ALDI uses SIG’s aluminium-free aseptic carton for grape juice

SIG Group has launched its first 1-litre aseptic carton package using SIG Terra aluminium-free full barrier material, which ALDI (German supermarket chain) has already used for Rio d'oro grape juice in parts of Germany.

ALDI plans to launch its own-brand Rio d'oro grape juice in the new packaging, which it claims will reduce the carbon footprint by 29% compared to traditional multi-portion carton packaging. The product is produced and filled by Italian food and beverage producer Quargentan on its existing SIG Midi 12 aseptic filling machine.

SIG says its Terra aluminium-free + full barrier solution provides the same full barrier protection as standard aseptic carton materials, with the same shelf life of up to 12 months. The packaging material is available on a global scale and can be seamlessly adapted to existing SIG filling lines, with small format cartons up to 24,000 packs per hour and multi-portion formats up to 15,000 packs per hour.

According to SIG, the new packaging material has a paper base content of over 80%, and replaces the aluminum foil layer with an ultra-thin polymer coating, which can effectively block oxygen, light, moisture and prevent the loss of aroma. The company claims that this solution reduces the number of raw materials from three to two, and if combined with forest-based polymers, it can reduce the carbon footprint of multi-portion aseptic SIG cartons by up to 61%, without affecting the overall barrier performance, shelf life or filling line performance.

SIG first launched this packaging format in May this year, aiming to achieve large-scale supply to global customers. SIG plans to gradually promote this new solution to all flagship aseptic carton specifications, covering small specifications and multi-portion packaging, suitable for all categories of beverages and dairy products.

Last month, Elopak, Orkla Home and Personal Care (OHPC) and Dow Chemical jointly announced the launch of a new carton packaging, which uses a blend of recycled polyethylene and bio-recycled (renewable) polymers. The carton is made of responsibly sourced paperboard and coated with a thin layer of polymer, in which the plastic layer initially contains 10% post-consumer recycled polyethylene.