Canadian Packaging May 2021

Packaging for Freshness Page 20

Adhesives Page 25

Brand Packaging Page 37 SERVING CANADA’S PACKAGING COMMUNITY SINCE 1947

BAG TO BASICS

Holistic approach to breakfast nutrition bridges the gap to plastics recyclability Story on page 16

CANADIANPACKAGING.COM MAY 2021 / $10.00

What if food packaging were carbon-neutral?

Go nature.

Go carton.

Food packaging plays a critical role in getting food safely to consumers around the world.

But it can also cause problems for the planet. What if all food packaging came from plantbased materials and didn’t impact the climate? At Tetra Pak, we already have paper-based carton packages with reduced climate impact. But we won’t stop there. Our aim is to create cartons made solely from plant-based materials that are fully renewable, fully recyclable and carbon-neutral. It’s all part of our journey to deliver the world’s most sustainable food package.

Learn more at gonature.tetrapak.com

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who can give their flexible packaging the power of sustainability? you can.

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Today’s consumers are more environmentally conscious than ever — that’s why we’re committed to innovative flexible packaging solutions that are good for the environment and the bottom line. At Sun Chemical, helping you meet your sustainability goals just comes naturally.

Request your copy of Sun Chemical’s Guide to Sustainable Packaging at sunchemical.com/powerofflexiblepackaging.

working for you.

May 2021 Vol. 74, No. 5 canadianpackaging.com

COVER STORY

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16 THE BREAKFAST CLUB

Young Quebec entrepreneurs achieve perfect balance between consumer convenience and wholesome breakfast nutrition with 100-percent recyclable flexible packaging solution.

FEATURES

20 Keep on Rolling

20

31

Frozen pizza manufacturer eliminates production line bottlenecks with robust high-speed thermoform packaging machinery.

25 A Bonding Experience

Ontario bagmaking machinery manufacturer enhances equipment performance with advanced adhesive melting and dispensing technology.

31 Home Sweet Home DEPARTMENTS

COLUMNS

NEWSPACK 6-7 Packaging news round-up.

FROM THE EDITOR 4 George Guidoni Last chance to avert epic backlash.

NOTES & QUOTES 9-10 Noteworthy industry briefs.

FIRST GLANCE 12 New packaging solutions and technologies.

CHECKOUT 44 Jaan Koel Joe Public speaks out on packaging hits and misses.

Venerable conveyor systems manufacturer celebrates milestone anniversary with move to a new state-ofthe-art manufacturing location to continue its evolution as turnkey packaging line solutions provider.

37 Beyond Beer

Iconic beermaker leverages disruptive packaging to make a sensational side move into the fast-growing RTD (ready-to-drink) adult beverage market.

PEOPLE 13 Career moves in packaging world.

ECO-PACK NOW 14 Sustainable packaging innovations. imPACt 15 A monthly insight from PAC Packaging Consortium ISSN 1481 9287. Canadian Packaging is published 10 times per year by Annex Business Media. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40065710. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Circulation Department, 111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1. No part of the editorial content in this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission. © 2021 Annex Business Media. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of this publication.

Printed in Canada.

CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

ON THE COVER HOLOS Foods co-founder Samuel T. Scofy holds up 100-precent recyclable stand-up pouches of his company’s HOLOS brand overnight muesli mix.

Cover photography by Xavier Girard.

May 2021 · CANADIANPACKAGING

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FROM THE EDITOR

Flexible packaging fast approaching last chance to avert epic backlash

B

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%

Flexible plastic packaging share of the global packaging market

4

eing a victim of your own success is both a blessing and a burden for global producers of flexible packaging products.

For all the advantages of consumer convenience, reduced package weight, optimized transportation efficiencies and other supply chain advances over rigid packing formats deemed to be more recycling-friendly, popular flexible packaging formats like stand-up pouches, for example, continue to struggle with the prevailing public opinion that all plastic packaging is inherently bad for the environment and the planet’s well-being.

And while there are plenty of sound science-based arguments that this simplistic one-sided sentiment is full of holes and oversights, stemming this tide of overwhelmingly negative public opinion is an existential challenge for the flexible packaging industry.

According to a new white paper report commissioned by leading flexible packaging powerhouse Winpak Ltd., overcoming the end-of-life limitations of flexible packaging and other plastic products may well be one of the packaging industry’s biggest challenges this decade, despite the fact that market demand for flexible packaging continues to grow at rates well above most other forms of CPG (consumer packaged goods) product packaging.

The aptly-titled Circular Matters report cites recent market research from Mordor Intelligence predicting the North American market for flexible plastic packaging (FPP) to grow by 3.16 per cent between 2020 and 2025, with FPP already claiming a 19-percent share of the US$190-billion market in the U.S.—second only to corrugated boxes.

Globally, FPP account for 39 per cent of all the packaging in use worldwide, the report points out, enjoying a dominant 52-percent share of the global food market.

None of this happened by accident or overnight. There are many good reasons why FPP became the popular packaging option that it is today, including: • Positive shelf presence, with a large print surface; • Ability to be made in unique, eyecatching shapes; • Ability to incorporate consumer conveniences such as spouts, caps

CANADIANPACKAGING · May 2021

and resealable zippers, and ability to cook in packaging; • Ability to allow for greater product evacuation; • Strength and resistance to breakage and dents; • Suitability for a burgeoning e-commerce marketplace—with both lightweight and strength attributes; • Unbreakable material with no sharp edges.

For all these advantages, however, the multilayer, multi-material construction of many popular flexible packaging products—often comprising three to nine layers of various materials like polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polyester, paper and foil—makes many of them impossible to recycle at the current MRF (material recovery facility) operations using conventional mechanical recycling technologies and techniques Moreover, the prevalence of FPP formats in single-use applications make it an easy target for environmental activists making their case with disturbing images of the world’s oceans and riverways being overwhelmed with plastic pollution.

To date, the FPP producers have by and large failed to address these shortcomings in any significant way to reduce the industry’s villainous image, aside from making pledges to make their products more recycling-ready, many of them setting ambitious deadlines to do so.

Fo r companies like TC Transcontinental Packaging, whose vieVERTe brand of monolayer Plastic #2 stand-up pouches are the subject of this issue’s cover story on page 16—improving the environmental profile of its FPP products is a top corporate priority it promises to fulfill by 2025, when the packaging it makes is supposed to become reusable, recyclable or compostable.

It takes a brave company with nerves of steel to put its reputation on the line so out in the open, but when failure is not an option, positive thinking and sincere transprency are just the right package to have along on the journey.

MAY 2021 | VOLUME 74, NO. 5 Reader Service Print and digital subscription inquiries or changes, please contact Anita Madden, Audience Development Manager Tel: (416) 510-5183 Fax: (416) 510-6875 Email: amadden@annexbusinessmedia.com Mail: 111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1 Senior Publisher Stephen Dean | (416) 510-5198 SDean@canadianpackaging.com Editor George Guidoni | (416) 510-5227 GGuidoni@canadianpackaging.com Account Coordinator Barb Comer | (888) 599-2228 ext 210 bcomer@annexbusinessmedia.com Media Designer Brooke Shaw | (519) 428-3471 bshaw@annexbusinessmedia.com COO Scott Jamieson SJamieson@annexbusinessmedia.com Annex Business Media 111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1; Tel: 416-442-5600.

Canadian Packaging, established 1947, is published 10 times per year except for occasional combined, expanded or premium issues, which count as two subscription issues.

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Annex Privacy Officer Privacy@annexbusinessmedia.com Phone: 800-668-2374 DISCLAIMER: No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission. ©2021 Annex Business Media. All rights reserved. This publication is for informational purposes only. The content and “expert” advice presented are not intended as a substitute for informed professional engineering advice. You should not act on information contained in this publication without seeking specific advice from qualified engineering professionals. Canadian Packaging accepts no responsibility or liability for claims made for any product or service reported or advertised in this issue. Canadian Packaging receives unsolicited materials, (including letters to the editor, press releases, promotional items and images) from time to time. Canadian Packaging, its affiliates and assignees may use, reproduce, publish, republish, distribute, store and archive such unsolicited submissions in whole or in part in any form or medium whatsoever, without compensation of any sort.

We acknowledge the [financial] support of the Government of Canada

GEORGE GUIDONI, editor GGuidoni@canadianpackaging.com CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

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NEWSPACK

Takashi Murakami.

Perrier packaging sparkles with spring-time inspiration

Famed for its one-of-a-kind naturally carbonated mineral water, the Perrier brand is also well known for its long tradition of investing in creativity and inspiring artistry. And for a limited time this spring, this philanthropic streak will be leveraged on Canadian storeshelves with a special-edition launch of Perrier bottles and cans

featuring signature colorful, smiling flowers developed and popularized

by Takashi Murakami, widely considered one of the most important Japanese artists of our generation.

Currently on sale across Canada while supplies last, the limited-edition Perrier x Murakami packaging will temporarily replace the original brand artwork used for the Perrier 500-ml and one-liter

bottles, as well as the 250-ml cans, to give the iconic green packaging an extra fun, delightful, art-infused twist.

“The Perrier x Murakami packaging is a celebration of Perrier’s rich artistic heritage,” says Ashley Edelstein, senior marketing manager at Perrier Canada. “Our partnership with Takashi Murakami is our most recent in an extensive resume of collaborating with artistic trailblazers, including Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, Raymond Savignac, Bernard Villemot and Jean-Gabriel Domergue, to name only a few, each of whom left their mark in Perrier’s identity.”

Debuting globally in 2020, the new packaging features Murakami’s famous smiling flower motif—with 12 rounded petals, twinkling eyes and exuberant mouths—that repeat and reconfigure in a bright kaleidoscope of colors.

“The vibrancy and delight of Murakami’s flowers are a perfect

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complement to Perrier, a brand rooted in eccentric style, unique design and cultural connection,” says Edelstein, noting that the unique stylized flower renderings have been displayed across a wide variety of media and contexts—from expansive canvases on the walls of some of the world’s leading galleries to plush key-chains on merchandise stalls.

Born in Tokyo in 1962, Murakami drew his inspiration from traditional Japanese painting, anime and science fiction to created paintings, sculptures and films populated by repeated motifs and mutating characters—with his wide-ranging work embodying an intersection of pop culture, history and fine art.

Having held solo exhibitions at major art centers around the globe, Murakami is widely known for his high-profile projects with fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton and VANS, as well as collaborations with musicians such as Kanye West and Pharrell Williams.

