Chilled! A producer of outstanding fresh organic ice-cream, Rocombe Farm, has chosen expanded polystyrene (EPS) to package its newest product line.
"We wanted to find a way to keep the temperature of the ice-cream cool longer. We investigated ways of improving the insulating properties of card — but we couldn’t find any way of doing that. So we began looking into EPS." A key concern for Redstone was the recycling of EPS. After a thorough investigation he was convinced that EPS is being recycled and that he need not have any doubts about using it: "Clearly environmental issues and recycling are of great concern for any organic producer — we had to look into that aspect of the packaging first. I found out that EPS is being recycled by large electronic retailers like Dixons and Comet and by manufacturers. The next step is to set up channels for householders to recycle their EPS waste too". Once EPS had been given the green thumbs up, work on the design of the package could begin. Rocombe worked in close partnership with Linpac Moulded Foams in Tonypandy, S. Wales: "They were really great, they put a lot of developmental time into the product and worked closely with the company we chose to produce the cardboard sleeve. This was a new product line for them too and they put a lot of effort into getting it right." The end result is a four-pack of delicious ice-cream that stays cool for around 45 minutes after leaving the shop. This allows customers time to get the ice-cream home and into their own freezer. And if you want to enjoy organic ice-cream on a picnic you can pop the four-pack into a cool bag with frozen blue blocks so that you can enjoy it sometime later — if you can wait that long.
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The first-ever four by 100 ml fresh organic ice-cream pack has just arrived on the shelves in Sainsburys. Getting the right packaging was a crucial part of the product development process. Peter Redstone, of Rocombe Farm explains: "The problem with this size pot is the ice-cream has melted by the time customer gets home from the shops, so it has to be consumed on the day of purchase.
