| With an eye toward performance and shelf appeal, Constar International (NASDAQ:CNST) has introduced a new line of PET wide mouth jars for hot fill foods. No matter what is thrown at them—the heat and pressure of the hot fill process, the inevitable bumps and bruises of the supply chain, the unexpected fall to a supermarket or kitchen floor these containers come out looking like a champ. |
The all-star attributes—an unbreakable, monolayer construction, high-barrier protection and crystal-like clarity, make Constar’s PET wide mouth jars the perfect alternative to glass and multi-layer plastic containers for processed foods like pasta sauces, salsas, jellies and jams, as well as many other foods and beverages.
Constar has infused the new jars with two specialized technologies. The first, DiamondClear™, ensures product freshness, flavor, and color thanks to an oxygen scavenger that is blended into a single layer of PET. Second, the jars are created using Constar’s Vertical Compensation Technology™ (VCT™), which employs an innovative design structure to compensate for high temperature filling and processing, demonstrated to withstand temperatures as high as 200°F degrees. The VCT-based structure also delivers an important sensory benefit. It feels strong even though it is made of lightweight plastic.
Constar marketing director Alex Fioravanti explains. “Vertical Compensation Technology gives our wide-mouth food jars a rigid feel that equates to strength in the hands of consumers. It’s a lightweight plastic jar that won’t break if dropped, an added value for consumers. In production, our VCT jars are easier to label compared to plastic jars that use side grips for vacuum compensation.”
Constar offers a range of stock wide mouth PET jars to meet specific product or serving requirements. “Our stock jars have been designed with traditional industry shapes in mind and to facilitate customers’ integration of new packages into customer operations. We can also design custom PET wide-mouth food jars for companies that prefer a unique ‘branded’ package shape,” Fioravanti says.
Constar’s new range of wide mouth food jar offers important sustainability advantages. PET is lightweight and highly recyclable, attributes that are fully exploited in VCT technology, which doesn’t require a lot of material to achieve the desired rigidity. This ability to reduce the amount of material provides a significant advantage over glass.
“Food companies looking for high performance packaging with the sustainability advantages of PET can rely on Constar to provide the optimum packaging solution,” Fioravanti says. “Our wide-mouth food jars with VCT technology and DiamondClear oxygen scavenger are designed to work in production, in the supply chain, in retail, and in the hands of consumers—and look good doing it.”