MARCELLO LAGROTTA

Finance/Operations Manager

LUBA TAMASFI

Financial Controller

IRENE LIDWELL Senior Accountant

6

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CANADIANPACKAGING.COM 2021-04-28 10:37 AM

Honey spread packaging hits shelf impact sweet spot with inverted bottle

In almost every way, the Be Sweet Honey Spread brand is just like honey. It looks like honey, tastes like honey and behaves like honey—be on a sandwich with peanut butter, in soothing morning tea, or in baked goods and pastries.

But there are a couple of important differences. Unlike the honey harvested from beehives, this innovative spread will not crystallize while stored in the cupboard, and it only costs a fraction of what traditional honey brands do.

“There is nothing else like this on the market,” says Mario Fleury, president of co-founder of Be Sweet in Inc. Mississauga, Ont. “We always wondered why there was a table syrup as an affordable replacement for maple syrup,” Fleury says, “but nothing similar for honey.

“So my partner, Eric Russell, and I created it to give consumers, restaurants and food processors a cost-effective alternative to honey that has all of the attributes of

honey.”

As Fleury explains, Be Sweet was initially created to serve large food processors and foodservice chains with a more cost-effective alternative to pure honey.

But looking to fill a gap in the market, Be Sweet has been introduced to mainstream consumer channels as affordable honey alternatives in 500-gram and one-kilogram inverted bottles.

Proudly produced in Mississauga, both Be Sweet Honey Spread and its new Be Sweet Vegan Honey Substitute sister brand are currently frontand-center in the Ontario Made marketing program being featured at the Loblaws grocery stores across Ontario.

Created by the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), Ontario Made is supported by the government of Ontario and aims to promote and support locally made products in the midst of the province’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Loblaws has been a great partner that has really put Be Sweet and other Ontario businesses on showcase,” says Fleury.

“Through its support of the Ontario Made program, Loblaws has put the strength of one of the province’s leading retail chains behind the launch and promotion of innovative products coming from Ontario companies,” says Fleury, noting that the brand’s eye-catching upside-down container was carefully selected to help the brand achieve high shelf

impact and effective product differentiation.

“Originally we were selling our product primarily to the industrial market in totes and drums,” recalls Fleury, “using one-kilogram inverted bottles with yellow flip-top in the foodservice segment.

“When we started selling to Loblaws, those bottles and caps we no longer available, so I set off to find a new bottles and cap.”

After talking to more than 10 suppliers, Fleury finally settled on the custom-shaped clear plastic bottles designed by leading rigid plastic packaging specialists TricorBraun, and distributed by Dominion & Grimm Inc. “TricorBraun has been a great partner for us ever, since, and Dominion and Grimm who have never let us down,” says Flery, adding he largely came up with basic label graphics himself, and that the honey-hued PSA (pressure-sensitive adhesive) labels are printed and converted in Granby, Que., by Graphco.

RUSINIAK APPOINTED NATIONAL SALESAND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Waterloo, ON – Chris D’Aoust, Managing Director of Handtmann Canada Limited, recently announced the appointment of Rafal Rusiniak as National Sales and Business Development Manager.

“Raf has the perfect blend of sales and technical experience in various facets of the food processing industry for this role. That diverse sector experience combines with his ten successful years with Handtmann working with customers in Ontario to help build their businesses and more recently as Key Account Manager supporting our national sales team

CANADIANPACKAGING.COM CPK_Handtmann_HP_Apr21_CWM.indd 1

and their customers to provide the service perspective that makes Handtmann such is dependable partner.”

Rusiniak studied Mechanical Engineering Technology at Humber College and Business Management at Ryerson University prior to assuming technical sales and service roles with ABI and Mosur Machine.

May 2021 · CANADIANPACKAGING

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NOTES & QUOTES

Industrial process equipment fabricator Alps Welding Ltd. has completed a 35,000-square-foot expansion of its production facility in Woodbridge, Ont., opening up a new segregated facility dedicated to the fabrication of stainless-steel and non-ferrous alloy equipment. According to the company, the new facility features best-in-class tooling and equipment to leverage its expertise in manufacturing of pressure vessels, piping, heat exchangers, modular systems and other products for the pharmaceutical and food-and-beverage industries. “Alps Welding has a long history of delivering quality products to a worldwide customer base,” says company president Dennis Dussin. “For several years we have been talking about ‘breaking through the wall’ to achieve our next stage of growth as a company [and] launching this new fabrication space is the literal realization of that effort—opening up new markets and services for us and our customers.”

Imaging systems and products supplier FUJIFILM Canada Inc. has announced a national distribution agreement with Spicers Canada, under which Spicers will act as nationwide distributor for the Graphics Division of FUJIFILM Canada, including its CTP (computer-to-plate) plates and related equipment.

Headquartered in Vaughan, Ont., Spicers Canada employs over 600 people at 25 regional centers across Canada, supplying a broad range of commercial print and business papers, specialty products, graphic solutions, signage, display media and industrial packaging products. “Spicers’ strong sales and logistic capabilities made it a logical choice as a partner with whom to expand and amplify Fujifilm’s product offerings in Canada,” says Stephane Blais, vice-president of the Graphic Systems and Technical Services divisions of FUJIFILM Canada Inc. Leading Swiss industrial robotic systems manufacturer Stäubli Robotics has been awarded the prestigious international Red Dot Design Award 2021 in the competition’s Product Design category for the company’s TS2 series four-axis SCARA

robots lauded for setting new industry benchmarks in terms of dynamics, precision and cleanroom hygiene.

According to Stäubli, the new robots made a big positive impression with their unique cylindrical working area with up to 1,000-mm working radius, modularity, flexibility, user-friendliness and a compact, tightly-sealed enclosure housing all wiring and connections under the robot base—enabling their use even in the most sensitive applications in the pharmaceutical and food industries. “We are very proud to receive this prestigious prize,” says Christophe Coulongeat, group division manager at Stäubli Robotics. “It rewards the passion and commitment of the Stäubli teams designing products and solutions with unmatched performance, precision and reliability in various environments—from harsh to sterile.”

German food processing systems manufacturer Handtmann Maschinenfabrik has completed the acquisition of VERBUFA, Dutch distributor of food processing solutions that’s been operating as

From left: Thomas Handtmann, Mark Marrink and Harald Suchanka, chief executive officer of the Handtmann Filling and Portioning Systems division.

Handmann’s exclusive machinery distributor in the Benelux region for 55 years. “The integration of Verbufa into our group of companies marks an important strategic step towards an even stronger positioning in international competition,” says Handmann’s managing partner Thomas Handtmann.

“The food processing industry is undergoing profound change towards digitalization, globalization and individualization and changing customer needs,” he says, adding former VERBUFA owner Mark Marrink will assume the role of chief business development and innovation officer of the newly-formed Handtmann Filling and Portioning Systems division.

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NOTES & QUOTES

Swiss-based aseptic carton packaging products manufacturer SIG has announced plans to build a new state-of-the-art production facility in Queretaro, Mexico, to increase the company’s presence in the fast-growing North American markets. Scheduled to start up in the first quarter of 2023, the new $60-million facility will be used capacity for the printing, cutting and finishing of SGI’s signature Combibloc beverage cartons widely used in the dairy industry and other cold-fill beverage markets, creating an estimated 200 full-time jobs. “We are very excited to announce this project, which will enable us to serve our North American customers faster and more efficiently,” says Ricardo Rodriguez, SIG’s president and general manager for the Americas region. “It will enable us to reduce delivery lead times and to respond rapidly to changes in demand.”

According to Rodriguez, SIG has recently forged strong relationships with major dairies in Mexico, a large and growing milk market, while its SIG Combibloc Inc. subsidiary in Chester, Pa., has built up a well-established co-manufacturing customer base to serve many new innovative and expanding product categories. Says Rodriguez: “Our new plant will further

drive growth in the entire region, while demonstrating our commitment to the highest environmental standards.”

Leading western Canadian fresh produce distributor The Star Group of Saskatoon, Sask., has been awarded the Best New Product award at last month’s 95th annual Fresh Week convention of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) last week for the Inspired Salads brand of pre-cut salad mixes. Comprising many ingredients sourced from the company’s Inspired Greens greenhouse farming operation in Coaldale, Alta., the Inspired Salad kits are hand-mixed at a dedicated processing facility in Calgary, where they are packaged in unique hexagonal-shaped compartmentalized plastic bowls that keep the different ingredients separate from one another until opening for maximum freshness and

Protection Preservation, Sustainable.

shelf-life, according to the company.

‘Our Inspired Salads are designed by Canadian ‘Top Chefs’ and are crafted with premium ingredients and freshly-made dressings,” says Inspired Greens commercial director Kelly Shabatowski, adding that using top-sealing flexible film to pack the ingredients inside the bowls reduces the use of plastic by 30 per cent compared to conventional rigid plastic lidding. “All you need to do with this convenient on-the-go pack is open, flip, shake and enjoy,” Shabatowski states.

“They truly are salads that will inspire your taste buds!”

German-based protective packaging products manufacturer Storopack has received two 2021 WorldStar Packaging Awards of World Packaging Organization (WPO), taking top spots in the competition’s Electronics and Medical &

Pharmaceutical categories. Storopack’s winning entries include the Onco-System transport box (see picture)—a temperature-controlled packaging solution used by pharmacies, hospitals, and laboratories for the safe shipment of vital medications such as cytostatic agents and infusion therapies—and the reusable THE BOX transport box, made from recyclable expanded polypropylene (EPP), developed for e-commerce packaging of consumer electronics.

Mactac, Stow, Ohio-headquartered manufacturer of pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) materials for packaging, labeling and other graphic arts applications, has completed the acquisition of Duramark Products Inc., including two production facilities in Minneapolis, Minn., and Spartanburg, S.C., supplying PSA products to the wide-format graphic and roll label film markets. “We are thrilled to maximize Duramark Products’ recent investments in state-of-the-art equipment and processes,” says Mactac’s president and chief executive officer Ed LaForge, citing recent installations of new high-performance coaters and advanced automation technologies at both locations, which currently employ a total of about 170 people.

For over 30 years, HSP has offered packaging solutions with a service oriented mission, placing our customers at the forefront of our business. We’ve partnered with world class, leading edge manufacturers that offer the most innovative, sustainable, and competitive packaging solutions.

Proud to be partners with:

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LOOKING BACK. PRESSING FORWARD. ALWAYS INNOVATING.

56

FIRST GLANCE

SPEEDS OF LIGHT Designed primarily for high-speed beverage production environments, the new Videojet Lightfoot can coding solution from Videojet Technologies, Inc. combines the proven reliability of a Videojet fiber laser with the speed of dual Lightfoot marking heads to meet the demanding production needs of beverage canning manufacturers.

