ILLIG unveils salad cup with a kick

ILLIG, global supplier of thermoforming systems and tool systems for thermoplastics and cardboard, is presenting a new smart, hygienically useable salad cup system.

The three-part packaging system, made for the company Hotpack Packaging Industries ILLC, Dubai, is volumetrically variable and consists of a salad cup, a tight-fitting lid and a container for dressing that is integrated into the inside of the lid. All parts are made of APET. The complete mono-material packaging can simply be recycled after use. the trick to the packaging is the round holder, formed with undercuts on the inside, which allows for the safe use of a smaller container. ILLIG went through its “Pactivity 360” process with the client for this application. The tooling and production system was implemented under the umbrella of Toolsys tool development. All necessary processes from the creation of the application profile to the design and production to the commissioning of the complete thermoforming system, including the toolset, were carried out from a single source.

Freshness to go

Ready-to-eat salad cups already contain the dressing, the chopped and washed lettuce and any other additions. The ingredients are mixed together after opening. These fresh, ready-to-eat meals are especially popular among people with little time as a light snack, as they can be taken straight from the refrigerated shelf to the office or packed for in-between meals. Salad cups belong to takeaway packaging, which is essential for hygiene and food safety. They are also often the only transportation alternative for food that cannot be consumed on-site. This was clearly demonstrated by practices in many countries during the Covid 19 pandemic. Due to hygiene regulations, restaurants and sales outlets of prepared food were dependent on these packaging solutions.

For perfect application with ILLIG Pactivity

Compared to other salad cup packaging, the packaging system for salad preparations implemented by ILLIG not only takes into account the aspects of Design for Recycling (D4R) for environmentally friendly recycling, but also the use of materials is sustainably reduced by eliminating the need for a separate dressing cup lid. ILLIG accompanied Hotpack Packaging Industries in the realisation of the project from the very beginning through the “Pactivity 360” packaging development process. The result is a mono-material system, produced in a resource-saving manner, easy to recycle, stack and transport. The company believes its packaging to be simple, safe and hygienic to handle, perfectly matched to the goods to be packaged and attractively designed for the point of sale. The lid, with a diameter of 122 mm made of 0.4 mm thick APET film, fits cups of the appropriate diameter with different draw depths. This allows the sales volume to be flexibly adjusted depending on the product variant.

ILLIG has realised the tool for the lid with undercuts for the integration of the dressing container in a short time. The 20-cavity lid mold is already in operation at the customer’s site on an ILLIG production system IC-RDK 80 and produces over 40,000 lids per hour.

The packaging system meets high hygiene standards as dressing and salad can be filled without touching. And the packaging is practical with its easy to open lid, and the dressing container is clean and simple to remove. Another advantage is the inner cup, which is securely fixed during transport. This is gentle on the pressure-sensitive salad leaves. The product remains attractive and crackly until it is eaten. The view into conventional salad cups, on the other hand, is not always appetising: soggy lettuce as a result of separate dressing containers or bags, or due to salad dressing being already distributed before the product is sold. The described thermoformed packaging system for portioned salads enriches the market of take-away packaging, according to ILLIG.

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