Developed for Scottish Shellfish by the specialist transit packaging team at Cepac, the novel ‘Chiller Pack’ design was formally registered with the Intellectual Property Office last month.
The design allows for dry transportation of fish and shellfish, to avoid the fresh produce sitting in water, which can compromise freshness. Traditionally, fresh seafood is transported in expanded polystyrene (EPS) boxes.
Scottish Shellfish supplies mussels and oysters to restaurants, retailers and wholesalers across the UK. To keep seafood fresh, the Chiller Pack uses a unique corrugated cardboard design in combination with waterproof liner technology, which enables excess water to drain away from the product, leaving only fresh ice within the fresh food package.
The team at Cepac, the UK’s leading independent corrugated packaging producer, focused on sustainability when designing the new packaging, a theme which is pertinent across the entire aquaculture industry. The pack is made of recyclable materials, whilst also reducing the need for secondary plastic outer packaging or wrapping.
The Chiller Pack design won gold in the Best New Concept category at the 2019 UK Packaging Awards and is currently shortlisted for the Innovation Prize at this year’s Aquaculture Awards, which are due to be held in September.
Nigel Hobson, sales and commercial manager at Cepac Rawcliffe, explained: “The Chiller Pack is a great example of how we work closely with industry to create novel solutions that support specific requirements – such as transporting fresh seafood. Using a unique design, we have created a new product for this important sector, offering the customer a highly sustainable pack with excellent product protection in the supply chain”.
