DS Smith and Alpine Water have developed a ‘recycled and recyclable’ corrugated cardboard box to transport Hallstein-brand glass water bottles, designed to save space and protect the products in transit.
The new solution was designed as an alternative to the previous packaging, which relied on inlays and inserts made of polyethylene foam. It can hold six 750ml glass bottles, but its capacity can be increased and combined with various sizes of outer casing – enabling the transportation of nine, twelve, fifteen, or eighteen additional bottles.
Using its Circular Design Metrics (CDM) tools, DS Smith rated and compared the old and new packaging design across eight different categories; these include carbon footprint, design for reuse, supply chain optimization, materials utilization, and recyclability.
The company also used its TCO Pack – Lower Cost – Value Tool in hopes of reducing the packaging’s total cost of ownership – including the cost of owning, using, and maintaining the product – as well as understand its full life cycle benefits.
Apparently, the new transport boxes are ‘fast and easy’ to construct due to their pre-glued elements, meaning twice as many of the new transport boxes can be built and packed on the production line as the previous packaging within the same period of time.
The box is also said to be easy for end consumers to fold away or recycle at home, while its external surface area is described as ‘ideal’ for displaying brand logos, artwork, or graphics.
“We are delighted with the result of our collaboration with DS Smith,” says Alexander Muhr, managing director at Alpine Water Gmbh/Hallstein. “Their expert team has helped us to create a robust, sustainable, and versatile packaging solution to protect our product and glass bottles during transportation to local and international consumers.
“Our new transport boxes are demonstrating production, cost reduction, and space saving benefits, with positive impacts on the entire supply chain. They also look great and feature our recognizable branding on their outer casing, making it easy for our customers to identify with the product and sustainability credentials.”
“Our packaging solution for Hallstein was subjected to rigorous and extensive safety testing and this included sending shipment consignments to the USA to evaluate the impact of knocks and bumps,” comments Andreas Koch, Cluster Design & Innovation manager at DS Smith.
“Hallstein is known for its premium mineral water product in glass bottles and our challenge was to find a way to provide a sustainable protection for as wide a range of transit conditions as possible.
“We are committed to supporting our customers in finding fibre-based packaging solutions and in helping them to move towards the circular economy.”
In similar news, DS Smith has helped Famifarm Oy implement recyclable, fibre-based transport boxes to deliver its salads and herbs to Finnish stores. It has also packaged Minerva S.A.’s e-commerce deliveries in recyclable, resealable boxes; these feature ‘easy-to-peel’ adhesive strips for straightforward opening and secure resealing.
DS Smith’s fibre-based multipack for PET bottles has also been nominated for a prize in the Commercialized Climate category at this year’s Sustainability Awards. Design and innovation director Patricia Oddshammar recently spoke to Packaging Europe about its value as an alternative to plastic shrink wrap.
Meanwhile, Kingsland Drinks and MM Packaging have created a fully enclosed, FSC-certified cartonboard format for canned wines and ready-to-drink cocktails, which can then be used as a transit pack and on-shelf solution. It features a perforated zip-tear around the middle of the pack for ease of use when displayed on a shelf.
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