Uflex develops retortable spouted stand-up pouch for cold beverages
The company, based in in North India, asked Uflex to design packaging that has a shelf life of six months for cold beverages at room temperature, taking away the need for cold chain storage.
Flexi bottle
The design also needed to have a distinctive profile shape to stand out on the shelf.
Arun Anand, executive VP, marketing, Uflex Packaging, said the team developed a foil-based four-tier bottom-gusset stand-up pouch with a retort sealant to withstand sterilization at elevated temperatures.
“The pouch, or 'flexi-bottle', has a six-month shelf-life at room temperature without the need for cold chain storage during transit, at the point of sale or at the consumer end,” he said.
“The packaging is sustainable because without the need for cold chain/refrigeration means less emission of GHGs (greenhouse gases).
“This packaging paves the way when compared to rigid PET bottles for similar usage and application because it uses less energy throughout its life-cycle.”
Uflex fitted the pouch with a Tamper Locked PP (polypropylene) spout to withstand the retort application without any degeneration and leakage at the seams.
Expanding its portfolio
Anand said it is the first time a PP spout has been used in a retortable pouch in India.
The cap is inter-locked with the shoulder of the spout which is broken when the cap is opened for the first time.
Mohit Bajpai, senior GM, marketing, Uflex Packaging, added, it took nearly three months to come up with the design which is also a new category in its portfolio.
“The product has been well-received by the market and we are getting a good response from other brands,” said Bajpai.
“Given our expertise in flexible packaging we can create variants of these retortable spout pouches for other food and beverage market segments.”
