The demise of the can?

Last week I travelled to Lund, Sweden to visit Tetra Pak and hear all about its Tetra Recart package for the retorted food industry. The Tetra Pak team proposed that metal cans are on their way out, with consumers, retailers and food producers soon to be opting for the more convenient packing solutions promised by Tetra Recart cartons.

Here at Bell Publishing, another of our magazines is CanTech International, a publication dedicated to the world of can making, so I was intrigued to hear Tetra Pak’s argument and looking forward to relaying it to the CanTech team.

Tetra Recart has been around since 2003, when Tetra Pak introduced the first retortable carton package which enabled filled product to be sterilised within the package. An alternative to cans and glass jars, the package can be filled with shelf stable food products containing particles of almost any size – including vegetables, tomatoes, ready meals, soups and sauces, as well as pet food.

Today, more than 140 brands in over 50 markets around the world are using Tetra Recart. Tetra Pak says they are choosing the carton as an environmentally friendly, strong, easy to stack and eye catching alternative to meet consumer demands for safety, convenience and environmental performance in the 21st century. So, what exactly are the benefits?

Firstly, there’s the space saving element both during transportation and in store. Tetra Recart allows more filled packs per EUR pallet and truck – when comparing 400g cans and 390ml cartons, there’s an increase of 18 per cent for packs per pallet and 14 per cent for packs per truck. The reduction in shelf space when using the cartons is between 31 and 44 per cent.

Next, with more product and less packaging per kilo, the cartons allow more weight efficient transportation.

Then there’s the improved shelf appearance; the forward facing package has a large surface area to catch the consumer’s eye, without the need for ‘can turning’ in order to see the label.

The company also highlighted its environmental benefits; if ten billion cans were converted into cartons, there would be 150,000 less trucks on the roads and reduced CO2 emissions corresponding to 22,000 laps around the world with a 40 ton truck.

We were shown several case studies which eluded to Tetra Recart’s takeover – in Sweden, for example, 57 per cent of beans are now packaged in cartons compared to 38 per cent in cans. This is up from 0 per cent in cartons and 95 per cent in cans in 2006.

There is, of course, over representation in some markets (such as Italy, which is a huge exporter of tomatoes), however, the figures still give serious food for thought. What do you think? Will we be seeing the decline – and eventual demise – of the can?

Tetra Recart infographic_FINAL copy

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One response to “The demise of the can?”

  1. Richard Piper says:

    Please click through to view a response from CanTech International Magazine.

    http://www.cantechonline.com/7955/editors-blog/under-attack/

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