Designed with robust components—including IP69-rated marking heads and an IP65-rated supply cabinet that can handle humid, sugar-laden or washdown environments—and featuring dual Lightfoot marking heads seamlessly integrated with one software control, the Videojet Lightfoot canning solution can reach marking speeds of up to 100,000 cans per hour, according to Videojet.

Equipped with a Class 1 sealed

enclosure to help ensure that operators are safe from any optical radiation, the Videojet Lightfoot canning solution features an integrated fume extractor to keep operators protected from harmful aluminum dust and fumes, along with a modular beam shield that fits around conveyor belts for easy integration. The marking head’s air knife keeps the beam exit window clean of dust and dirt build-up, while the system’s standard industry protocols enable connection to common line integration and code management systems.

Videojet Technologies, Inc.

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE Offering a four-kilogram payload for maximum throughput in high-volume processing of small products and components, the new GP4

Ink Jet Pr In Prriiin nte ter

robot from Yaskawa Motoman is a remarkably fast and versatile robot designed for agile operations across a wide range of packaging, assembly, handling, machine tending and other high-speed applications. Featuring 1,008-mm vertical reach, 550-mm horizontal reach and ±0.01-mm repeatability, the six-axes GP4 robot offers axis speeds up to 1,000 degrees per second, along with super fast acceleration/deceleration control for all robot positions to optimize overall productivity. Moreover, its compact footprint and slim body design allow for minimum installation space and minimize interference with peripheral devices.

Yaskawa Motoman

SAFETY FIRST The new MC88C series of magnetically coded REED safety sensors from CARLO GAVAZZI Inc.

UX U XSSeeririeies

are designed to offer an efficient solution for monitoring of the position of sliding, hinged and removable safety guards and gates—making sure to stop or disconnect dangerous machine motions when mobile protections are opened or displaced. Designed to withstand a broad temperature range from -25°C to 85°C, the MC88C safety sensors are available in both left- and right-mounting versions and a broad range of configurations to meet specific application requirements in heavy-duty food-and-beverage, material handling, and other harsh industrial environments.

CARLO GAVAZZI Inc.

BOBST IS BOSS Equipped with a wide range of automated setting functions to enable short make-ready times and to support non-stop production, the MASTERFOLD 75/110 folder-gluer from BOBST can produce up to 2.7 million perfectly made boxes per day, according to the company.

Designed for maximum automation, connectivity and digitalization through seamless data access and control through the entire workflow, the MASTERFOLD 75/110 features open frames and platforms, which increases the operator’s ergonomics and simplifies changeovers, along with the ACCUCHECK quality control solution that inspects every carton and automatically ejects defective ones to ensure 100-pecent quality-controlled production.

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MORE COLLABORATION Piab’s innovative vacuum-operated EOAT (end-of-arm-tool) piCOBOT is now available with a generic electrical interface, as well as several options for mechanical mounting plate dimensions in accordance with the ISO 9409-1 standard—enabling it to be configured to work with any collaborative robot and smaller industrial robots. Offering plug-and-play extensions to cobots, piCOBOT ensures safe and effective human-robot interaction by optimizing Piab’s proprietary and highly efficient COAX vacuum technology, comprises a vacuum pump unit and a gripper unit fitted with and broad range of suction cups to enable customers to tailor their own collaborative robotic solutions. Originally certified to work with cobots from Universal Robots, piCOBOT now extends its reach into the cobot market by offering a much higher degree of configurability, according to Piab.

Piab

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CANADIANPACKAGING · May 2021

RUSINIAK APPOINTED PEOPLE NATIONAL SALESAND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER and their customers to provide Waterloo, Ont.-based food the service perspective that makes Handtmann such is dependable processing equipment supplipartner.”

Rusiniak studied Mechanical er Handtmann Canada Engineering Technology at Humber Limited has appointed Rafal College and Business Management at prior to assuming Rusiniak as national salesRyerson and University technical sales and service roles with ABI and Mosur Machine. business development manager.

Waterloo, ON – Chris D’Aoust, Managing Director of Handtmann Canada Limited, recently announced the appointment of Rafal Rusiniak as National Sales and Business Development Manager.

“Raf has the perfect blend of sales and technical experience in various facets of the food processing industry for this role. That diverse sector experience combines with his ten successful years with Handtmann working with customers in Ontario to help build their businesses and more recently as Key Account Manager supporting our national sales team

St. Louis, Mo.-headquartered packaging machinery manufacturer BW Packaging Systems has appointed Alexander Mitchell as operational excellence director for its operations in North America.

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2021-04-21 10:15 AM

Annapolis, Md.-headquartered industry group Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) has announced its 2021 Board of Directors, with a new executive committee that includes chairperson Kathy Bolhous, chief executive officer of Charter Next Generation; immediate past chairperson Curt Begle, president of the Health, Hygiene, and Specialties Division of Berry Global; and treasurer Guenther Hering, vice-president of flexible packaging for North America at Henkel Corporation.

Twin Rivers Paper Company, headquartered in Madawaska, Me.-headquartered integrated specialty paper company producing specialty packaging, labeling, publishing and technical papers, has announced several appointments at it senior management team, including: chief operating officer Mark Lukacs; chief commercial officer Jeffrey Hederick; vice-president of innovation and productivity John Graves; customer service manager Jason Querze; and director of New York operations John Bates.

Legacy Pharma Solutions, St. Louis, Mo.-headquartered contract manufacturer and co-packer serving the global pharmaceutical industries, has appointed Brad Rayner as the company’s president.

Springfield, Ma.-headquartered industry group PPC Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC) has selected Steven Voorhees, former chief executive officer of leading U.S. corrugated packaging producer WestRock Company, as recipient of the association’s highest honor, the Robert T. Gair Award, for lifetime achievement in the paperboard packaging industry.

Cleverland, Ohio-headquartered Kolbus America, Inc., manufacturer of printing and converting equipment for paper-based packaging, has appointed Ryan Clark as technical sales manager for the mid-Atlantic and northeast regions.

May 2021 · CANADIANPACKAGING

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NATHALIE VERHEYEN

A woman of principles at the head of the Project Management Department Employed by Storcan since 2016, Nathalie started out as a Project Manager. However, with her above-and-beyond performance, she quickly set up our Project Management Department that she has been tirelessly leading ever since. In addition to standardizing several processes, Nathalie has improved the quality of our services offered and thus has not only ensured, but also increased customer satisfaction.

In December 2020 when Storcan created the position of Operations Director, Nathalie was naturally offered the position. Adding this position is a major turning point in the organizational structure of Storcan, allowing us to be even more efficient in our operational processes for manufacturing.

Nathalie will thus spearhead the implementation of actions aimed at improving profitability objectives, optimizing the use of resources, reducing costs and increasing productivity in a healthy and safe environment.

Nathalie is an intelligent, persevering person with a strong work ethic, and there is no doubt that her experience acquired over the past few years along with her personality, will contribute even further to the success of Storcan and her new responsibilities.

Please join us in congratulating Nathalie on this appointment and wishing her much success.

PRESS RELEASE

2021-05-03 9:32 AM

Omron Automation Americas appoints new VP of Sales Industry-leading automation solutions provider Omron Automation Americas is pleased to announce the promotion of Peter Brouwer to Vice President of Sales US/CAN. In his new role, Peter will be responsible for driving strategic growth initiatives and partner relationships to support the Omron mission and overall business objective - to provide comprehensive solutions and advanced technologies exceeding customer needs.

As a respected and innovative leader, Peter will expand his leadership to include the dedicated sales and application engineering teams across the United States and Canada. “We are excited about Peter’s plans to improve our customer experience and satisfaction,” said Robb Black, President & CEO Omron Automation Americas. “Peter brings a broad range of experience with over 20 years of experience in the industrial automation industry. He also has a well-earned reputation for motivating his team to success and maintaining a high level of dedication and commitment.”

Prior to this role, Peter successfully managed all facets of Omron’s Canadian industrial automation business as Vice President of Omron Canada. Today, Peter remains the executive director of Omron Canada. Peter holds an MBA from McMaster University, along with a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from Brock University. He also earned the OACETT Certified Engineering Technologist designation in Ontario, where he resides with his wife and two children. Peter is located at the Toronto office and can be followed on LinkedIn at Peter Brouwer.

www.automation.omron.com

ECO-PACK NOW

New adhesive speeds up the paper trail in search for new single-serve options With the ban on plastic drinking straws drawing ever closer in Europe and Canada, the research into paper-based alternatives is accelerating as fast as the market demand for a more plant-friendly solution.

According to recent research commissioned by leading global adhesives manufacturer H.B. Fuller Company, the demand growth for paper straws in Europe is expected to grow by 31o per cent over the next three years—creating an urgent market need for high-performance adhesives that can be safely used in paper straw production. With this in mind, a multidisciplinary team of scientists at H.B. Fuller have developed the Swift tak 5730 water-based adhesive, a special formulation that is said to offer paper straw producers superior performance in terms of consistent, easy machinability, cleanability and overall productivity.

According to H.B. Fuller, the new generation of plasticizer free, three-hour liquid resistant adhesive, which exceeds the liquid resistance market requirement for cold beverages, enables a high-quality durable straw and reduces operational downtime. In fact, its high wet tack allows manufacturers to meet aggressive productivity goals while using fast paper straw machines that can produce more than 500 straws per minute.

Moreover, Swift tak 5730 gives a competitive advantage for core winding and slot nozzle application for straight or ‘bendy’ cold drink straw production, like those often used in juice boxes. Generally, this adhesive comprises less than five per cent of the total dried weight of a paper straw—enabling paper straws to be recycled and/or industrially composted.

“We want to enable the production and use of alternatives in intelligent designs to help create a path toward a better sustainable economy,” says Michel Cordos, H.B. Fuller’s technical manager for paper straws.

“We are very pleased to present Swift tak 5730 as a more sustainable and safe formulation featuring strong performance,” Cordos says, “while at the same time contributing to the decrease of single-use plastics.”

Says Cordos: “Our experts provide on-demand technical support to guide paper straw and equipment manufacturers, as well as paper suppliers on how to efficiently produce durable liquid resistant straws at the lowest manufacturer’s total cost possible to meet this growing market.”

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Switch to paper sign of the times in fashion world The global fashion industry knows a trend when it sees one as well as any other business, with many of its leading players embracing packaging sustainability in a big way.

Last year, leading Spanish fashion retailer Alvaro Moreno saved 90 tonnes of plastic per year by switching its shopping, online delivery and gift bags to alternative paper-based packaging.

