Beverage packaging systems specialist Sidel has launched a new ultra-small and ultra-light PET bottle, which is designed to offer an increased competitive advantage for liquid dairy manufacturers.
The mini-size has been designed for products such as drinking and probiotic yoghurts with capacities between 65-150ml, and is ideally suited for ambient and cold chain processes. It also suits applications within the juice, nectar, soft drinks, isotonics and tea sectors.
“This new format has been launched to support the liquid dairy product industry where the use of PET packaging has increasingly become an attractive alternative,” said Laurent Naveau, packaging innovator leader at Sidel.
“Part of Sidel’s continuous packaging optimisation programme, this bottle is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and costs, while also offering new marketing opportunities and high production performance for manufacturers.”
With the new ultra-light bottle, Sidel says manufacturers can benefit from PET’s heightened sustainability credentials, as not only is PET the most affordable plastic on the market, but it is also the only food-grade bottle-to-bottle recycled plastic.
Sidel says that by switching to PET, manufacturers can achieve up to a 40 per cent cost reduction when moving from polystyrene to PET, and a 20 per cent reduction from HDPE.
“Our new size has the best-in-class bottle weight with just 3.9g for a 100ml extended shelf-life bottle, and 5.4g for 100ml aseptic bottle achieved through a dedicated preform design,” Naveau explained.
“This new preform design is qualified for 100 per cent rPET content and also enables a low blowing pressure below 15 bars.
“Sidel’s new PET mini-bottle guarantees producers total product integrity, while also offering compatibility with a range of safe, convenient capping solutions.”
The new ultra-small bottle offers a range of creative options including different formats and shapes; one-shot or multi-serve consumption; the use of white or transparent PET; multiple graphics and textures; and a wide-range of bottle necks and caps. It is also compatible with roll-fed or sleeve labelling.
Sidel’s new ultra-small bottle is based on a uniquely designed preform, which ensures a wide process window even with reduced heating zones. This offers optimum material distribution guaranteeing a high-bottle performance.
“Sidel’s packaging experts have developed a preform that achieves great bottle quality,” said Naveau.
“The accurate material distribution on the bottle ensures that its performance is secured even with lower blowing pressure and a reduced quantity of material.
“We’re excited to work with producers within the liquid dairy product sector to realise the full scope of our new ultra-small and light design range.”
Sidel offers a complete line solution for liquid dairy and sensitive products, building on over 40 years of experience operating within and supporting manufacturers in this industry.
The new bottle size is compatible with the company’s Aseptic Combi Predis FMa – a simple and fast aseptic solution with dry preform decontamination, which offers a safe, hygienic and cost-effective way of packaging sensitive products to ensure high-end taste and long shelf life, with minimal water and chemical usage.
Similarly, the bottle is also suitable for high-production speeds of up to 66,000 bottles per hour.
