Sky's the limit with new crisp box format

A new crisp packaging format can fit twice as much product per box, ideal for airlines where space is critical, claims the product’s manufacturer, Boxerchips.

The 40 grams product is currently available on 17 European airlines, with 4 million boxes being sold last year, Richard Glennan a spokesperson for Boxerchips said.

The company claims the compact box format allows for a 50 per cent reduction in size, cutting down the amount of packaging materials used by 35 per cent.

“This means there is more product per cubic centimeter of space in the warehouse, supply chain or airline drawer,” said Boxerchips.

Despite the Boxerchip’s success in the sky, the company currently has no plans to roll out the product into mainstream shops, with travel retail as the company’s sole focus, he said.

He said the firm was aiming to move into other areas of travel retail and to encourage airlines to take more boxes on board.

Laminate film

To develop a high-barrier laminate film for the pack’s flow-wrap, Boxerchips worked with Bradford-based film packaging specialists National Flexible.

According to the firm, the film offers “excellent” seal integrity to deal with the constant changes in atmospheric pressure that the packs are exposed to.

The package is also pliable enough to fit snugly around the internal box which contains the product, said National Flexible.

In addition to the unusual box packaging, the type of film used is also unique, company spokesperson Tony Carney said.

The film is reverse printed with a surface matt over-lacquer, this means it has both a matt and gloss finish, said Carney.

The logo and image of the crisps are glossy, while the rest of the film is matt. This means light bounces off the gloss on the logo, drawing the eye to it, he added.

Carney said, to his knowledge, no other snack manufacturers were combining the two together, he said. Companies usually opt for one form of print, which is a cheaper option.

To achieve this finish, National Flexible said it had to print the film using the roto-gravure method as both sides of the film have to be printed in register.

“This is unusual and only a handful of printers are able to do this globally,” said Carney.

Move to natural

Despite its unique packaging points, the product’s success has not just been down to its innovative packaging, Glennen added, it is also due to a move towards more natural products on airlines.

Boxerchips are marketed as a natural product, made with locally sourced potatoes and spun dry to use less oil, according to the company. The packaging is also recyclable, the firm claims.

With patents currently pending, Boxerchips and its box and are available in a 40g, 100g, 150g, 200g and 250g package.

Source: Boxerchips