The History of Packaging Timelines

The history of packaging begin in medieval time when the early human started exploring options to carry its left over food and water from one place to another. In order to preserve and transport the food he needed some devices. He began to use plant leaves, animal skin, hollow woods to contain and carry his items for survival.

7000 B.C. - glass making began as an of shoot to pottery

1500 B.C - glass making was industrialized in Egypt enabling them to contain food and water

1200 B.C. - glass was pressed into molds to make cups and bowls.

200 B.C.- the Chinese began using treated mulberry bark to transport food which further developed into the art of paper making.

1200 A.D. - the process of tin plating was discovered in Bohemia ;cans of iron, coated with tin, were known in Bavaria as early as the 14th century.

1310 A.D. - the unique skills of Chinese paper making reached in England

1809 - General Napoleon Bonaparte promised to offer 12,000 francs to anyone who could successfully preserve food for his army. Nicholas Appert, a Parisian chef , found that food sealed in tin containers and sterilized by boiling may result in the preservation of foods for long periods. In 1810, Peter Durand of Britain received a patent for tinplate after devising the sealed cylindrical can.

1817 - the ﬁrst commercial cardboard box was manufactured in England

Plastic era began

1831 - Styrene was distilled from a balsam tree

1835 - Vinyl chloride monomer was discovered

1844 - the first commercial production of paper bags in England

1866 - ofﬁcial trademarks were pioneered in by Smith Brothers for the branding of their cough drops marketed in glass jars.

1906 - William Kellogg began using cardboard for cereal cartons.

1950 - Polyethylene was invented.

1960 - single piece all-aluminium cans were made by Reynolds and Alcoa.

1977 - Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE) invented the most used material for beverage packaging.

1980s, 1990s, 2000s: Now

The rise of new age packaging materials and techniques

The internet revolution

Smart Packaging

Barcodes

Sustainable Packaging

the list goes on and on ....

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The Medieval Packaging: The era of hunters and gatherers

The packaging is an ancient industry dating back to around 5000 B.C. when the humans were merely hunters and gatherers. The very first need for packaging was felt for the transportation of left over food form one place to another. The movement of tribes and own survival forced them to invent some sort of containers to contain and carry the food, water and tools with them and hence the hard shelled fruits were prized as their first containers. When the earlier cities were domesticated a plethora of packaging materials were used for storage, transportation and protect the essential items. Early protective packaging designs were made of plant leaves and animal skin as they were easily available in the proximity. Bottle Gourds Nuts and bottle gourds were used by these prehistoric people and radiocarbon dating indicates their presence in the Americas by 10,000 years ago. ...

Functions of Packaging: Packaging System Levels

Before we get into Functions of Packaging. We must first have an understanding of Levels of Packaging. Then we can easily connect each level of packaging with the 5 functions. On each of our post this week, we will explain how each level perform the five functions. Levels of Packaging: 1. Primary Package - The first wrap or containment of the product. 2. Secondary Package - Holds one or several primary packages 3. Tertiary Package (Shipper or Distribution) - Groups packages for handling - protects during shipping 4. Unit Load - A number of shippers assembled into a single unit for mass handling Each of these functions are integrated into each other to allow a successful product journey from manufacturers to worldwide market. hence these levels of packaging are key heroes on the front-line!!

Coca-Cola European Partners delivers a first in Europe through the introduction of CanCollar® technology

Coca-Cola European Partners has today announced the introduction of CanCollar®, an innovative paperboard packaging solution, for multi pack cans in Spain. The move supports its work, in partnership with Coca-Cola, to remove all unnecessary or hard to recycle plastic from its portfolio, avoiding the use of more than 11,000 tonnes of virgin plastic a year across Western Europe. Innovative packaging design is a core principle of Coca-Cola’s World Without Waste strategy and through collaboration with WestRock, a global company that provides its customers with sustainable differentiated packaging solutions, Coca-Cola European Partners will start to use the CanCollar® paperboard can ring technology in the Balearic Islands, replacing the current Hi-cone solution and saving more than 18 tonnes of plastic annually. Coca-Cola European Partners has invested 2.6 million euros in its Barcelona plant to support this initiative. The installation of WestRock’s CanCollar® Fortun...

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