Prior to the switch, the Osuna-based company would use more than 3.7 million plastic bags and containers per year to package its retail merchandise, according to the firm’s founder Alvaro Moreno, who approached global packaging products manufacturer Mondi Group to help reduce the company’s reliance on plastic packaging.

Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, Mondi promptly answered the call by working with local Spanish converter Innovaciones Subbética to produce three new full-recyclable bags made from Mondi’s Advantage and EcoVantage paper packaging made exclusively from using renewable and responsibly sourced materials.

According to Mondi, its newest EcoVantage paper range is created with fresh pulp and recycled fibers, to ensure a high-quality printing surface to feature the brand’s distinct white logo, while promoting its sustainability benefits to the customers.

“We are the number one kraft paper producer globally and our EcoSolutions approach means we work closely with our customers to develop packaging that is sustainable by design, protecting products, meeting customer needs, and minimizing impact on the environment,” says Paulus Goess, Mondi’s sales director for speciality kraft paper.

“Our EcoVantage paper supports Alvaro Moreno’s sustainability aims, thanks to its recycled content and recyclability, and the bags are strong and appealing for customers who are looking for the best shopping experience, both online and in-store.”

Adds Moreno: “As a business, we are committed to reducing our environmental footprint by creating a line of ‘eco-life’ garments, engaging in plastic clean-up projects in the local area, and looking at carrier bags made from natural, renewable and recyclable materials.

“Mondi’s papers helped us to continue this approach while increasing the quality standards required in our packaging,” Moreno states.

“As a ‘company with soul,’ we want to meet our consumers’ sustainability goals,” he concludes, “and since introducing this new packaging range we have already had excellent customer feedback.”

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2021-04-21 8:40 AM

CANADIANPACKAGING · May 2021

P A C

S U M M I T - 2 0 2 1

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COVER STORY

Launched in retail markets this past January, the HOLOS brand of overnight muesli breakfast mixes features four different flavor variations and offers easy preparation to make tasty nutrient-dense breakfast with creamy, crunchy texture and many nutritional benefits.

Old muesli recipe gets modernday makeover with organic superfood ingredients and fully-recyclable flexible plastic packaging

By George Guidoni, Editor

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F

or a meal often proclaimed to be the most important meal of the day, breakfast continues to get a rather short drift in today’s grocery aisles in terms of genuine product innovation and optimal nutritional value.

Whatever the reasons for this omission, a couple of young Canadian entrepreneurs have made it their mission to rectify it with an exciting new product line that finally gives the importance of nutritional tasty breakfast the consumer recognition and acceptance it richly deserves.

Formed in 2016 and launched online in November of 2019, Quebec City-based HOLOS Foods is a brainchild of youthful enterprising co-founders Samuel T. Scofy, Christophe Contant and Charles Sansregret, whose idea for healthy, organic and

tasty breakfast with minimal preparation and maximum nutritional value quickly became an instant hit on online shopping channels across Canada.

“The whole thing started with a simple question: What would happen if we were able to create a healthy and nutritionally complete breakfast that also tastes great and is quick and easy to make?

“Something that merges wants and needs,” explains Scofy.

“This idea led us to countless testings during the research-and-development phase until we came across the Bircher Muesli, which ended up being the perfect vehicle to achieve our vision for a plantbased organic product that would have a positive impact on people’s health and be adapted for the needs of modern on-thego consumers.

“It also had to be convenient, tasty and easy for people to make,” Scofy told the CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

PHOTO BY XAVIER GIRARD

THE BREAKFAST CLUB

PHOTO: JENNI SHAW (TOP)

Canadian Packaging magazine in a recent interview, relating how years of constant traveling and on-the-go eating as a music promoter and online start-up entrepreneur during the past decade had taken a toll on his nutritional habits and well-being.

Meeting with Contant a few years ago while seeking sound nutritional and dietary advice for himself was a timely stroke of fortune, according to Scofy.

With Contant then completing his studies at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition, the two health-and-fitness fanatics quickly hit it off to team up in exploring ways to commercialize many of Contant’s ideas on holistic nutrition in an attractive, consumer-friendly format.

Its name derived from the Greek word holos (whole), the HOLOS brand of the unique blend of oats, seeds, nuts, berries and other select ‘superfoods’ were inspired by the original Muesli recipe introduced by influential Swiss nutritionist Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner back in 1900.

Still referred to as Bircher-Benner Muesli to this day, the original recipe has naturally been vastly enhanced and expanded during the product development brainstorming that led to the creation of HOLOS, according to Scofy.

“Our vision from the start was to treat breakfast like the real meal that it is,” Scofy proclaims.

CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

looks like snack-food, with low nutrient content.

“The weird thing is that when you look at the statistics, a lot of people consider breakfast the important meal of the day,” Scofy points out, suggesting that many Canadian consumers often prefer to skip breakfast altogether because they can’t be bothered to take the time to prepare it properly during their busy mornings.

With HOLOS, however, the only preparation required is simply soaking the contents of the package in some milk in a glass jar and sealing it overnight—allowing the soaking process to unleash all the nutrients inside their ingredients for maximum health benefit.

“It is a complete, balanced and nutrient-dense meal that many other breakfast foods can’t even come close to in terms of nutritional content,” sates Scofy, pointing out that sales of the HOLOS brand took off almost immediately after launch.

While the brand’s price is understandably higher than for many traditional instant-breakfast options sold in stores, “The cost is comparable to that of a Starbucks latte,” as Scofy points out.

“People have gotten used to the idea that breakfast should be a cheap meal,” Scofy says, “but we are on a mission to change people’s perception of what breakfast is about.

“The mere fact that all our ingredients are organic already doubles our production costs compared to using conventional ingredients,” says Scofy, citing the brand’s Organic Canada and the international Ecocert certifications.

“It’s also a very fun food to eat,” says Scofy, citing the prepared products’ “creamy crunchy” texture and pleasant, satisfying taste profile.

Based on the HOLOS brand’s growth record so far, many Canadian consumers agree with Scofy full-heartedly.

Currently approaching the milestone benchmark sale of the one-millionth

Manufactured in Quebec, the HOLOS blends of organic overnight muesli—available in Vanilla, Peanuts+Maple, Cocoa and Chai flavors—are packaged in single-serve stand-up pouches packing 20 grams of plant-based protein, 12 grams of fiber, 13 vitamins and minerals, two grams of Omega-3, and over a billion CFU (colony-forming unit) probiotics.

Says Scofy: “When you walk through a breakfast aisle at big stores today, it all

Sold in 100-percent recyclable 90-gram flexible stand-up pouches, the HOLOS brand muesli mixes are easily prepared by soaking the pouch contents in a glass jar overnight overnight with added milk or milk alternative.

May 2021 · CANADIANPACKAGING

17

COVER STORY

HOLOS pouch, the brand made its debut in the traditional brick-andmortar retail store environment in January of 2021, according to Scofy, and is currently already selling at over 200 different locations across Canada.

“Our sales grew by 350 per cent between 2019 and 2020,” Scofy says, “and we expect this growth to continue or even accelerate now that we’re in the retail markets.”

Scofy cites “very good synergy” between the company’s online presence—where the HOLOS are sold in 12-, 24- and 48-pouch boxes—and its push into the retail space, where the brand is sold in single units.

In fact, even before the retail launch in January of 2021 the company went through a major packaging makeover to switch from the original run-of-the-mill plastic stand-up pouches to the new-generation, 100-percent recyclable standup pouches manufactured by the Montreal-headquartered flexible packaging products group TC Transcontinental Packaging.

Called vieVERTe, the monolayer HDPE (high-density polyethylene) plastic stand-up pouch is a designated #2 Plastic that is widely recycled across most of Canada’s municipal recycling streams.

This recyclability was a major selling point for Scofy, who says he would have switched to a more eco-friendly package than the original pouch even if he decided not to enter the traditional retail outlets.

As Scofy states, “It is simply the right thing to do.

“It costs us more to use this 100-percent recyclable option,” he acknowledges, “but being good to the planet is all part of our holistic philosophy behind the product.”

Available for a diverse and growing range of packaging applications in food industry segments, the vieVERTe stand-up pouches supplied to HOLOS Foods provide the product with 12-month shelf-life through a combination of effective barrier protection, strength and shelf stability, according to Transcontinental Packaging.

From Left: HOLOS Foods co-owners Samuel T. Scofy, Charles Sansregret and Christophe Contant appearing on the popular Quebec television show Dans l’oeil du dragon (Dragon’s Den) in May of 2020.

“The pouches we supply to HOLOS are made of special HDPE monolayer, non-laminated construction that has a very high EVOH (ethylene vinyl alcohol) oxygen barrier,” says Roberto Travaglini, account manager for business development at Transcontinental Packaging.

“As we know oxygen is the element that will oxidize any food,”Travaglini explains, “and this special EVOH barrier allows the packaging to protect its content much more effectively than a structure without such a barrier, thus adding to the prolonged product shelf-life.

“It has been developed with special additives so that the entire pouch can be recycled as a Number 2 in your local recycling bin.

“It was very important for HOLOS to find a packaging that would reflect their natural values,” Travaglini states. “This 100-percent recyclable pouch fits the values that HOLOS was looking for.

“It was great to work with HOLOS,” Travaglini relates. “They knew exactly what they wanted, and we guided them to the best of our ability to give them what they were looking for.

“There was a lot of back-and-

forth,” he sums up, “but we ended up finding, in my opinion, the perfect solution for today’s market and their corporate values.”

For his part, Scofy says he is also impressed by the high print quality achieved on the vieVERTe pouches decorated with subtle-colored graphics and clean lines of text created by Montreal-based graphic artists Wedge Studio Inc..

According to Wedge, “We positioned HOLOS as an overnight breakfast muesli that makes way for a new category of ‘Mindful Nutrition,’ thoughtfully composed of balanced, whole, plant-based,and organic ingredients to sustain you for the long run.

“Our team worked to strategically define this ethos, and to evolve their visual identity and packaging design from a slick, digital, DTC (direct-to-consumer) aesthetic to something more soulful.

“The design team inherited a very geometric brand logo and symbol, and redrew them for a more organic feel,” according to Wedge. “The perfectly imperfect hand-drawn symbol reminds us of a plant and the happy feeling you feel when you eat HOLOS.

“Our goal is to educate and inspire people to consume foods that constitute an investment in their health and their families’ health.”

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CANADIANPACKAGING · May 2021

“The warm colors connote the delicious flavours and bring a positive spirit, while the typography (GT Zirkon) is clean, scientific and minimal, speaking to the considerate composition of ingredients.

