PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2021

BOTTLING / FILLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 04/21 www.petpla.net 22 Sangaria tackles green tea and sparkling water boom with Sidel’s aseptic PET packaging solution When aseptic matters To handle aseptic carbonated and still drinks in PET bottles on the same line was the intention of Japanese beverage company Sangaria when acquiring Sidel’s Aseptic Combi Predis. This investment is also intended to support Sangaria to widen its production portfolio in the future. In Japan, the local, fast-ageing con- sumer base is becoming increasingly health-conscious. For food and bever- age producers, this puts an increas- ing focus on the introduction of new, added-value products and demands a careful tailoring of the existing ones to tackle specific needs and expectations around health and packaging function- alities. Alongside, premiumisation is also projected to show strong develop- ment in this market. According to Global Data 2020, enhanced and flavoured water, as well as tea and energy drinks, are the best performing beverages in Japan with substantial forecast growth in the upcoming years. Seasonality, as a key purchasing factor, plays an important role for these beverages, as sparkling water is particularly preferred in summer, but green tea and coffee are more popular in the winter season. Therefore, Sangaria is continuously innovating to diversify its portfolio of drinks, which includes many soft drink brands infused with vitamins and marketed for their health benefits. The company’s motto ‘Sangaria, always searching for natu- ral beverages’ summarises this busi- ness strategy. From hot-filling to aseptic Initially, Sangaria was using hot-fill technologies to manufacture its sensi- tive beverages like green teas and juices. When the company decided to increase sales with milk-based prod- ucts in 2011, moving to aseptic PET production was chosen as a better choice. For this strategic step, San- garia turned to Sidel. Sangaria’s CEO, Ishiyama san, was personally involved in the decision and visited different Sidel customers active in aseptic beverage manufacturing. Sangaria became the first bottling company in Japan to acquire the Aseptic Combi Predis, the Sidel integrated aseptic blow-fill-seal solution including the dry preform sterilisation. Increased production capacity The main objective for Sangaria was to invest in a new aseptic PET packaging line, able to produce sparkling water, carbonated soft drinks (CSD) and still beverages while offering production flexibil- ity for new product launches in the future. As carbonated beverages, including sparkling water and green tea, are booming in Japan, Sangaria was looking for an increase in its production capacity. With the Sidel Versatile Aseptic Combi Predis, they enlarged their capability to produce still beverages and CSD aseptically in PET bottles on the same line. This allows increased production flexibility with the same filling mag- netic valve to aseptically handle all sensitive low and high acid products with no need for valve changeo- vers while ensuring reliability and product integrity. Sangaria now can manage various milk-based prod- ucts and barley green tea – previ- ously bottled on hot-filling lines – as well as healthy sparkling water in 500 ml and 1 l containers. With the new filling line, Sangaria is running the production of 500 ml bottles at 24,000 bph. The production flexibil- ity is also enhanced with the tool- less mould changeover, the Bottle Switch, which enables fast interven- tions. Sterilised blowing process The technology at the core of the Sidel Versatile Aseptic Combi Predis merges dry preform sterilisation with aseptic blowing, filling and sealing functions within a single production enclosure. As such, it respects the fundamental concept that underpins state-of-the-art aseptic packaging rules: producing a commercially sterile product, filled in a sterile Enhanced and flavoured water, as well as tea and energy drinks, are the best performing beverages in Japan.