for Central and Eastern Europe at Verstraete IML, said.
“They asked us to design IML labels to suit dishwasher-safe lids in both white and super-clear versions. Technologically, this meant aiming extremely high! But we worked together to pull it off. And quite quickly. The product went to market only months after the first idea was floated.”
SalzburgMilch said the feedback from consumers in Austria has been good.
“The lids fit perfectly, and our customers are quite willing to make this change. People are very aware that we need to reduce the amount of plastic we use. Reusable lids offer a wonderful and simple way to contribute to a greener future. The path is now paved for similar sustainable initiatives in the future. And the beautiful design of the lids is like the cherry on top!” Schwap said.
