Case Study: Amcor Flexibles introduces the first high-barrier, high-speed, recycle ready liquid pouches

Liquid products have complex and varied packaging performance needs. Until now only mixed material films have performed well enough, but they are hard to recycle.

It's time for a more sustainable and responsible solution...

Many liquid products that are packaged in spouted pouches require moisture and oxygen barriers to preserve the content. Highly durable and repeatable hermetic seals along the pouch edges and fitment seal are required to deliver a safe and desirable end-user experience.

Amcor Flexibles has developed an innovative high-barrier flexible film that provides superior heat resistance and is a more sustainable alternative to standard metallized or foil-based structures.

Amcor researchers worked closely with Cheer Pack N.A.’s pouching and spouting experts for validation in real world production environments. The result is a more sustainable package - even if it’s not recycled - that is ready to run on your equipment today:

• Designed to meet APR Design® Guide for recyclability
• Heat, puncture and scuff-resistant, meaning excellent durability for distribution
• Preserves quality and flavor of product with high-barrier properties comparable to AIOx or metallized films
• Pouches have passed elevated shelf life tests with oxygen transmission rate barrier values of 0.27cc/m2/day at 73F/50% RH Out – 90% RH In
• A heat resistant outer web allows for sealing and fitment insertion without distortion
• A custom-engineered sealant layer allows for improved hermeticity, preventing leakage and micro-contamination
• Can match production speeds achieved with a non-recyclable oriented polyester laminate
• The clarity of AmPrima® PE Plus permits transparent windows enhancing shelf appeal for customers’ products
• Pouches can be finished with either gloss or matte finish
• Recycle ready spouted pouch and cap will support ambient, cold chain, HPP and hot fill applications
• Ideal for the ecommerce channel and has passed Amazon drop-ship testing protocol
• Available in pre-made, pre-fitmented pouches on rails, and as rollstock for form fill seal (FFS)

Another winning combination: Vizi™ Cap with AmPrima® PE Plus. Another step on the path to sustainability.

Cheer Pack N.A. launches a new cap that delivers even better sustainability metrics, including a reduction in carbon footprint.

With the new Cheer Pack® Vizi™ Cap, brand owners can reduce the amount of plastic in the cap packaging by over 5 tons per 10mm caps, the equivalent of 15,640 lbs of CO₂.

And the Vizi™ Cap has been designed with improved visibility of tamper-evidence, providing even more reassurance for brand owners and consumers.

New Cheer Pack® Vizi™ Cap

Weight & Carbon Footprint Reduction

AmPrima® recycle ready with no compromise

AmPrima® is the result of many years of research into how to remove the OPET or other outer layers (which currently render mixed-material films unrecyclable), and replace it with a film structure that is compatible with the flexible PE recycling stream. The challenge was to ensure that what we replaced it with still delivered on all those features and capabilities that our customers expect.

The AmPrima® portfolio provides customers with a packaging solution designed to be recycled, if clean and dry, through existing store drop-offs or curbside where available. The portfolio is designed to meet customers’ individual requirements against multiple performance criteria, such as heat resistance, stiffness and strength, clarity, line speeds, fitment requirements, graphics and print finishes.

But it’s not enough to design packaging that is recycle ready. For decades, our packaging innovations have worked to protect products better, to lengthen shelf life, to reduce food waste, to meet distribution challenges, and to reduce the package’s carbon footprint. This, to us, is the definition of responsible, sustainable packaging, so it is vital that our recycle ready solutions also deliver on these core benefits for our customers and their consumers.

Cheer Pack N.A.

Cheer Pack N.A. (CPNA) is a leader in the spouted pouches and caps market in North America. CPNA offers pre-made spouted pouches, or the separate individual components, to provide an innovative, flexible, sustainable, and highly functional system designed to meet the industry’s strictest safety standards.