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Film-laminated cartons deliver for P&G

Procter & Gamble improves moisture barrier in its dry detergent cartons by shifting from a lacquer coating to film/paperboard lamination.

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Following a lengthy exploration of alternatives, Procter & Gamble switched the packaging of its dry detergent cartons to a film/paperboard lamination. Previously, the Cincinnati-based company used paperboard cartons that had a gravure-press-applied lacquer for moisture barrier.

“We initially brought this package to the market about two years ago,” says Denny Ruehl, senior engineer/scientist in packaging product development for cleaning products at P&G. “We tied it into one of our product initiatives, specifically quick-dissolving-action Tide.” During 2002, the company began to convert all sizes of its cartons for all Tide varieties, along with those of its Cheer and Gain brands.

Earlier, P&G evaluated a number of different structures, all geared to improving the moisture barrier for the package. In the end, it decided on an adhesive lamination of 60-ga GRX film from AET Films to one-side, clay-coated recycled boxboard in 24- to 28-pt calipers, depending on box size. GRX is an acrylic-coated oriented polypropylene film. Boxes come from two sources, Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. and Specialized Packaging Group.

The motivation for the change was consumer complaints about lumping and caking of the powdered products. Both P&G product and package development groups monitor consumer complaints to the company’s consumer response lines. “Historically, one of the major complaints—very close to the top from a packaging perspective—is the issue of product lumping when the consumer tries to use the scoop to transfer the detergent to the washing machine,” Ruehl recalls. “We addressed how we could reduce those complaints.”

As Ruehl points out, some of these complaints are seasonal, even regional. To date, he reports, “we’ve seen a ‘directional’ reduction in complaints since we made the packaging change.” The company won’t claim that it’s a huge or a significant statistical change, but “the new package has affected the number of complaints,” Ruehl states.

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