Easy-to-use refill and refillable pouch development by Toppan
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 18 October 2012 09:00
- Written by Des King
JAPAN – The development of easier pouring packaging features by making better use of the way in which the pouch itself is manufactured is increasing in Japan, as evident by Toppan Co Ltd’s Sosogi Jozu’ (easy pour) format.
Leaving the top part of the pouch unsealed and instead folding it back on itself, the Sosogi Jozu is a new SUP concept that was on show at the recent Tokyo Pack 2012 exhibition.
By eliminating the customary welded seal at the top of the pouch, the width at that end can be increased and the spout made into a shape that opens out naturally when the pouch is opened. Not only is the time required to pour out the contents 20% less than with a conventional SUP, but ease of pouring has been also been improved.
In addition to the improved shape of the spout facilitating ease of opening, the converse effect of it subsequently not closing so readily has likewise improved its capability to be refilled; a noted requirement within the toiletries category.
While improving upon ease of opening has been addressed in the past by embossing an area of texture onto the spout section film, it has proved largely unsuccessful due to there being insufficient strength in the raised surface to ensure consistent performance. Although the inclusion of a plastic tube or other aid has clearly been more effective, it has also tended to add cost both at the manufacture and recycling stage.
Not only has the strength required to open the spout been reduced by about 30% as a result of this new Sosogi Jozu development, outsourced recycling costs have also been reduced by around 5% compared with traditional standing pouches with tubes.
Indeed, in overall terms the Sosogi Jozu price is likely to be approximately 10% lower than that of an SUP incorporating a tube over the same volume.
In addition to the US$386.8 million (¥25 billion) toiletries & personal cosmetics sectors, Toppan aims to expand the use of Sosogi Jozu and other easy pour / refill standing pouches to sectors such as cosmetics and food, and is targeting sales of US$92.8 million (¥6 billion) for these products by FY 2015.
Tokyo Pack 2012 took place between 2 - 5 October at Tokyo Big Sight. The next show will be held from 7 - 10 October 2014.
