The Quad-Bag-In-Box

On my blog “Best In Packaging” I recently posted various articles about wine in Bag-in-Box, one of the fast moving packaging formats in the wine industry. To be sturdy a Bag-in-Box system generally has to consist of a heavy duty outer box to hold the pillow inner bag which tends to cause undue pressure on the outer box.

Some years ago, Elite Packaging in the UK, developed a gusseted bag, which is sealed in each corner of the bag. The advantage of this new and revolutionary design is that the bag becomes more stable, is more-or-less square and sits better and more efficient in a cardboard box. It forms a cubic shape when filled and its unique structure ensures minimal lateral bulge. The Quad Bag (2 words) was born. Felton Packaging introduced in 2007 the Quad-Bag-In-Box to Premier Foods’ Sarsons Vinegar in the UK for its 20 litres malt vinegar.

Up till recently the Quad Bag only has been used for larger volumes, i.e. somewhere around 20 litres and more, but times are changing.

Quadbag (one word) is the trade name of a brand new Bag-in-Box system from SCA Packaging in Sweden. The name hints that a bag fills all the way out into the corners using the box’s whole volume. The Quadbag is a self-supporting solution, which minimises the risk of the box becoming swollen. The chance of “chubby” boxes is avoided even if the corrugated cardboard packaging is made of a thinner material than usual.

The quadrangular QuadBag is designed in a way which makes it possible to empty out the bag. This is one of its main advantages over Bag-in-Box applications with a pillow bag which always leave a small amount of liquid in the bag. Tearing up the corrugated cardboard box in order to squeeze the last few precious drops out of the packaging is now history.

It is available in a variety of bags sizes and liners, in combination with different pumps, and is easily adaptable to standard filling machines. Environmentally, the Quadbag uses less packaging material and once the packaging is empty, the box and the bag can easily be divided and both parts are fully recyclable.
The smooth printing surface of the Quadbag provides an excellent branding medium to make the product stand out at point of sale.

Note: Why do I indicate in my text: one word and two words. Well, if the SCA Quadbag comes to America there might be a small problem with the name. Although the word “quad” signifies: A rectangular object surrounded on all sides, a google-search of the word ‘quadbag’ gives as one of the first hits the Urban Dictionary, defining ‘quadbag’ as “when four people simultaneously t-bag one person at the same time.” The Urban Dictionary giving more details, I can’t quote here. Definitely not a welcome trademark.

Artfully ‘Green’ Packages for Fresh Greens - Designed to protect each product as well as the environment, the new packages adopted by Tanimura & Antle Fresh Foods Inc. and Earthbound Farm are almost as “green” as the products themselves. One claims that its living lettuce is “so beautiful, that it comes with a bodyguard,” i.e. a new, custom-designed scalloped clamshell for Artisan Lettuce, the other is completely different as the company decided to switch to 100% PCR PET. …. read the full article.