Gunze unveils “lightest hybrid shrink film in Japan” for PET iced tea bottles

12 Jul 2024 --- Gunze has launched Geoplas HCX1 23 Micron, marketed as the “lightest hybrid shrink film in Japan,” which beverage company DyDo Drinco is adopting in PET-bottled beverages. 

The film is being used to produce DyDo’s Luxury Fragrance Iced Black Tea in July. Plans are also in place to expand this to Luxury Fragrance Iced Green Tea.

The product is a PS/ PET multilayer product using Gunze’s “unique” multilayer-oriented film technology. It is widely used worldwide as shrink labels for PET bottled beverages, food, cosmetics, home, personal care and other products.

The product has both PS and PET advantages, such as shrink appearance, perforation suitability, heat resistance, content resistance and stiffness.

Performance against traditional film
Gunze claims its Geoplas HCX1 23 Micron is approximately 10% lighter than the lightest conventional film.

The Geoplas film is designed for good shrinkability, with a maximum shrink of 70%, which is suitable for complex-shaped bottles.

Additionally, the solution offers good performability, making it easy to tear along the perforation line. 

Approximately 1% of the printing waste generated by converters is recycled and at least 5% of the raw materials are chemically recycled using the mass balance method.

Expanding films portfolio
Gunze has transformed its Moriyama Plant, which manufactures shrink film and other products, into a zero-emission plant that produces no plastic waste.

The Moriyama Plant is expected to achieve zero waste by the end of FY 2024.

The Geoplas HCX1 contains film made from collected post-printing waste generated by its sister converting company, Gunze Packaging Systems. The company intends to expand this initiative to other manufacturing facilities, such as converters and PET-bottled beverages, in the near future.

The company will collect post-consumer labels from the market and use them as raw materials for film production.

Gunze aims to gradually increase its recycling rate to achieve 100% by 2030. The company will also expand its thick film product line and promote its development in the food and toiletries markets.

Gunze’s Plastic Film business, established in 1962, has a footprint over 20 countries. It has three manufacturing facilities in Japan and subsidiaries in the US, Vietnam and China.

In other beverage pack headlines, Tetra Pak and technology studio Appetite Creative developed an interactive smart packaging experience for a leading European fruit juice producer and its new summer drinks theme.

Coca-Cola Great Britain, in collaboration with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Merlin Entertainments, introduced reverse vending machines to “incentivize and encourage” bottle recycling at theme parks across the UK.

Absolut unveiled a limited-edition bottle in collaboration with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, inspired by the rediscovery of Warhol’s Absolut “blue” painting.