SFA Packaging pots boost shelf and transit efficiency

Dutch injection-moulding specialist SFA Packaging is set to showcase a structural design breakthrough at the upcoming PLMA’s World of Private Label 2026 trade show at the RAI Amsterdam.

The company has engineered a new lightweight rectangular yogurt container that yields a 33% increase in logistical and retail efficiency, successfully overturning a long-standing manufacturing limitation in the dairy sector.

Traditionally, dairy brands have favoured round cups because geometric corners require more raw material and increased wall thickness to remain rigid, making rectangular options inherently heavier and less sustainable.

SFA Packaging took on this industrial challenge in a joint project with Bieze Food Group and retail alliance Superunie, successfully engineering a 1,100ml rectangular format that maintains the lightweight properties and sturdiness of conventional round dairy cups.

Redefining cube utilisation

The primary trade advantage of shifting from round to rectangular configurations lies in spatial optimisation. Because round containers leave empty, dead space when packed together, they compromise space utilisation across every link of the food supply chain.

By eliminating this structural dead space, SFA’s optimised rectangular pots achieve several key advantages for food producers, logistics providers, and retail partners:

• Enhanced pallet density: the shape allows up to 33% more containers to fit onto a standard shipping tray, significantly reducing the financial and environmental costs of transporting trapped air.
• Cold storage optimisation: warehouses and distribution facilities require less cubic space to store identical product volumes, lowering energy overheads in cold-chain storage.
• Maximised retail footprint: grocers can merchandise more individual product units per meter of supermarket shelf space, driving higher category yield.
• Consumer convenience: the consumer experience is improved, as the rectangular pots fit into standard refrigerator doors.

Circular construction and supply chain transparency

To improve the product’s overall life cycle assessment (LCA) score, SFA Packaging has paired this spatial efficiency with a localised, circular material strategy. The containers are manufactured directly in the Netherlands using domestically sourced polypropylene (PP), significantly curbing transport distances during the initial manufacturing stage.

The mono-material PP construction ensures the containers are 100% recyclable through standard municipal infrastructure. To accommodate the escalating environmental demands of European retailers and private label brands, SFA also offers optional integration of bio-circular resins or advanced NextCycle IML labels, which flake off seamlessly during recycling to prevent resin contamination.

SFA Packaging will formally present the rectangular container alongside two other commercial packaging innovations at stand N38 in hall 7 during the PLMA event on 19 and 20 May 2026. Following the rollout of the initial 1,100ml model, a smaller 500ml variant is currently in development to broaden the format’s market applications.