“HOLOS stands out from traditional CPG norms in its simplicity,” Wedge sates, “using cues that connect with an intelligent, active audience who seeks healthful modern products beyond the commercial quo.”

For his part, Scofy feels that shaking up the food industry’s existing status quo is an integral part of improving the Canadian consumer’s nutritional habits and reducing the food industry’s environmental footprint through product and packaging innovation.

While the company’s online sales still drive most of its revenues, Scofy aims to achieve about 50-50 split between the two sales channel platforms in a couple of years, just as the company plans to launch HOLOS in the U.S. and other markets.

As part of that expansion, Scofy and his team are working on a brand new product line, another food innovation he’s been developing on for years, while also boosting HOLOS online presence with testimonials from several Canadian Olympian athletes and series of documentary short films he directed, including the Answers from the Woods ultra trailer following exploits of a Canadian running enthusiast attempting to set a new world record for biggest elevation gain in 24 hours.

“Right now our products are sold mainly in independent organic and health-food stores,” Sam acknowledges, “but that will change as we expand into the organic aisles of the large conventional grocery chains and, eventually, into the mainstream product aisles of those stores.”

As Scofy sums up, “Our goal is to educate and inspire people to consume foods that constitute an investment in their health and their families’ health.

“Our mission is to elevate the modern diet, rather than helping to perpetuate it,” Scofy states. “We’re not trying to change the system per se, but we are trying to change the people’s perception and their behavior so that they can change the system by continuing to make more healthy food choices.

“And if you look at the tremendous growth in plant-based, organic and functional foods,” he concludes, “it is already happening.”

SUPPLIERS TC Transcontinental Packaging CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

PACKAGING FOR FRESHNES

Pizza Romana plant manager Eva Maraj (center) keeps a watchful eye on the production flow a the company’s busy Lachine facility that turns out well over 30,000 premium-quality frozen pizza per day for retail customers across eastern Canada.

KEEP ON ROLLING Frozen pizza producer boosts packaging throughput and quality control with high-speed rollstock thermoform packaging machinery

By Andrew Snook

20 CANADIANPACKAGING · May 2021

T

he frozen pizza business is a highly competitive marketplace. To remain competitive, producers need to invest in the latest technologies in their operations in an effort to constantly improve efficiencies.

Les Aliments Pizza Romana understands this well. Employing between 35 to 40 people and operating out of a 60,000-square-foot HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points)-certified facility in Lachine, Que., the company produces between six and seven million frozen pizzas annually for the grocery retail market for a wide variety of customers largely based in eastern Canada— stretching from Ontario to Atlantic Canada.

They company offers a diverse variety of rising crust and stuffed crust frozen pizzas using authentic ingredients to bring the flavors of Italy to consumers.

“We have about 20 different pizzas, including our rising crust and stuffed crust,” says Eva Maraj, plant manager for Pizza Romana, adding that the most popular items are their eight different stuffed crust pizzas.

“We have chicken, sausage, double pepperoni. We have one called ‘The Works,’ with every type of meat imaginable.

“We also have an ‘All-Star’ with all kinds of meat but also has peppers and mushrooms.”

A few years ago, Pizza Romana was looking to increase its production capacity, but the company was struggling with a bottleneck in its packaging departCANADIANPACKAGING.COM

Cockwise: The Lachine plant produces and packages 20 different frozen pizza recipes.

From left: VC999 Canada service manager Patrice Turpin, Pizza Romana head mechanic Marc Girard and Carl-Michel Cloutier of VC999 Canada. ment.

“We had two older machines before,” Maraj recalls, “and they were always breaking down in the middle of production. “We’d have to do repacks every day and we were losing a lot of film.”

While searching for a solution to the company’s production bottleneck, she found the answer in the pages of the Canadian Packaging magazine.

“It was literally your magazine,” she says, referring to reading an article featuring a VC999 high production rollstock thermoformer in a previous issue of the magazine.

“It was about Les Aliments 2000 in Quebec City. They had one machine and I know them, so I called them to get some feedback on their machine and they said they were really happy with it, and that’s when I started to research more on VC999.”

After researching the company’s various technologies, Maraj reached out to Carl-Michel Cloutier, sales manager for Eastern Canada for VC999 Canada, headquartered in the Montreal area.

“We met with Carl-Michel and he showed us the advantages of going with a local company and the capabilities of the machine,” Maraj says.

“I wanted to go local because if I needed service, I wanted someone to be available to help us the same day. He offered that service.

‘Having the film coming from the same company as the machine is also advantageous for us, and it’s also here [in Quebec].

CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

“I was buying my film from Winnipeg [before] and there was a challenge in always having the film available,” Maraj notes. “It worked out well for us, going with a local company.”

The company ended up purchasing a model RS 720 high-performance rollstock thermoformer from VC999.

“We started working on this project

about three years ago,” recalls Cloutier.

“They wanted to reach a very high-speed, packaging between 30,000 to 35,000 pizzas a day,” Cloutier recalls.

“We got involved in that project to supply a rollstock machine with a very high output. It’s a huge a machine.

“It’s the biggest machine we’ve ever built, in terms of width and deck length,”

“I wanted to go local because if I needed service, I wanted someone to be available to help us the same day. He offered that service.”

May 2021 · CANADIANPACKAGING

21

PACKAGING FOR FRESHNES

Above from left All sealed frozen pizzas coming off the VC999 RS 720 thermoformer pass through the IQ4 metal detector from Loma Systems; a close-up of the Mitsubishi Electric HMI (human-machine interface) panel installed on the RS 720 system; the high-barrier plastic flim for the frozen pizzas is supplied to the plant in rollstock by VC999 Canada. says Cloutier, citing the RS 720 system’s forming width of 723-mm; maximum index length of up to 630-mm; a loading length of 5,000-mm; a discharge length of 3,600 mm; a draw depth up to 185 mm; and film roll diameters of 500-mm (standard) and 800-mm (jumbo).

“To be able to reach that speed we have special forming dies where they’re completely filled”, Cloutier explains. “We get more speed because we don’t have a lot of air to pump out of the machine.

“The machine presently runs at 15 cycles per minute,” Cloutier states. “It’s pretty incredible.”

It took VC999 about six months of project development to come up with the right solution that would meet the needs of Pizza Romana.

About a year after the initial discussions between the two companies,VC999 was ready to place the machine into production.

“We worked very closely with their technical people to set up the machine with all the conveyors in place,” Cloutier says.

“It took about five days to put everything in place with two technicians. They supplied us with one technician, and we had very good synergy working with him.”

One modification made to the RS720 was the installation of a special touchscreen mounted on a swing arm.

“That way they can work from both sides of the machine, because they have four to six people loading the machine,” Cloutier says.

The difference in production efficien22 CANADIANPACKAGING · May 2021

cies was felt immediately after installing the VC999 RS720.

“We don’t have repack to do, we don’t have wasted film, and our production has gone up close to triple,” Maraj says.

As Maraj relates, the daily production process at the bakery begins at 6:00 am, with the process of making the dough the place on the production line starting at 6:45 am.

“It’s semi-automatic,” Maraj explains.

“The dough is dumped into a hopper and then it’s extruded, laminated and formed.

“Then two employees at the end of the line support it on a carboard disc and it goes into a spiral freezer, where it comes out and down into the topping line.” Maraj explains.

The crust is frozen when it reaches the Quantum Topping System automated topping line, where all the toppings are added to the pizza.

“In the mornings, someone comes in and calibrates all the machines to make sure we’re placing the right amounts of each topping,” Maraj relates.

“We pass it through a cheese melter once the pizza is topped. It heats up the cheese a little bit to hold all the ingredients in place, and then goes through a second spiral freezer into the packing area, where it goes into the VC999 RS720 machine,” Maraj continues.

“After it’s packaged it goes through a metal detector and then on to the boxing machine.

“It’s then put into boxes, which then passes an inkjet printer, which prints the lot number for traceability, and cased, and

then put into the warehouse freezer,” Maraj says.

To ensure the pizzas are of the highest quality, Pizza Romana has a variety of quality control tests that are performed daily in the company’s laboratory.

“In the bakery, each product has its own production control sheet,” Maraj explains.

“We do weight controls in the bakery and check the size of the crust—it’s all CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

physical checks.

“The temperature of the water is controlled for the dough [and] the dough temperature is also controlled.

“We also do lot number tracing,” Maraj says. “On the topping side, we do temperature checks of the ingredients.

“We do lot traceability. We check sauce viscosity and make sure ingredients are within their best-before dates—that’s part of the lot recording.

“The weights are taken for each ingredient every hour on the line,” says Maraj.

On the primary packaging side, a variety of tests are performed to ensure optimal product quality, including temperature checks, seal checks to test the integrity of the film, metal detection, and checkweighing of the finished weight of the product.

“On the secondary packaging side, we CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

make sure the label that’s going on the case has the right date, the right lot number, and the right description,” Maraj says.

Afterwards, the cases are transported to the freezer, where all rooms , including the storage freezer, are monitored for temperature twice a day.

As Maraj confides, the company also performs GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) checks twice a day for the entire plant.

“I have QC (quality control) staff that go around and make sure everybody is following the rules,” Maraj says, citing the plant’s well-earned certification to the international SQF Level 2 food safety certification of the Safe Quality Food Institute.

“Now with COVID-19, we also monitor employees’ health and outside activity,” Maraj points out.

Above Erected pizza boxes coming out of the Consolidated Technologies cartoner are immediately coded with a lot number on the side panel by a model 9232 continuous inkjet coder from Markem-Imaje.

“Everyone gets their temperature checked in the morning before entering the plant,” she says. “We also have a questionnaire which must be filled out by each employee before entering the plant.”

Despite now being able to produce upwards of 3,000 units per hour, Pizza Romana isn’t done upgrading its facilities, according to Cloutier.

“We are getting prepared to install a second packaging line because they want to double their production,” Cloutier says, adding that this will increase their daily production to 60,000 to 70,000 pizza.

“They really love the machine,” Cloutier concludes, “and we love working with them.”

SUPPLIERS VC999 Canada Ltd. May 2021 · CANADIANPACKAGING

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ADHESIVES

Fen-Tech Industries owner Derrick Feener strikes a cheerful pose in front of the Genesis series courier bagmaking machine incorporating a Robatech glue melting system mounted on top of the machine, assembled at Fen-Tech’s production facility in Burlington,Ont.

A BONDING EXPERIENCE Courier bagmaking machinery manufacturer optimizes equipment performance with advanced adhesive melters

By Andrew Snook Photos by Naomi Hiltz

CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

W

hen it comes to the manufacturing of courier bags, your adhesives better be effective.

