Innovation Zone Snapshot – Stainless steel tops range allows for bottle repurposing

ThePackHub Innovation Zone Snapshot

More information on our Innovation Zone packaging database – https://www.thepackhub.com/the-innovation-zone/

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Switching from glass to plastic.

#1 Stainless steel tops range allows for bottle repurposing

True Fruits are a German Smoothie brand based in Bonn, that was founded in 2006. They sell their fruit smoothies and shots in glass bottles, and even though 83% of glass is recycled in Germany, the brand is offering customers the opportunity to upcycle their bottles with a number of different stainless steel tops. On their website, they offer a range of different tops available for customers to repurpose their empty bottles. The attachments available include a spice mill, sugar shaker, soap dispenser, drinking attachment, tea strainer, spreaders, as well as permanent tops. Prices for the attachments range from €10 to €17, with the average price being around €15. A funnel is also available for filling the bottles and is suitable for all three bottle sizes that True Fruits sell in 99ml, 250ml or 750ml.

#2 Liquid crystals create colour shift for anti-counterfeit applications

Idvac Ltd. is a technology company based in Manchester Science Park and has over 25 years of experience in vacuum and holographic technology. They have now moved their attention to the potential opportunities of Liquid Crystals (LCs) for packaging and security applications. LCs are molecules that have properties between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals. They can be aligned by an applied electric field or other methods which change their optical properties. The fact that LCs can change their optical properties, ie ‘Colour Shift’ effects, means they may have some useful applications for anti-counterfeiting applications. So far Idvac have been researching LC applications by printing on PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film, with colour shifts that can be transparent or semi-transparent, fast colour changes from red to green, and combining colour shift with other security features such as holographic patterns. LC colour shift film can also be laminated on Idvac vacuum metallised black coated films to achieve a Green/Deep Blue colour shift.

More info in The Innovation Zone.

#3 Bio-based pot and lid for Finnish supplement brand

Forest Spa Finland is a supplier of Nordic adaptogen supplements, which are natural substances thought to help decrease symptoms of stress and fatigue. They have chosen a premium bio-based pot and lid from Finnish sustainable packaging material supplier Sulapac. The material is made into pots and lids by Kyoto-based industrial mould manufacturing company Nissha. The pack has a unique look and feel with large and visible wood chips, emphasising that it is made from natural and sustainably sourced materials. The materials used are derived from industrial side streams that use wood from certified forests. After use, the pots are considered attractive enough to be repurposed, or alternatively, they can be composted industrially to the EN 13432 standard, leaving behind no permanent microplastics within six months. Following a critically reviewed life-cycle analysis, Sulapac’s bio-based material has been found to have a footprint of 0.42 CO2eq/kg compared to 1.7 CO2eq/kg for PP (polypropylene).

More info in The Innovation Zone.

#4 Capsule dispenser doses one at a time

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