The Sidel StarLite™ family of bottle base solutions is expanding through the StarLite UltraLight for carbonated soft drinks (CSD).
As the name suggests, this design allows for an even lighter bottle than the existing solutions in the beverage marketplace. By lowering the product costs, while maintaining the expected level of carbonation, this innovative bottle addresses the hard discount chains’ needs and challenges for more affordable products while ensuring a good product quality for a great consumer experience.
The Sidel StarLite UltraLight base has been designed for highly carbonated beverages with a short distribution stream. “As such, it lends itself to CSD and sparkling water, sold in countries with a more temperate climate through hard discount supply chains, applying regular stock rotation,” explains Laurent Naveau, Packaging expert at Sidel.
Setting a world record in reduced bottle weight Just like the other propositions in the Sidel StarLite range, the new UltraLight CSD base de-sign significantly decreases the amount of raw material needed to produce PET bottles. “The optimum bottle base design results in a staggering 25% lighter bottle weight compared to a tra-ditional CSD bottle at around 13.5g, contributing as a whole to reduced production costs while maintaining carbonated beverage quality,” adds Laurent. Whereas a traditional 0.5L CSD bottle weighs 13.5g, the very lightweighted StarLite UltraLight CSD only weighs 10.5g. When it comes to the 1.5L bottle, it now weighs 24g rather than a traditional bottle, which is normally at 28g.
Sidel’s StarLite UltraLight solution also comes with an innovative CSD bottle neck design, the latter 26/22 neck finish featuring a weight of 2.3g, a thread diameter of 26mm, an inner diameter of 21.7mm, and a height of 13mm. Referenced at CETIE (the International Technical Center for Bottling and related Packaging), the bottle neck can be combined with the new Novembal cap, the Novasoda 26/22 for carbonated beverages. Robust and very tight to preserve the beverage quality, this one-piece closure is easy and safe to apply, open, and re-close.
By optimising the amount of PET required to manufacture the bottle, the new Sidel StarLite UltraLight CSD base offers a substantial reduction in Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). For example, for a 0.5L bottle the total yearly production PET savings for the new base combined with the new neck would be at 1,125,000 Euros. Looking at the 1.5L bottle, the savings are even more striking. Here, the yearly production PET savings would amount to a total of 1,530,000 Euros.
Combining right performances with ultralight weightThe bottle featuring the StarLite UltraLight CSD base also includes a patented and smart de-sign, which combines the innovative base with an optimal body shape. It offers functional benefits without compromising on attractiveness and brand differentiation potential. “When designing the bottle base and body shape, the Sidel packaging experts put a key focus on im-proving the consumer experience. When opening the bottle with a firm hand grip, there is no splashing due to the rigid waist embedded in the structured bottle design,” comments Laurent. Additionally, the good base seating surface eliminates any risk of bottle base distortions, as such contributing to perfect bottle stability. Moreover, production speed can reach up to an out-put rate of 2,500 bottles per hour per mould (bphm).
The StarLite UltraLight CSD definitively offers hard discount chains the opportunity to release more affordable carbonated beverages in PET bottles, while strengthening their competitive-ness and productivity without hampering the product quality the consumers may expect.The massive savings on TCO that can be achieved give this innovative bottle base a real competi-tive edge compared to other solutions on the market.