The aseptic advantage
When it comes to keeping food, beverages and packaging free from harmful bacteria for an extended period of time, its hard to beat aseptic technology. According to Tetra Pak, which introduced the world to aseptic technology and packaging in the 1960s, the technology relies on very short heating and cooling times during food or beverage processing, not only for sterilization, but also to ensure the food or beverage retains its taste and nutritional benefits.
\"One can imagine how aseptic technology changed the way people consumed and produced food, specifically dairy products,\" says Brian Thane, director, aseptic technology for Tetra Pak, with U.S. headquarters in Vernon Hills, Ill. \"The technology eliminated the need to maintain a cold distribution chain from the manufacturing plant to the grocery store.\"
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The result? Manufacturers could ship products farther away, and retailers and consumers could be assured the products retained their quality and safety. The technology also made milk available to parts of the world previously without access, Thane says.
Although the United States has lagged behind many other parts of the globe in adoption of aseptic technology, he notes that the winds of change are beginning to take hold.
\"For North America, manufacturers and retailers are seeing more and more the benefits of aseptic processing and packaging,\" Thane says, \"not only for the dairy category, which is introducing several new products using shelf-safe packaging – especially in the kids category [of] milk boxes – but for other categories even more so, like food, nutritionals and beverages.\"
Jessi Hoover, manager, packaging applications for Northlake, Ill.-based Scholle Packaging, says aseptic technology has increased both the safety and economic viability of both high- and low-acid food and beverage products in many different packaging formats.
\"This is especially true for high-value products where nutrition and quality are a core part of the brand,\" Hoover says. \"The production of these products must balance efficiencies between time and temperature during processing in order to maintain quality and safety.\"
A plus for store brands
Aseptic technology could serve as a differentiator for retailers store brands in a number of categories. And retailers now have choices beyond the aseptic carton when contemplating packaging options, suggests John Slawny, vice president, sales and marketing for Gehl Foods Inc., Germantown, Wis.
\"We can now offer aseptic technology in so many packaging forms – bottles, cans, pouches and cups – that theres no longer a structural difference between aseptic items and their retorted, hot-filled or refrigerated cousins.\"
And Scholle Packagings bag-in-box technology allows retailers to offer aseptic preservative-free liquid products that come with economic and environmental savings, Hoover says. For retail applications, the packaging has a number of options for dispensing taps or fitments that allow consumers to pour the desired amount of product easily and over an extended time period.
\"Because bag-in-box taps and positive product flow prevent air from entering the package, the opened shelf life can be measured in weeks,\" she adds.
On the traditional carton side, Joe Arends, marketing manager for Minden, Nev.-based Continuum Packing Solutions, says his company uses aseptic filling machines and carton packaging from SIG Combibloc Inc., with U.S. offices in Philadelphia. The system seals aseptic cartons above the fill level, not through the product.
\"This allows for a wide range of products to [be packaged] safely,\" he says, \"such as juices, nectars, juice drinks, teas, wellness drinks and isotonic beverages. In addition, more-viscous products are also possible such as smoothies and sauces.\"
The cartons primary material is cardboard, Arends notes, giving the package stability. Inner polymer layers, meanwhile, create a liquid barrier for food and beverage products, while the outer layer locks out moisture. Finally, a razor-thin aluminum layer shields the product from oxygen, light and external odors.
Aseptic cartons bring with them environmental benefits, too. For one thing, they dont require refrigeration, which can slash refrigeration-related energy needs during storage, transport and, potentially, in store, Thane notes. Recyclability also is a draw – and something he deems a \"must\" in consumers eyes.
\"Tetra Pak cartons are already 70 percent, on average, paper, and the first-ever use of plant-based polyethylene in carton packages further strengthens Tetra Paks renewability credentials – the cap was launched last year,\" Thane says. \"Over time, as the company increasingly adopts plant-based plastics, it expects to be able to offer a carton range that is 100 percent renewable.\"
Arends agrees that aseptic cartons present a smaller environmental impact and use fewer fossil fuel resources than many other types of packaging. He adds that the 100 percent recyclable SIG Combibloc aseptic cartons Continuum relies on use wood fibers from only controlled sources and responsibly managed forests.
