NX® UltraClear PP offered Spain’s ITC a clear packaging alternative

Fancy a sparkling clear plastic alternative to glass for packaging a vegetable snack? Want it to feature a high degree of transparency that transmits to consumers the freshness and naturalness of the product?

ITC Packaging did, so they turned to Milliken Chemical to help make it happen. ITC, a major Spanish plastics packaging producer, was seeking a new container that it could add to its Flexipack range of standard packaging products.

The two firms also involved Belgium-based in-mould labeling specialist Verstraete IML, and together they created the desired package using NX® UltraClear™ polypropylene, which can only be made using Milliken’s Millad® NX® 8000 clarifier. Containers moulded from NX® UltraClear PP offer eye-popping clarity and transparency. Additionally, they are lightweight, recyclable, microwaveable, and can be hot-filled.

More transparent packaging

“This solution comes in response to one of our customers’ greatest demands,” according to Silvia Oliver, ITC’s manager responsible for quality — “to achieve more transparent packaging that allows for a clear display of the product with a minimum of visual interference.”

Alexis Moreno, account manager in ITC’s sales department, added that, “Any product that wants to use its appearance as a sales tool for differentiation will find an ideal companion in this solution.”

Verstraete IML’s SuperClear IML label, meanwhile, further enhances the product’s transparency and marketing potential, notes Benedict Adins, Verstraete IML’s regional sales manager for Southern Europe. SuperClear IML offers several benefits, including: highly transparent, see-through areas that create a “no-label” look; great flexibility with no changeover costs or delay; a technique that allows a huge number of different IML looks to be created with the same keyline; and the possibility of a “floating label” look (with the label being printed only on the upper part of the packaging).

Brands know very well that attractive packaging plays a key role in a competitive retail marketplace. Allowing consumers to clearly see the product they’re buying only enhances the shelf appeal. That’s why ITC Packaging chose to work with Milliken and Verstraete IML to deliver the clearly best end result.