Packaging innovations: Coca-Cola bottler turns to fiber-based multi-pack in the US
Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages will start using Graphic Packaging International's fiber-based KeelClip solution for multi-pack packaging: making it the first in the US to do so.
The KeelClip packaging uses fiber-based packaging for can multipacks, eliminating the need for plastic rings and shrink wrap. It was launched in Europe in 2019 and has now been used with more than 550 million packs worldwide, including Coca-Cola in Europe.
It is estimated to have saved more than 3 million pounds of plastic in 2021.
As the local bottler for northeastern US, Liberty will use the KeelClip with its products in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Delaware. A new KeelClip 1600 multipacking machine at Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages’ Elmsford, NY production facility is the first to be installed in the US.
This transition will remove 75,000 pounds of plastic packaging per year from the supply chain for approximately 3.1 million cases.
As well as reducing plastic, KeelClip lists its benefits as including enhanced hygiene (as can tops are protected by the fiber packaging), plus easy-to-remove cans and finger holes for ergonomic carrying. The assembly process also enables cans to be oriented for optimal brand presence.
