Pour it again, Sam; fitment with pour spout hikes gabletop sales of eggnog - gabletop cartoons for eggnogs from Super Store Industries

Dairy Foods, Dec, 1997

Fitment with pour spout hikes gabletop sales of eggnog

Like other regional processors, Super Store Industries (SSI), operators of the Sunnyside Farms Dairy in Fairfield, Calif., produces eggnog for the winter holiday season.

With a limited selling season, it's important to move product off the shelf fast. So SSI last year introduced gabletop cartons of eggnog with a Model EL 64 spout fitment from Portola Packaging.

"We used Portola's fitment on orange juice and had a tremendous increase in sales. So we tried it on eggnog last year and had the best year ever, with a 7% sales increase," says Jim Dimataris, marketing manager at SSI. The addition of the spout fitment to the eggnog cartons provided significant product differentiation on supermarket shelves and consumers were attracted by the spout's convenience.

Ron Harris, operations manager of the dairy, adds, "To our minds, eggnog needs a better packaging solution than the traditional gabletop. It was a natural match for fitment use because it's a thick product and people like to shake it."

The Portola EL fitment resolved these issues for SSI. Pouring the thick eggnog through the large spout aperture of the fitment is easy and shaking is no problem with the resealable cap. Extended shelflife is enhanced by such features in the applicator system as ultrasonic welding and further assured by the good barrier system in the cap membrane.

SSI is a joint venture that manages dairy processing and frozen food and grocery distribution for Save Mart, Raley's and Bel Air supermarkets. It distributes products to more than 300 stores across Northern California and Nevada. SSI's Sunnnyside Farms Dairy bottling facility produces 160,000 gallons of fluid dairy and juice products per day.

System saves space

A major concern for the facility when it was considering adding the fitment applicator was production downtime.

"Portola's applicator was installed almost entirely between production runs and we had very little downtime," say Production Manager Greg Thomas. "Other equipment we looked at required much more installation time with major modifications to the filler."

Portola's EL 64 fitment provides several tangible benefits for SSI's eggnog beyond mere convenience. It is welded to the inside of the carton rather than the outside and the cap utilizes an interior oxygen barrier membrane for superior shelflife. This provides a more aesthetic appearance as well as a tighter seal. The interior pull-ring is easy for consumers to use and provides tamper evidence, and the large spout aperture facilitates pouring.

SSI was already using this fitment on its orange juice cartons, so it was natural to consider it for eggnog. "We also talked to other fluid plants that went through this process, and we became convinced that Portola has the best fitment applicator out there," says Harris.

Another consideration was the amount of room the new equipment would require. "Other cap feed systems we looked at required a large area of floor space. Portola's was more flexible," says Thomas. The hopper of caps can be kept in a separate room and caps are air conveyed to the top of the filler.

Controls for the cap applicator are situated next to the main cap hopper in a modular stainless steel cabinet. A smart touch control panel makes regulating the applicator easy.

Caps are welded onto the carton by an ultrasonic horn, and no cooling is required before the cartons are filled and sealed.

The cap application system has been trouble-free for SSI. "We've never had a day when the machine wasn't running," says Tim Kelly, SSI chief engineer. "It's been better than most equipment in my experience. Portola's engineering staff has bent over backwards to help us. Their service is one of their biggest assets."