Unilever's Carte d'Or ice cream thrives in Huhtamaki's DuoSmart square containers

One of the recent market successes of Unilever is Carte d'Or yogurt ice cream. Currently the Fruit & Fresh ice cream exists in different flavors for several countries in Europe. New flavors, pack sizes and markets are likely to take Carte d'Or's success in this segment even further. This square shaped DuoSmart for Carte d'Or is first on the market and proving to be successful. The 500 ml combipack consists of a thermoformed PS inner tub and a covering paper segment. The thermoformed PS lid is preprinted and tamper evident thanks to a sealing membrane. The high quality graphics confirm the fresh and cool image of the yogurt ice cream. Unilever was looking for a special packaging solution different from the existing ice cream packaging solutions, such as paper cups, thermoformed or injection molded plastic packaging solutions. The square shape is also remarkably better from the point of view of logistics. The concept of DuoSmart, uniting the best characteristics of both plastic and paper, is an important part of Huhtamaki's offering of premium, functional and visually striking consumer packaging. The container combines a thin plastic inner tub and a cardboard outer layer. The DuoSmart concept is extremely flexible, allowing a wide range of applications in order to suit many different areas of packaging. The paper outer enables superb printability and the plastic inner permits, among other characteristics, heat sealing. Thanks to the two layer structure the pack is rigid yet lightweight and its layers can be separated easily for recycling. The Huhtamaki's DuoSmart family consists of the Classic; Comfort and Combi packs. The DuoSmart Classic forms the basis for both the Comfort with its outstanding marketing features and the Combi with its advanced technical benefits. DuoSmart Comfort offers additional features for designing more recognizable and attractive packaging. Possibilities are multiple, such as embossing, display windows and various shapes as well as additional lid and base printing. DuoSmart Combi is able to maximize the products' shelf life by offering exclusive barrier properties. The variety of paper is wider and a special cup structure can also help create an air insulation between the paper cup and the plastic liner. The solutions include an integrated opening feature with flexible film, a thermoformed or a paper lid.