Breaking news at Tokyo Pack was word of the launch of Soft Cheer, the next generation of the popular pouch pack concept, Cheer Pack. PKN spoke to the inventor of both pack formats, Toru Ichikawa, MD International Business at packaging converter Hosokawa Yoko Co., Ltd. about the design modifications in the new version.
As its name implies, Soft Cheer is a soft pouch; it's designed without the ridged edges that Cheer Pack has, and with a single seal down the side.
Mr Ichikawa said that the need for a redesign arose because many of the applications are for products consumed by children (for example, juices, yoghurts, fruit snacks) and also by the sick or elderly (like nutritional products), so the new design is aimed at ensuring the pack has no sharp edges that could potentially cause discomfort.
An added benefit is that the production of the pouch uses 15% less material than for Cheer Pack.
Hosokawa Yoko is represented in Australia by Metalprint, and director of business development, Terry Waterson was also on the stand at Tokyo Pack. He told PKN that Soft Cheer will be available in Australia soon, and would be targeting juice and the lunch box snack markets, among others like soft squeeze packs for mayonnaise, salad dressings, tomato sauce, marinades and food sauces. He noted also that the pouch material, a PET / Aluminium Foil / Nylon / PE laminate delivers a long shelf life at ambient conditions, but also makes the pouch suitable for freezing, creating opportunities in the frozen yoghurt and ice cream sectors. Cheer Pack has been used for frozen dairy snack foods like ice cream in Japan and Korea for a number of years.
Soft Cheer inventor Toru Ichikawa of Hosokawa Yoko and Australian representative, Terry Waterson of Metalprint, show off the new pouch.
There were a number of other innovations which Hosokawa Yoko had on display and which Metalprint will also be bringing to Australia. PKN will cover these in its Tokyo Pack report in the Nov-Dec print issue.
