UNIQUE COLLABORATION WITH PROGETTO STRIKES GOLD
Bowler Plastics has collaborated with Progetto, a filling and sealing equipment supplier, as part of an overall laminate tube strategy that will benefit both companies. This is for the duration of the Propak Cape 2017 show.
‘We needed to find a partner that could supply good quality entry-level equipment to help tube clients who want to fill and seal their own products. The mutual collaboration has worked very well,’ says Rob Hunt, market development manager at Bowler Plastics.
While personal care remains the company’s biggest market sector, it recently witnessed a huge amount of interest for food in tubes. Using tubes to package food products is commonplace in Europe.
‘It is only something we have recently seen a trend towards over the last six months, or so, in South Africa,’ Hunt enthuses.
The main reasons for people considering tubes to pack various foods are as follows
- convenience in terms of providing a lunch-box size
- user-friendly – it enables every last bit of product to be squeezed out
- impulse purchases – appealing tube designs stand out on shelf and can be printed at an affordable price
- incentive to buy larger packs when products are expensive
- smaller packs for occasional use of specialist ingredients for home cooking – generating less waste
- Bowler Plastics manufactures a range of laminate tubes. These can be requested at sizes ranging from 10mℓ to 150mℓ. They can be developed with either a screw or flip-top cap, both of which can be created as tamper-evident.
‘We digitally print tubes. This means paying per print colour, which is now a thing of the past. We make our own colour caps. Almost any colour is available. The whole idea behind the laminate concept (also referred to a customised standardisation) is where clients can tailor-make the tube to showcase their products in an eye-catching fashion.
The company won the Health Beauty and Pharmaceutical category, as well as overall trophy at the 2015 Gold Pack awards. The award comes less than a year after launching the laminate tube concept.
Hunt says the judging panels’ reason for selecting the company as a winner was because they believe it is important that packaging be more “virtual” and on-demand. ‘This product is a great example of that,’ he concludes.