After all, that strip of glue where you seal a courier pouch is the key line of defence for ensuring important documents and parcels arrive at their destinations undamaged.

When Fen-Tech Industries Corp. decided to shop around for a new adhesive application melting system to attach to its

new 56-inch wide, split-lane machine designed for the manufacturing of courier bags, the owner turned to Robatech Canada, Vaughan, Ont.-headquartered subsidiary of Swiss-based adhesive applicating machinery specialists Robatech Group.

“We use a Robatech glue system to dispense the glue onto the release liners,” explains Fen-Tech Industries owner Derrick Feener.

“We’ve been using Robatech for a long time now,” Feener states. “It’s a very good product.”

As Feener explains, Fen-Tech IndusMay 2021 · CANADIANPACKAGING

25

ADHESIVES

Clockwise from top left: Fen-Tech 56-inch-wide split-lane bag machine; dual photoeye electric sensors guiding the split operation; bag material unwinding on the Genesis machine; unwinding liner material; side view of the custom-built Genesis machine.

tries is a design-build company specializing in servo technologies for the manufacturing of equipment for the plastics industry.

Based in Burlington, Ont., the familyowned and operated company has more than 50 years of combined industry experience to draw on, which it leverages to cutom-build many high-performance machines per year for high-speed production of bags for virtually any industry.

“You want to make garbage bags, there’s 26 CANADIANPACKAGING · May 2021

a machine for that. You want to make bread bags, there’s a machine for that.

“Your bag needs a zipper, we make the fastest zipper attachment on the market “ You want e-commerce bags like the courier bags, there’s a machine for that,” Feener says.

“Each one has a four-week build time,” Feener notes, “but when we get a very complex machine, it’s an eight-week build time.”

Feener’s latest purchase was for four Robatech melter systems: one for his current order heading to a customer in California, and three more to fill future orders.

According to Feener, the Concept series melter system from the Switzerland-based company provide a great fit for his company’s equipment.

“Robatech goes through a lot of trouble

to make sure it’s done right, [so that] the glue does its job and everything is wired correctly,” Feener says, adding that the equipment being electrically sound and properly certified is a big part of the appeal of the Robatech melters.

“Robatech components are CSA (Canadian Standards Association)-certified, so we are able to help them with meeting those regulations,” says Roger Kehoe, chief executive officer of Robatech Canada.

Kehoe says his company was able to provide the kind of high-quality adhesive system that Fen-Tech Industries was searching for, after having a less positive experience with another supplier.

“Fen-Tech needed to have a unit that provided them with proper adhesive monitoring,” Kehoe explains.

“They coat poly-substrates, and they need to ensure they have an accurate coating weight, as well as an accurate startand-stop.

“The Robatech system can monitor that adhesive component,” he says.

“A key to the process of making these courier bags is the glue” adds Feener.

“If that glue is not laid down correctly, the bags being produced will not be usable.”

Kehoe says Fen-Tech was also looking for ways to achieve greater reliability for its adhesive applicating systems.

“They wanted to upgrade to better-quality components, longer-lasting components,” he says.

“Robatech is a company that focuses on sustainability, which means we’re manufacturing components that have a long life-span that can be backwards-compatible for upgrades in the future, and that will reduce the amount of waste due to improper gluing,” Kehoe states.

After loading the glue into the Robatech melter, it is heated up and pumped at high pressures via two pumps over to the actuators.

“The actuators sit on top the of glue head,” Feener explains. “Robatech has CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

Clockwise from top left Robatech Concept series melter; filling up the Robatech Concept adhesive tank; Robatech liner guides and cooling section; Roabtech glue-dispensing heads; Robatech touchscreen HMI (human-machine interface) control panel. designed a special manifold block for us, and the manifold itself is two-inches-wide, so it can spray up to two-inches-wide of glue.

“The glue head will then come into position and begin applying glue to the liners,” Feener explains.

The Robatech system uses a high-precision encoder to ensure the glue is consistent and is measured appropriately.

“It sends a signal back to the Robatech system that tells the pump how fast to run, how much glue to lay down on the material, when the gating should begin, when it should stop … it’s a very intricate part of the system,” Feener relates.

“The encoder then sends that signal to the gear pump, which is controlling the amount of pressure that pumps into the hose,” he points out. “ They do a great job at making sure the right amount of glue is being laid down at the appropriate time.”

CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

One of the key features that Feener especially likes about the Robatech system is its gating technology.

“We’re actually starting and stopping the spray of the glue [because] Robatech does a fantastic job at this,” Feener says.

“The lanes of the glue are spread onto the liner, dispersed at the correct quantities—meaning the exact amount of width and the exact height.

“Once the glue is adhered to the release liner, we then apply the release liner directly to the web,” Feener says.

“To make sure the heated glue doesn’t come into contact with the film, we apply it to the liner, which has a release coating on it capable of withstanding the heat, and then we cool the glue and apply it.”

According to Robatech, the Concept series melters are designed to ensure efficient energy consumption and maintenance, whereby all Concept series melters are insulated to reduce heat loss.

The tank is coated with special non-sticking FEP (perfluoroethylene propylene) material for optimal ease of cleaning, while the individual temperature control helps to prevents adhesive burning.

In addition, filters on tank and pump outlet minimize ingress of possible contaminations through the heated hose into the application head, where they could cause nozzle blockage.

In addition, the Concept series melters May 2021 · CANADIANPACKAGING

27

ADHESIVES

Verifying quality and efficacy of glue application on plastic courier bags produced on the Genesis machine equipped with Robatech melter. face or the HMI (human-machine interface) panel.”

Adds Kehoe: “Robatech was able to offer Fen-Tech the widest range of possibilities for equipment integration into their equipment, whether it be control via Wi-Fi, Ethernet cable or Bus.” As Kehoe points out, the digital touchscreen on Robatech products provides intuitive and easy navigation for their operators, making it easier to diagnose problems in the field.

Fen-Tech Industries service technician Janahen Manoharan agrees.

“We can control the temperature of the glue tank, the hoses and the glue heads,” he says.

“We can also adjust the pattern the operators want to control.

“All you have to do is go to whatever head you want to use,” Manoharan notes, “and just type in what the glue letdown would be.”

The entire process, from initially meeting with Fen-Tech to the installation and commissioning of the Robatech system, was fairly straightforward, according to Kehoe.

“It was probably about 10 weeks in total from start to finish,” Kehoe says.

“We needed to go on-site, understand their processes and what parameters they were operating under to ensure we supplied the correct melting rate and pumping rate that they needed,” Kehoe relates.

“We needed to measure the quantity of adhesive that they were laying down on their polybags, and then we needed to test—to install a trial system on their equipment, train their operators, perform a quality control test, and show them what we were able to do.”

Feener says that Robatech has been fantastic to work with through the entire collaborative process.

“If we need service, they come out and address it right away,” he says.

“It’s very important to Fen-Tech that we’re matching equipment that we’re Feener says he really appreciates the supplying with the same integrity and Concept series melters’ many user-friendly strength that we put behind our equipfeatures that make it easy for the operators ment,” Feener concludes, “and that’s what I want from my suppliers as well. to use.

“Robatech fully delivers on that.”

“The user interface touchscreens jumping back and forth is very intuitive,” Feener states.

“It’s very easy to understand,” Feener SUPPLIERS says, “[and] it can easily be navigated by Fen-Tech Industries Corp. the end user in terms of the control inter- Robatech Canada

“You want to make e-commerce bags like courier bags, there’s a machine for that.” are designed for intuitive and safe operation based on a language-independent control panel or, in this case, the RobaVis touchscreen user interface, featuring an adjustable main screen and visualized presentation enables intuitive, easy operation.

The current operating state is always indicated and saved in an event log, according to Robatech, while using the additional InfoPlus software on the touchscreen allows for the collection and analysis of all the key operational data, which can be used for scheduling preventive maintenance and to indicate possible opportunities for further process improvement.

28 CANADIANPACKAGING · May 2021

Please see a video of the Robatech adhesive melters and Fen-Tech bagmaking machinery in acion on Canadian Packaging TV at www.canadianpackaging.com CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

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CONVEYING

From Left: Storcan International director of integration and application Hugo Lorquet, director of technical services Benoît Cliche and president Jean-Martin Savoie make up the company’s ownership team.

HOME SWEET HOME Conveyor manufacturer completes move to new production facility to open up the next chapter in its evolution as turnkey packaging solutions expert

By George Guidoni, Editor Photos by Pierre Longtin

CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

F

ew things feel as fulfilling and rewarding in business life as seeing a good plan come together. The bigger and bolder the plan, in fact, the better.

For Jean-Martin Savoie, president and co-owner of Quebec-based conveying and packaging systems experts Storcan International, seeing his company celebrating its 45th anniversary this year at a brand new state-of-the-art production facility in Montreal’s off-island suburb of Châteauguay is a resounding validation of his long-term plans to turn the company from a single-focused manufacturer of industrial conveyors into a well-rounded, highly competent integrator and supplier of world-class packaging line equipment for leading food-and-beverage

manufacturers across Canada and abroad.

“Of course, we are completely delighted about the expansion of our manufacturing capabilities,” says Savoie, a longtime Storcan employee who purchased the company from its former owners back in 2007 alongside another business partner.

In the first few years under Savoie’s leadership, Storcan by and large remained focused on doing what it’s been doing since the company was founded in 1976—designing and building industrial conveyor systems for packaging and processing applications in the food industry.

And while the company remains a top-level manufacturer of conveying systems—available in a wide assortment of styles, designs, shapes and sizes— May 2021 · CANADIANPACKAGING

31

CONVEYING

In addition to fabricating high-quality industrial conveying systems to customers’ specs, the Storcan facility also specializes in integrating those conveyors with many other types of industrial equipment and machinery to provide in customers in the food and beverage industries with complete turnkey packaging line solutions.

modern-day Storcan has long outgrown its original market ambitions and influence by vastly expanding its skill-set and core competencies to become a true one-stop-shop supplier of integrated packaging solutions for some of the world’s leading CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies.

“We have developed a new value-added proposition to give our customers a complete 360-degree solution: from consulting, designing and evaluating projects to making them possible by both fabricating the equipment they need, and integrating it with other highend equipment made by some of the best packaging machinery companies in the world,” Savoie states.

“It’s all about serving our customers in the industry better,” says Savoie, who worked tirelessly in the last 10 years to make what he calls his ‘Storcan 2.0’ vision come into being with emphatic commitment and resolve.