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A strong in-store presence
In the store, aseptic cartons also can allow store brand products to shine. As Arends explains, his companys cartons, available in a variety of sizes, have fully printable display surfaces that provide \"plenty of space for branding and artwork.\" All four sides are available for packaging design and communication purposes.
\"The package is convenient – lightweight, easy to stack, easy to transport, easy to store,\" he adds.
On the milk side, aseptic packaging makes sense from a consumer standpoint, says Suley Muratoglu, vice president, marketing and product management for Tetra Pak. Milk sales reached their lowest point since 1984, but shelf-stable options could spur moms to buy milk as a healthful alternative to soda and other sugary drinks for kids lunchboxes, car trips, sporting events and more.
\"In the beverage category, where juice boxes contributed to a shift in consumption when introduced in the 80s, we are seeing the need for innovation in the kids beverage category,\" he adds, \"with packaging and packaging graphics playing an important role to bring the coolness and the fun kids are looking for – and the convenience and the portability parents want. Also, we see that brands have the opportunity to bring more differentiation in the form of new products, flavors and added nutrition. Data show that flavor and nutrition are also important purchase drivers in this category for parents.\"
Smaller households, too, present an opportunity, Muratoglu says, noting that almost 60 percent of U.S. households today consist of one or two people. These households would benefit not only from the convenience and ease of storage/ease of disposal associated with shelf-stable alternatives, but also from smaller-size options here – particularly on the juice side.
Aseptically packaged store brand products also give retailers more choices when it comes to merchandising, Slawny suggests.
\"In the crowded dairy section, aseptic bottles allow us to display and promote the items outside the cooler, where larger displays can have greater impact,\" he says. \"They also allow us to offer items in complementary sections such as offering convenient aseptic yogurt smoothies next to the cereal bars.\"
Curt Linson, market segment director, beverages for Scholle Packaging, agrees that aseptically packaged products have an edge in terms of visibility because they dont require refrigeration.
\"As such, the store has free reign on how – and where – to merchandise the product: end caps, floor displays or non-refrigerated aisles,\" he says. \"This affords the consumer a nearly 360-degree view of the product, increasing the chances of their interaction with the package, which leads to that all-important sale.\"
Recent advances
Enhancements to existing aseptic technology and packaging are working to make aseptically packaged products an even brighter store brand option. For its part, Tetra Pak recently introduced the Tetra Lactenso Aseptic with OneStep technology and the Tetra Pak iLine packaging system. The former simplifies food processing to slash running costs by as much as 50 percent, Muratoglu says, while the latter reduces running costs by as much as 40 percent.
Moreover, he says the company recently expanded its packaging options to include Tetra Evero Aseptic, a 1-liter carton for milk that \"combines the benefits of cartons with the convenience of a bottle shape\"; Tetra Classic Aseptic, a \"child-friendly\" tetrahedron-shaped package for products such as juice drinks, milk and ice tea; and Tetra Brik Aseptic Edge, a consumer-friendly package for milks, juices, nectars and more that comes in different sizes to help address the needs of one- to two-person households and the need for portability.
And an innovation based on SIG Combiblocs drinksplus concept now allows \"rapid and cost-effective entry\" into new product categories that mesh with the trend toward health and wellness, says Beatriz Callanta, who handles market communications for the companys North America arm.
\"The filling flexibility of machines from SIG Combibloc makes it possible to fill a variety of products,\" she explains. \"Products with perceptible added benefits – for instance, in the form of pieces of real fruit, vegetables, cereal grains – can be filled.\"
On the bag-in-box side, recent advances in processing technology rely on chemical sterilization instead of steam, Hoover explains. That gives brand owners more choices in terms of packaging materials/construction and design.
\"For example, this sterilization technique lets Scholles bag-in-box customers use a wide array of dispensing taps that previously would not have been possible,\" she says. \"Larger-format flexible aseptic packaging is economically viable and an excellent option for outdoor occasions like sporting events, camping or picnics – in large part because of the dispensing options.\"
Finally, Slawny notes that the aseptic bottles that Gehl Foods helped to pioneer recently have \"exploded\" in the nutritional products arena.
\"They combine the improved flavor of aseptic filling with the appeal of a plastic bottle,\" he says. \"This new direction has been embraced by nearly all successful nutrition shake brands, and its the direction well be taking our store brand customers, too.\"