E-commerce ? particularly online grocery shopping ? has become a ?mainstream part of American life? during the COVID-19 pandemic, and ?retailers have had to act fast to keep up with demand,? according to a report from Digital Commerce 360. U.S. online sales of consumer packaged goods (CPGs) grew 56% the week ending April 18 compared with the same period a year prior, with food sales up 69.5% year-over-year for that week.

Because all of the OmniPack bottles share the same footprint, co-packers can add a new size or switch quickly from one size to another without adjusting guiderails or other variables. Image courtesy Amcor.

Helping to meet this demand, packaging manufacturer Amcor has designed a family of stock polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles that helps co-packers meet the requirements for e-commerce packaging. Omni-Pack PET bottles increase capacity and reduce downtime because they have the same diameter and finish ??only the height changes to accommodate varying fill volumes.

?Our customers want e-commerce-ready packaging,? said Greg Rosati, Vice President of Marketing for Amcor. ?With OmniPack, Amcor is optimizing commercialization and helping companies take products from concept to cart, faster.?

According to Rosati, the entire supply chain moves quickly, and brands and co-packers require packaging that keeps pace while withstanding the rigors of this channel. Small- and medium-sized brands with niche products have found that e-commerce supports their growth.

Among the latest trends in e-commerce are younger consumers exploring new brands and products. At the same time, the industry has seen a shift in how products are packaged. For example, it?s not uncommon now for salad dressing to be packaged in beverage bottles or for olive oil to come in wine bottles, noted Amcor.

Amcor believes co-packers are uniquely positioned to satisfy these needs for optimized e-commerce packaging because they provide flexibility, agility, and resourcefulness. OmniPack maximizes operations and provides flexibility for co-packers by providing a range of PET containers in 1-, 10-, and 12-oz sizes with a 38-mm finish that accepts continuous-thread or beverage-style closures. Because all the containers have the same footprint, a co-packer can add a new size or switch quickly from one size to another without adjusting guiderails or other variables that involve time and labor. The only adjustment is fill height.

OmniPack containers greatly reduce or eliminate the need for secondary packaging and meet Amazon?s requirements for Prep-Free Packaging. They pass ISTA 6 requirements, eliminate damage and product loss, and minimize shipping costs.

PET has rapidly become the world?s preferred packaging material because it is lightweight, shatterproof, recloseable, resealable, reusable, and infinitely recyclable with existing technologies, including chemical recycling. Additionally, PET bottles often have the lowest carbon footprint and their production results in up to 70% less greenhouse gas emissions than other packaging materials, according to Amcor?s Asset Lifecycle Analysis.

» Publication Date: 06/05/2020

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