Plastic Technologies: Two-container snap-fit PET package now available to brand owners

The Clasper package is now being made available to brand owners that want to market a product in a package with two separate containers.

It provides a unique packaging solution for boundary-pushing food, beverage, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, industrial, and household chemical products. The Clasper concept enables two different products to be consumed in sequence or mixed together and then consumed.

The first commercialization of this new technology was the recent introduction of Yumix portable, shelf-stable line of cocktails. The Clasper technology combines two PET containers, with the bottom container snapping into the base of the larger top bottle. The cocktail line launch features a bottom container that holds 50 ml. of premium alcohol and a main bottle that holds 6.5 oz. of hot-filled, shelf-stable juice. The size and shape of the compartments can be altered to accommodate other applications.

The Clasper package concept was introduced by Yumix founder Alex Garner and was engineered by Plastic Technologies, Inc. The challenge for Plastic Technologies, Inc. was to find the right geometry and bottle weight to keep the dimensions within the appropriate tolerances so that the snap fit was consistently achieved. But the containers also needed to be easily separable by the consumer.

“With brand owners continuing to develop new products and create new sub-categories, we wanted to create a disruptive package type that pushes traditional boundaries. It gives companies a way to market companion products—such as two liquids or a liquid and a powder—that, for whatever reason, cannot be premixed,” explained Ron Puvak, director of marketing and new business development, Plastic Technologies, Inc.

Although the Clasper package was originally designed for a hot-fill application, modifications can be made to accommodate other process types. The containers can also be decorated via a shrink sleeve, which provides added visual appeal and usage instructions.