As part of the company’s growth in both ambition and in-house talent pool, Storcan had reached the limits of its production capacity around four years ago, according to Savoie, making a move to larger premises an urgent necessity.

Formally opened for business in September of 2020, the company’s new 30,500-square-foot, two-storey building, literally a walking-distance stroll away from its former headquarters, is a key part of an intensive $4.3-million capital

32 CANADIANPACKAGING · May 2021

investment project that puts Storcan firmly on the path to a prosperous future, according to Savoie.

As part of the run-up to last year’s move, Savoie guided the company through a comprehensive internal restructuring process that created three separate industry-specific business units—Food, Bottling and Packaging— focusing on different segments of the CPG marketplace.

According to Savoie, this reorganization has enabled the company staff to take greater ownership of their projects and make the company more nimble and flexible to respond faster to customer needs and identify new business opportunities in the different segments.

With a staff of nearly 50 full-time employees, the new facility comfortably houses all of the company’s engineering, project management, administration,

sales and marketing teams, notes Savoie, while also offering sufficient room to conduct R&D (research-and-development) activities and on-site FAT (factory acceptance testing) trial runs for which it simply did not have the required space before.

“Our customers really love that,” says Savoie, citing an exceptionally busy production schedule for the company in upcoming months, which already has the production area of the plant operating seven-days-a-week to keep up with growing orders.

“There are many projects for us right now because of our involvement in the food-and-beverage industry,” says Savoie, citing increased pressure from leading grocery retailers on CPG brandowners and manufacturers to keep their store-shelves full during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

“Companies like Kraft Heinz, Weston and other big-name customers of ours are an essential part of the food supply chain,” Savoie says, “which makes companies like us essential for helping their business operate as efficiently as they can in these times.”

As Savoie relates, the sudden spread of COVID-19 to Canada in March of 2019 actually prompted Storcan to accelerate its plans to move into the new building ahead of the original target date, creating extra stress for the employees and contractors.

“Thankfully, all that stress went away when we finally moved into this nice new building with lots of natural light and more space to move around in,” says Savoie. “It’s a real game-changer.”

Doing business since the spread of COVID-19 to Canada has been especially challenging for Storcan, Savoie relates, CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

because so much of its business is based enable its staff to keep traveling.

“Our technicians never stopped travon customer service and after-sales support that requires in-person site vis- eling during the pandemic,” Savoie says, “which required us to take a lot of extra its to customer facilities.

According to Savoie, the company has precautions internally both before and incurred a lot of extra legal and other after travel to make sure our company expenses to enable its essential project and our employees remained COVIDteam member to keep traveling on busi- free.”

Combined with all the workplace ness even during the height of the epidemic to service its customers and to measures the company put in place to ensure full compliance with all the discomplete ongoing projects on time.

This involved a lot of extra third-party infection, sanitation, protective clothing COVID-19 testing for the traveling em- and social-distancing protocols, the ployees, as well as filing a lot of extra company’s staff has managed to get paperwork to enable the cross-border through the COVID-19 crisis so far withshipment of essential spare parts and out any staff getting infected, but for one components to satisfy all the changing notable exception.

“The incredible thing was that not regulations on both ends of each project.

“Naturally we had to pay a lot of extra sasingle person at Storcan got tested costs for transportation to comply with positive for COVID except for myself,” the legislations,” Savoie says, adding it says Savoie, whose family got hit with took “a lot of creativity and flexibility” to coronavirus in April of 2020 after a visit

Above clockwise A busy production day unfolding on the plant floor of the new Storcan facility; Storcan operates its own on-site welding department to perfrom most of its fabricating in-house; an SEW-Eurodrvie motor connected to a Storcan conveyor; Jean-Martin Savoie checking the accuracy of an incline roller conveyor assembled at the plant.

May 2021 · CANADIANPACKAGING

33

Save Space and Increase Throughput.

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A group shot of some of Storcan’s highly silled and dedicated employees, some of whom have been with the company right from its formation back in 1976.

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by his sister after she visited an old-age nursing home to check up on their grandmother.

“We met in a garage for about an hour, wearing masks and social-distancing as required, but in the following week my whole family had developed COVID symptoms,” says Savoie, recalling the a two-week struggle with high fever and chronic shortness of breath.

For a life-long fitness buff whose daily exercise routine includes a five-kilometer run, getting sick with COVID was an especially cruel eye-opener about the insidious dangers and risk of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I temporarily lost my sense of smell and taste, and the side-effects of always being out of breath had persisted for about six weeks,” says Savoie, who has since made a full recovery with the rest of his family.

“We were very fortunate to get through this intact,” Savoie acknowledges, saying he’s grateful to be able to resume his normal running and exercise regimen.

Savoie says the experience has reinforced his appreciation for the people working at Storcan, some of whom began their careers with the company even before he joined it.

“Serving the food-and-beverage industry for 45 years has given us a lot of accumulated knowledge and expertise that provides us a strong competitive advantage that has not only enabled us to become and industry leader in conveyors,” he says, “but also to evolve into a company that can offer customers complete line solutions from A to Z, including integration and supplying all the equipment they need through our incredible network of business partners and suppliers.”

As Savoie relates, the opening of the new facility has also enabled Storcan to attract even more high-skilled talent to the company to reinforce its service and project manage34 CANADIANPACKAGING · May 2021

ment competencies.

According to Storcan, the company’s turnkey integration services include: • Consultation. The company’s sales team and solutions department collaborate to analyze the customer’s needs to offer advice, develop an automated production line layout drawing, and offer a budgeted and profitable solution. The process includes traveling to the customer’s site to get better understanding of the production environment and customers’’ specifications to either conceptualize a whole new production line or modify and add equipment to an existing line.

• Engineering. After identifying and agreeing upon a solution, the engineering department takes over to take precise technical measurements on-site, model the customized solution with engineering details, and select each technology to integrate. The engineers work closely with project management department, which takes responsibility for managing the project with the customer.

• Manufacturing. Storcan uses its own manufacturing facility to create custom conveyor system solutions for the food, bottling and packaging industries, as well as auxiliary machines such as crate elevators, container rinsers, depalletizers, etc.

• The company’s high-skilled production team performs general and specialized welding and industrial mechanics on-site to assemble the required equipment.

• Distribution of many different types of conveyors, process and packaging machines—manufactured by some of the biggest and best OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) in the world—to customers in the food and bottling sectors, including the sale of replacement parts.

CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

•

Project Management & Integration. As soon as the solution is validated, the project management team takes over to ensure everything runs smoothly: from conceptualization and installation to controls, programming and commissioning of the production line, including on-site training for the costumers’ personnel.

• After-sale Service. Working closely with the project management team, Storcan offers ongoing mobile after-sales service for equipment maintenance and repairs.

Despite Storcan’s evolution as a full-service packaging line solutions provider, the company remains immensely proud of its original roots as a conveyor manufacturer, according to Savoie.

“Building conveyors is a big part of our DNA make-up,” Savoie states, citing an expansive range of innovative conveyor solutions that includes belt, mat-top and sanitary conveyors for the food industry; air conveyors and accumulation tables for bottling and canning applications; and drag-chain, roller, vertical spiral, sortation, narrow-belt, belted pivot-wheel and just about every other type of conveyor used in highspeed packaging applications in the CPG industries.

According to Savoie, the company’s legacy conveyor manufacturing expertise underpins all of the company’s integration and distribution activities that enable it to market itself as “production line architects,” as he puts it.

“We still have some customers who reach out to us only for conveyors, and we take pride in that because it confirms the high quality of our manufacturing,” says Savoie, adding that Storcan is actually moving forward to forming a new Conveyor Division unit dedicated specifically to this machinery segment.

Savoie says he is particularly excited about the new MDR 48V stainless-steel sanitary conveyors for transporting case and trays weighing up to 125 pounds.

Designed for environments requiring the use of water jets to ensure high sanitation levels, the system uses Interroll motorized conveyor rollers to ensure optimal transporting, diverting and accumulation capabilities with a highly flexible and modular design, whereby each roller in the system can communicate with the control system to ensure optimal zone control along each part of the conveyor line right up to palletizing.

“It’s a real intelligent conveyor system, with fully enclosed wiring and control accessories, that is unlike anything else out there in the industry,” Savoie states, saying it took Storcan a couple of years of intense R&D work to develop and perfect the MDR 48V sanitary conveyor system.

“It gives customers the ability and CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

power for transporting very heavy prod- grator, with thousands of successful uct loads throughout the facility,” “ he system installations for leading says, “with a lot of flexibility and min- food-and-beverage manufacturers. imal maintenance requirements.

“There are plenty of companies out “We are very excited about bringing there who can sell conveyors, metal dethis new conveyor line to the market this tectors or case-packers,” he reasons, year,” says Savoie, adding the company “but it takes a very special skillset to be is already working on plans to expand able to make all those different pieces of the new facility further in the next equipment work as a complete system couple of years to cope with growing solution for the customers. market demand for its products and “That’s how we plan to position ourservices. selves going forward in the next few “We have come a long way since we years,” Savoie asserts. started,” he reflects. “For the fist 30 to “We have good equipment, good tech35 years of the company, we were essen- nology, and great new facility that will tially just putting our equipment on the enable us to become a true North Amerfloor and connecting it to other people’s ican leader in packaging line solutions machinery. that always put its customers first.”

“But we have really stepped it up a notch over the last 10 years,” he says, “to SUPPLIERS become a true packaging systems inte- Storcan International

Storcan has made major capital investment to improve the company’s IT and CAD/CAM capabilities (top) as part of its move to the new 35,000-squarefoot headquarters (bottom) in Montreal’s suburb of Châteauguay.

May 2021 · CANADIANPACKAGING

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BRAND PACKAGING

BEYOND BEER Iconic beermaker making a big splash with game-changing product diversification and inspired packaging masterclass

By George Guidoni, Editor

CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

I

t tastes, looks and smells like nothing North America’s oldest brewer has ever produced or sold before in its proud 245-year-old history of beermaking.

But as the run-up to the annual summer Beer Wars between Canada’s biggest brewing companies and the ever-growing ranks of craft brewers begins to gather steam, the Molson Coors Beverage Company’s sensational $100-million Canada-wide launch of two new brands of pre-mixed carbonated alcoholic spritzers this spring is a sure sign of sweeping transformation and disruption unfolding in North American markets for adult beverages of all types.

Produced and packaged at various production and co-packing facilities across Canada, the new Coors Seltzer and Vizzy Hard Seltzer brands of fruit-flavored cocktail mixes represent a dramatic side-step from the brewer’s well-traveled path of chasing market share gains in flat slow-growth beer markets into a promising new beverage industry segment posting stunning rates of growth in

recent years.

