Square + Round = Squround

Dairy Foods, March, 2001 by Donna Berry

Unique carton shape impacts frozen dessert business in various ways

Last year, Turkey Hill Dairy, Lancaster County, Pa., began offering its frozen desserts in half--gallon square--rounds, which in the packaging industry is dubbed the "squround." The company explains that one reason for switching to the oblong, tapered con tainer--the product was formerly available in a tall, round carton- is that the new shape promotes easier, less messy scooping for consumers. Also, its space-saving shape allows the carton to be easily stacked. It will fit into almost any available nook in an overcrowded home freezer.

"It's a win-win situation for consumers," explains Lisa Hutchinson, marketing mgr. of Turkey Hill. "We're delivering the same quality ice cream they've come to expect, but have updated our pack aging to meet an ever-growing demand for efficiency and practicality."

Packaging for premium positioning

The square-round debuted in freezers in 1994, with the two original providers being Mayfield Dairy Farms Inc., Braselton, Ga., and the Breyers brand, (which at the time was under Kraft Foods owner ship but is now part of Good Humor-Breyers, Green Bay, Wis).

Turkey Hill is not the only ice cream processor switching to this container. A year ago, Marigold Foods Inc., Minneapolis, converted to the square-round for ice cream sold under its Kemps brand, and most recently supermarket giant Publix, Lakeland, Fla., switched over.

"It was a wonderful transition for our ice cream business ," says Rachel Kyllo, v.p. of marketing for Marigold. "Volume sales have increased significantly with this new package design."

The square-round offers processors many benefits and options. They can order pre-formed containers or invest in the machinery to do in-plant forming. Because the containers are tapered, this makes them nestable, a feature not present with many round or cylindrical containers. This reduces warehousing costs for pre-formed cartons. Affordable leasing of filling equipment for these containers is also available.

Containers can be made with either a recessed bottom, which is also referred to as inverted, or a flatbottom. Recessed bottoms tend to help the carton stand out in the freezer better; but, flat-bottoms are more efficient for product in maintaining freezer cycle times.

Carton sidewalls are available in tapered or parallel formats, which in fluence the degree of nesting. The right combination of features results in a carton with increased geometric stability. Packaging companies will work with manufacturers to design a signature container.

Until recently, the lid, which is one of the key consumer-friendly features of the square-round, has primarily consisted of a paperboard center with plastic rim. Now it is also possible to have a 100% injection-molded plastic lid and apply a pressure-sensitive label, or a 100% paperboard lid. Both cartons and lids have windowing capabilities.

All-paper lids are relatively new to the square-round container. The benefit is color printing capabilities. Paper rings can sport logos and feature flavor names. Unlike plastic rings, in which the resin dictates the color, paper rings can match the color of the sidewalls. They can also be made with metallic paper, or can use holographics or spot varnishing. In addition, some consumers have said that paper rings are easier to manage because they are softer to the touch. Plastic rings tend to be more rigid.

It is possible to include a variety of tamper-evident features, including a membrane, which is in direct contact with the ice cream. On the exterior of the package, a processor can apply a shrink band or completely shrink wrap the carton.

At the plant and warehouse, the rectangular shape provides more uniform shrink-wrap bundles and greater pallet stability.

Retailers like the square-round be cause its low package profile is designed to maximize the number of facings within the chest freezer frost line limits. The package also guarantees consistent facings, as compared to round containers, which improves merchandising efforts.

Most importantly, consumer research indicates that the square-round is the preferred ice cream carton. Besides fitting well in home freezers, including the door, the geometric stability keeps it from collapsing as product is consumed. The lid keeps it fresh and it's also leak resistant. Finally, it just looks like the half-gallon that most adults remember from their childhood.

But Turner Holdings LLC, Covington, Tenn., is quick to point out that the square-round design need not be limited to half-gallons.

"When we converted our regular round pint to a square round pint, the line was immediately upgraded to premium positioning in the marketplace," says David Kolb, corporate ice cream sales mgr. Because the square round pint resembles Turner's square-round half-gallons, the company is strengthening its brand identity in the freezer.

The premium positioning also fueled R&D to develop more exciting, premium flavors. "We just extended the pint line with three new flavors," Kolb adds. "The square round has really boosted sales tremendously for Turner."