New Top Load Case Packers using Gravity

from Commercial Baking April | Q2 2023

A Global Effort

A simpliﬁed, ﬂexible approach to automated end-of-line case packing

With this top load case packer, a layer of product is indexed and positioned over a set of doors prior to dropping the layer into a basket or case. This solution combines mechanical simplicity with ﬂexibility – you can quickly changeover EOL packaging to handle multiple SKU’s under either approach. It is also well suited to constrained plant footprints often associated with manual loading.

Harpak-ULMA’s Top-Load Gravity Case Packers utilize a common conveyor and pattern former with side pushers to condense and orient a complete product layer of fresh baked goods, or the corrugated cases typically used for frozen products. Historically, producers have either utilized manual loading to achieve such ﬂexibility or invested in separate basket and/or case end-of-line (v) automation. A single solution that offers both capabilities in the same footprint helps justify automation by signiﬁcantly improving ROI.

// Different mosaics

// Small footprint

// GCP100 model packages at a speed of up to 60 bags per minute

// GCP200 model packages at a speed of up to 90 bags per minute

Instead, he said, NFTs should be considered digital properties that have the potential to add immense value and utility.

How are food and beverage brands thinking about NFTs? As expected, some of the largest global players were among the first to jump on the bandwagon. At the start of 2021, big names like McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Taco Bell made flashy headlines with an onslaught of high-profile releases.

To mark the relaunch of its McRib sandwich, McDonald’s gave away 10 McRib NFTs as part of a sweepstakes promoted on Twitter. The chance to obtain one of the exclusive digital art pieces was aimed at superfans hoping to own a piece of the McRib’s 40-year history.

Coca-Cola’s inaugural NFT collection dropped just in time for International Friendship Day with proceeds from the auction benefiting Special Olympics International. The four unique multisensory NFTs reimagined some of the brand’s most notable features for the metaverse including a custom-designed jacket wearable and sound visualizer that brings to life a Coke’s iconic audio cues.

Taco Bell hopped on the NFT train by selling taco-themed GIFs and images, which were also accompanied by a $500 digital Taco Bell gift card reserved only for the NFT’s original owner.

Despite the buzz generated by these campaigns (and apparent demand: Taco Bell’s 25 tokens reportedly sold out in just 30 minutes), brands don’t appear to be in a hurry to repeat these efforts with similar initiatives.

“There was this feeling that brands were saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got an NFT collection, and it’s really cool,’ but beyond that, it was difficult for consumers to understand why they’d really want it,” McDougal said, noting that giant brands could only entice their audience with Willy Wonka’s golden ticket so many times before they caught onto the gimmick.

But it’s not just the world’s most massive brands that have dipped a toe in the NFT pool. Baking and snack brands big and small are also experimenting.

The Kellogg Co. and General Mills were two of the bigger players to test the NFT waters in early 2021. Kellogg’s joined the NFT frenzy with a limited-edition release of CryptoCrisp Pringles, a virtual flavor of the popular chip rendered in the form of digital art by Ukranian artist Vasya Kolotusha (proceeds from the auction of the 50 artworks went directly back to Kolotusha). Despite the fact that consumers couldn’t actually “taste” the exclusive new flavor, early bids for the collectibles went for upwards of $800 on Rarible, an Ethereum-based NFT marketplace, after starting at just $2.

General Mills, on the other hand, took a page from McDonald’s’ playbook and leveraged interest in the tech to support nonprofit Feeding America. To mark the return of chocolate Dunkaroos, the company auctioned off 10 original digital artwork NFTs dubbed “new frosting tokens” inspired by Dunkaroos artwork from the 1990s, when the snack was in its heyday. All proceeds from the Rarible auction went to Feeding America’s network of food banks, and the highest bidders also scored an exclusive first taste of the nostalgic snack before it hit store shelves.

While many of these early NFT campaigns leaned heavily into scarcity and collectability — and the hope that

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