“These are the biggest innovation launches that we have had at Molson Coors Canada in the last 10 years,” says Leslie Malcolm, the company’s brand director for seltzer, flavour and emerging growth.

“There is a huge opportunity presented to us by huge consumer demand for products that are lower in calories and sugar, while also still delivering on the critical consumer needs of taste, flavor and value,” Malcolm told Canadian Packaging in a recent interview on the eve of the new product rollout supported by massive television advertising and other elaborate marketing campaigns targeting much younger and trendier demographics compared to the traditional beer drinking audience of yesteryear.

“There an explosive growth in demand for better-for-you beverages,” says Malcolm, citing a “perfect storm” of gamechanging consumer trends driving the popularity of RTD (ready-to-drink) beverage category in general, with spritzers in particular leading the charge.

May 2021 · CANADIANPACKAGING

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BRAND PACKAGING

Having already successfully launched both new spritzer brands in the U.S. last year, Chicago-headquartered Molson Coors is so upbeat on replicating that early success north of the border that the company has identified hard seltzer as a top priority for the company’s Canadian business.

According to market research firm Nielsen Consumer LLC, the U.S. market for hard seltzers topped US$2.7-billion in June of 2020, while the number of available hard seltzer brands has sored from 10 at the be-

SHAWPACK 38

ginning of 2018 to over 65 brands last year.

According to Malcolm, the Canadian market offers a similarly lucrative opportunity to capitalize on the consumers’ shift to adult beverage like seltzers, which offer the appeal of innovative flavor combinations, the convenience of RTD format, low calorie content and clean-label ingredient lists.

“The growth in refreshment beverages shows no sign of slowing down,” says Malcolm, citing 300-percent annual growth in market demand for hard seltzers.

“And with new flavors, new categories and new verticals coming into play, we’re only going to see that momentum continue,” says Malcolm, citing younger drinkers turning legal age and the increasingly more health-conscious older drinkers for driving the burgeoning seltzer category to phenomenal market share growth at the expense of traditional beer, wine and spirit products.

“We are seeing consumers of all age groups that are actively looking for something a little bit lighter and better for you,” says Malcolm, adding that the two new seltzer brands are strategically positioned to satisfy both groups.

Targeting the more mature segment of the market, the Vizzy Hard Seltzer is available in Canada in four innovative dual-flavor varieties that include Pineapple Mango, Blueberry Pomegranate, Black Cherry Lime and Strawberry Kiwi, each containing the brand’s signature antioxidant Vitamin C from acerola superfruit.

For its part, the Coors Seltzer brand—available in Black Cherry, Lemon Lime, Mango and Grapefruit flavors—is leveraging its parent beer’s brand equity to targeting the younger generation of drinkers and market newcomers.

Featuring the brand’s iconic mountain graphics, the brand’s on-pack messaging also proclaims its allegiance to environmental sustainability by pledging to restore Canada’s fresh water reserves through collaboration with local conservation authorities across the country.

All of the new seltzer products are packaged in sleek direct-printed 355-ml aluminum cans—supplied by CROWN Beverage Packaging LLC—decorated with clean but lively product imagery and graphics set against the signature Coors ‘Silver Bullet’ background hue.

“We expect that Coors Seltzer to 38 CANADIANPACKAGING · May 2021

act as a really great filter brand to bring people into the category,” says Malcolm, “whereas Vizzy primarily targets a seasoned spritzer drinker looking for differentiation on the shelf, which the brand delivers with our unique dual flavors and our standout packaging.”

Says Malcolm: “With all the choice consumers have now, we believe that having standout premium packaging is a critical driver of purchase intent.

“The Coors Seltzer packaging actively portrays the iconic trademark mountain caps to convey refreshment cues and our water-saving mission,” Malcolm explains.

“For Vizzy, it was really about breaking about breaking the category conventions and breaking the mold,” she states.

“That’s where the bright orange and other vivid colors come in: it is meant to be highly disruptive on the shelf from a packaging perspective.”

As Malcolm relates, both brands are now being sold nationally at approved retailers in single-serve, sixpacks, and mixed 12- and 24-packs, as allowed by the individual provincial regulations on alcohol sales and

distribution.

According to Malcolm, harmonizing all the different provincial regulations with the company’s production planning was one of many intense pre-launch challenges the company had to address, along with building up a reliable network of production and co-packing partners to facilitate a smooth cross-country product rollout “We are very proud of the fact that both products are 100-percent made-in-Canada,” Malcolm states.

“Our production partners are working hand-in-hand with our

team to enable us to achieve our big ambitions,” Malcolm states, “and our co-packing partners are also essential for distributing the mix-pack SKUs (stock-keeping units), with mix-packs being a huge driver in the growth of the seltzer category, which naturally gravitates towards mixpacks.

“So there is a heavy load of co-packing to be done with these brands,” she says, “and we’re very thankful that we have a great network of production and co-packing partners across Ontario and Quebec.”

As Malcolm reiterates, the Molson Coors Beverage Company has spared no effort or capital to ensure that both new seltzer brands will follow their early market success in the U.S., where the company reportedly boosted its seltzer production by about 400 per cent last year.

“These two brands represent the most transformational move we’ve made in our journey to become a beverage company,” says Malcolm, referencing symbolic significance of the company’s name change from the former Molson Coors Brewing banner in 2019.

“It’s not only a shift in our business model but in our company culture,” Malcolm sates.

“We have made seltzers our ‘Number One’ commercial priority for 2021,” she says, “which speaks to the size of ambition we have, and how deadly serious we are about the seltzer category.

“It’s a big step for us,” Malcolm concludes, but as a company that has been around for 245 years, we have taken a lot of steps in the past, and will continue to do so in the future.”

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Earthly delights hold key to long-term sustainability / Jaan Koel

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good old common grubs that typically munch on clean post-industrial waste like cereals, fruits, vegetables, etc., after which they are dried up, grounded and processed into kibble alongside other ingredients (including seaweed!) to achieve the desired taste profile that cats really seem to enjoy. Containing lots of protein, vitamins, omega 6, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, minerals and other things that are good for your furry companions, the Nuna brand cat food is tastefully packaged in large five-kilogram stand-up LDPE (low-density polyethylene) bags oozing with playful colors, clever graphics and well-organized product claim callouts on the front panel, while providing a plethora of interesting product information on the back panels, grouped under headings like “Little Grubs, Big Benefits,” and “Reduce Your Ecological Pawprint.”

A real cat’s meow, I dare say. package the EarthWater brand of spring water marketed by The Earth Group.

Based in Edmonton, the company has already displayed its sustainability credentials with its Earth Coffee brand of Fairtrade-certified organic coffee by affiliating the brand to the United Nations’ World Food Program—recipient of the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize—by donating its profits from the brand to provide an additional 400,000 school meals to children around the world per year. While there is no WFP accreditation featured on the Earth Water bottle graphics, the fully-recyclable wide-mouth container— topped off with a one-inch reclosable metal screw-cap just above the conical shoulders—provides consumers with an upscale, highly reusable, and infinitely recyclable packaging option that has already been picked up by leading grocers like Loblaws and Whole Foods Market, along with a growing number of hotel chains across the country.

(Clockwise) Sea Green Algues roasted seaweed wafers; the Head Massager utensil; Earth Water and Earth Coffee brands in earthfriendly packaging; the Catit Nuna brand of cat-food made with insect protein.

While domestic cats may care little about Despite massive efforts to boost their re- sustainability, it is not unreasonable to cycling rates, plastic water bottles con- expect their feline-loving owners to be tinue to be reviled by many environment- mindful over their beloved pets’ environal groups around the world for their mental ‘pawprint,’ if you will. To that end, contribution to the plastic pollution crisis Canadian cat-care products innovator plaguing our oceans. Say what one may Catit has developed a new Nuna brand about the scientific merits behind the of premium dry cat food containing argument, there is no argument to be had 92-percent sustainable insect protein. with the 473-ml aluminum bottles used to Not just any insects, mind you, but the

Coping with stress in these COVID-19 lockdown days makes many people virtually pull the hair out, but a spindly little Head Massager contraption from Mississauga, Ont.-based Upper Canada TheraWell offers a brilliantly simple therapeutic remedy by enabling you to give yourself arguably the best head massage ever, at least in our current social-distancing lifestyle. Consisting of a rounded handle connected to 12 flexible smoothtipped metal wires that you comb through your hair and move gently around the scalp, the Head Massager quickly stimulates a multitude of pressure points along the head’s surface to produce a marvelous tingling sensation that noticeably invigorates both the body and mind for the daily tasks ahead. And unlike a comb or hairbrush, it actually look pretty cool just standing up on its own as a bathroom shelf or counter decoration of sorts. Conversely, the whole contraption neatly slides back inside the original plastic tube in which retails, making it an easy traveling companion as well as a low-footprint storage container that easily fits into the tightest space or corner until your next relaxing self-therapy session.

JAAN KOEL is a freelance writer living in Toronto.

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cientists say that we know more about outer space than we do about the seven seas here on earth. Our oceans have been a source of food, fortune and surprise since time immemorial. Imported from Korea, the Sea Greens Algues seaweed wafers are a testament to the diverse variety of nutritional options offered by the sea to modern consumers.

According to many culinary experts, edible seaweed is considered to be a ‘superfood’ packed with fiber and other useful nutrients and vitamins, which grows naturally in the oceans without any pesticides, fertilizers, fresh water, energy inputs or, of course, the use of arable land. Offered in Garlic, Spicy and Korean BBQ flavors, the roasted seaweed snacks are stacked eight per pack in recyclable plastic trays and overwrapped with an attractive paper-thin printed poly-aluminum pouch that’s securely heat-sealed at both ends. Each individual five-gram portion, comprising three rectangular-shaped strips inside a thing cellophane wrapper, contains a silica gel desiccant to keep the wafers dry and crisp, with each part of the package claimed to be recyclable. Assuming that is the case, I am sure that Canadian consumers will see more and more sea-harvested product like that becoming increasingly more mainstream as part of the broader worldwide efforts to stem the tide against relentless global warming, in which traditional livestock farming, like it or not, plays a disproportionately large role. And with innovative Canadian companies like Cascadia Seaweed Corp. in Sidney, B.C, and Acadian Seaplants Ltd. in Dartmouth, N.S., starting to commercialize their seaweed farm operations, there will be less need to search the world to get your hands on these nutritious and healthy alternatives to traditional snacking indulgences offering far less nutritional value.

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