Greiner Packaging International is targeting improved shelf standout for dairy products with the launch of the K3 D extension to its established K3 range of combined cardboard-plastics cup packages.
For the first time, the Austria-based packaging company says, technology has made it possible to deform a cardboard wrap, such that any desired cup shape with diameters from 68-75mm can be decorated.
Previously, the company says, sleeves were the only practical technology for decorating cups with special shapes, but K3 D now provides an “attractive alternative”.
In German, the abbreviation K3 stands for Karton-Kunststoff-Kombinationen (cardboard-plastic combinations), while the D stands for the deformability of the cardboard wrap in the third dimension.
“K3 D provides much more latitude in decorating cup packaging,” says Kenneth Boldog, head of division K at Greiner Packaging International.
“This will benefit our customers in the dairy industry in particular, because they will be able to stage-manage their products to perfection at the Point of Sale.”
As with Greiner’s classic K3 packaging, K3 D’s carton wrap can be imprinted on both sides, with up to six colours on each side, through offset printing.
The inner side of the cardboard wrap is often used for marketing and communication or additional product information.
The surface of the cardboard material feels comfortable and ‘warm’ to the touch, which, according to the company, provides a “tactile advantage” that complements the visual advantages of cups with special shapes.
Advantages of Greiner Packaging International’s new K3 D packaging include the use of a large proportion of renewable raw material or recycled cardboard; “excellent” CO2 balance; reduced use of plastics; low intrinsic weight and the corresponding energy efficiency during transport.
“K3 technology has proven itself for years across Europe, in various diameters and shapes, and in the form of multipacks,” Greiner says.
“It has its roots in Switzerland, at the Greiner Packaging site in Diepoldsau, which continues to provide the critical impulse for its further development.”
www.greiner-gpi.com
