The competitive advantage in liquid packaging

The liquid food packaging market, for dairy, soups and beverages, is showing steady global growth, driven especially by the consumer’s need for greater convenience. Folding carton offers strong advantages as a container choice because of its recyclability, capability for easy pouring and strong point-of-sale marketing potential. 

Inline flexo, with its capability for modularity, high speeds and ergonomic design, is perfectly suited to meet this market’s needs – especially when run lengths are decreasing and the flexibility to switch fast from one job to the next is vital to maintain competitiveness.

In 2013, the world consumed more than 1,200 billion litres of packed liquid food.  Covering a diverse range of segments including dairy products, juices, soups and beverages, the market is showing steady growth of around 3.5 per cent, driven largely by the consumer’s need for greater convenience. While the market is growing, there is a noticeable trend to shorter production runs, as the supply chain reduces costs by demanding lower order volumes, in greater frequency, and manufacturers diversify their brands in terms of product variety, pack size or geographical availability.

Folding cartons for liquid food show particular growth prospects because they offer a variety of design and size variations, full graphics coverage, enhanced shelf impact, easy pouring and recyclability. The key to supplying this growing market lies in controlling costs, limiting setup times, and a flexible printing and converting workflow where it is possible to change jobs - including formats – at short notice.

Inline flexo, with its capability for short setup times, speed, ergonomic operation and modularity, provides a productive, flexible and cost-controlled solution to folding carton supply.  With the right press performance and support from the press manufacturer, converters are well-placed to succeed in this growing market.