Pretty Packages

 

The strange, box-like packages began appearing in supermarkets back in 1981. Made of laminates of paper, plastic, and foil, they resembled nothing so much as paper bottles. Officially, they were known as aseptic containers, but packaging people called them Brik Paks, after Brik Pak Inc. of Dallas, the principal manufacturer. By whatever name, they were said to mark a "packaging revolution."

For juice companies, Brik Paks appeared to offer all kinds of advantages over bottles and cans. They looked unusual; they generally cost less to manufacture and ship, they used space more efficiently, had a shelf life of six months, and didn't need refrigeration. "No matter which way we turned, they made perfect sense," says Gordon Crane, president of Apple & Eve Inc., a family-operated company in Great Neck, N.Y. Others, including Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc., agreed.

Two years later, it is clear they were right. Ocean Spray, for one, saw its annual revenues jump from $361 million in fiscal 1982 to $417 million in fiscal 1983, an increase that it attributes significantly to the new containers. The company figures it is saving 100 on the cost of packaging juices and 300 on concentrates.

Small companies like Apple & Eve -- which make up 60% of Brik Pak's customer list -- have also done well. "It's just been a smashing success," says Crane. Although the technology is expensive, Crane estimates that Brik Paks have cut the company's packaging costs by about 10% per container. As a result, Apple & Eve has been able to move strongly into the single-serving market, increasing sales by $2 million, to $14 million this year.

As for the future, cheeses, yogurt, and soups are all ripe for the plucking, and it seems likely that they will be the next to fall to aseptic's allure.