Kerry Foods spreads the good news for RPC Hereford

Speed to market, technical expertise and advanced decoration facilities are three key criteria that have helped RPC Containers Hereford secure a major supply deal with Kerry Foods to produce polypropylene tubs for the company’s ranges of dairy spreads. In total the order involves around 100 different products. Since the 1970’s Kerry Foods has pioneered and developed world class technology in the production of high quality dairy and low fat spreads.

Speed to market, technical expertise and advanced decoration facilities are three key criteria that have helped RPC Containers Hereford secure a major supply deal with Kerry Foods to produce polypropylene tubs for the company’s ranges of dairy spreads. In total the order involves around 100 different products. Since the 1970’s Kerry Foods has pioneered and developed world class technology in the production of high quality dairy and low fat spreads. This technology has been fundamental in allowing Kerry to establish a leading position in many of its spread categories through a portfolio of leading Irish brands and also as a manufacturer of quality private label products. RPC Hereford can manufacture both injection moulded and thermoformed packs and this flexibility was an important factor in ensuring that the new packs all reflected Kerry Foods’ established reputation and premium positioning. To help maximise the profile of Kerry Foods’ own brands, such as Golden Olive, Low-Low and Golden Cow, injection moulded in-mould labelled (IML) containers were selected. IML technology combines all-over decoration with an unsurpassed gravure print finish for eye-catching graphics to maximise on-shelf impact. One specific challenge for RPC Hereford was to match the gold colour of the in-mould labelled tubs on the lids, which are thermoformed by the company. Furthermore, as the interiors of the IML tubs are white polypropylene, the bottom of the lids also had to be in white to maintain conformity. RPC Hereford achieved this by double printing the top layer of the polypropylene sheet for the lids in gold prior to forming. A gold paper label containing brand and product information is then applied. The finished result is a totally co-ordinated pack with an eye-catching gold exterior that enhances and reflects brand image. For the range of retailer own brands, RPC Hereford is supplying thermoformed packs and lids, using the company’s advanced dry offset printing techniques to achieve a high quality finish including intricate details and graphics. The Kerry Foods’ order has seen major investment at RPC Hereford, including the installation of new injection moulding equipment and the design of a bespoke state of the art self-adhesive labelling system.