Putting in the work
Image: Shutterstock
Patrick Heskins, BAMA chief executive, starts 2023 with a reflection on pets, packaging and opportunities in the aerosol market
Patrick and Chester.
In the middle of 2022, my wife and I adopted a Jackapoo called Chester from a friend who was struggling to cope with a puppy following health issues. For those not into the world of designer dogs, a Jackapoo is a Jack Russel/Poodle cross.
Chester is a fabulous dog, with more energy and character than any dog we’ve had before. However, there is one problem; Chester doesn’t like regular dog food. When he arrived, we were told he was being fed a famous brand of puppy food which came in laminate foil pouches. If you are an owner of a Labrador or Retriever, you will know that as the plate hits the floor, it is promptly emptied and then a large pair of brown eyes will look up at you in the hope of seconds.
Chester the Jackapoo looked at the delights the food scientist had created for him and walked away. Often his food was eaten by one of our cats, who was too lazy to jump up on to the work surface in our utility room where the cat food is left.
Since then, we have tried a vast array of different foods to tempt him to eat. These have included tasty morsels in aluminium trays with foil lids, and tinned food, from cheap supermarket own label through to on-line specialist foods which do not contain gluten or grain.
We’ve bought frozen dog food, which comes in thermoformed packs sealed with clear plastic film, so dog parents can see the goodness inside, and similarly packaged products which can be stored at room temperature until you open them.
We have been through a wide variety of dried foods for our demanding pup. These sometimes come in a paper sack, but more often in a laminated plastic bag with a resealable top, which I’m sure is there as much to keep the fragrance in as it is to keep the food fresh, or stop it spreading all over the floor should you, or the cat, accidentally knock the bag over.
We have also provided Chester with a variety of treats which mainly come in laminated foil packets, sometimes in simple plastic bags which occasionally have a resealable top, and more ‘exotic’ packages like plastic pots with screw lids. These treats are more to Chester’s taste, and he particularly enjoys them when mixed with a little pâté or peanut butter from an aerosol can.
I hope you have stuck with me so far as I will now get to the point. All these packages serve a simple purpose: to keep the food fresh and ensure that it can be safely transported from factory, to store, to home. It will then be consumed, or in the case of most of the dog food I have bought in last few months, scraped into the food waste bin. What is less commonly understood is that the science, engineering and technology behind each of these packaging types is staggering given the simple task the pack needs to perform.
The amount of work which goes in to designing metal cans just for pet food is huge. The science required to develop coatings which keep the food safe in the can, and the can safe from the food, is extraordinary. And then, once we get the product home and scoop the dog food into the bowl, we rinse the can and pop it in the recycling bin, without any appreciation for the months of work spent in creating the product and the package.
And then there are aerosols.
Image: Shutterstock
The aerosol package – or aerosol dispenser to use its regulatory name – needs to do all the things a standard food pack must do, and then many more on top. Aerosol containers, as I am sure you will know, are pressurised. The regulations around the pressure an aerosol pack must withstand are very prescriptive, for good reason. If the pressure gets too high inside an aerosol pack it will burst, and the consequences of even a small pack like an aerosol bursting can be serious.
Aerosols are commonly filled with flammable ingredients and consumers don’t always follow the instructions for use, despite the hard work of designers and printers. In fact, the consumer will often only read the usage instructions once something has gone wrong, so we build in a margin of safety which allows for some level of misuse.
Then there is the spray, foam, gel, or paste, such is the multitude of formats which an aerosol can deliver. Unlike many packaging formats, the aerosol also has a huge influence on the way the product is dispensed, hence the Aerosol Dispenser Regulations.
The purpose of the can, whether steel or aluminium, or occasionally plastic, is not dissimilar to that of a pet food container. It must keep the product safely inside it through the filling process, distribution, storage, and life with the consumer. Where things start to be different is when the final part is fitted on to the pack – the valve.
Steel aerosol cans, for example, have the top component fitted by the same process as a food can: double seaming. But this component has a one-inch hole in the middle which needs to be very accurately produced as fillers then clinch a valve on to it. The way the valve is fitted must be carefully controlled, as this is then an intrinsic part of the container and it must be able to withstand the internal pressure and all the rigours of production, transport, storage, and use, as the rest of the package.
The valve is both simple and complex, made up typically of six components, with a single moving part, but with a range of different options to boggle the mind. I won’t get into details on actuators and spray caps as this will add another layer of complexity.
The variety of formulations which can be filled into an aerosol dispenser is huge. Both the can and the valve need to be compatible with each other and suitable for use with products ranging from a simple body spray formula, through to paints, thick adhesives, saline solutions for medical applications, food, such as the dog pâté I mentioned earlier, and many others.
The formulation which is filled into the pack must be safely contained within it through the pack life, and it must be safe for the consumer to use when they dispense it.
An aerosol dispenser is different because the packaging, along with the formulation, helps to create the user experience. As an example: the size of the delivered particles for a hairspray will change its hold characteristics. The amount dispensed out of an air freshener, along with the amount of fragrance added to the formula, will impact the length of time the consumer will be able to smell it in a room. The dose from an asthma inhaler must be controlled and consistent to ensure that the drug is delivered correctly at every use.
The pet food aisle in supermarkets offers a plethora of different packaging options. Image: Shutterstock
But when the pack is empty, despite all the technology and expertise gone into balancing the formulation, container and components, the humble aerosol will follow the pet food cans into the recycling bin without a second thought, unless regulators and technologists decide to collaborate for a re-fillable option. This would be a seriously disruptive development, but one that would revitalise the sector, opening a plethora of opportunities for all those involved: can and valve makers, machinery suppliers and marketers alike.
New, more durable and valuable products could be made, as has been the case with reusable coffee cups. New equipment to manufacture reusable packaging will certainly need to use renewable energy, creating a lower number of premium containers which will reduce the transport footprint. For aerosols, recovering, testing and refurbishing the valve and the container should generate a palatable financial revenue. A refillable option will bring alignment with the requirements of a circular economy, which will fit well with public opinion and the planned environmental policies of various governments.
All the above, of course, will work in parallel with the existing solutions just as we see happening with coffee cups, but widening the diversity of solutions available to the end user, as in the case of the packaging available for all the food Chester doesn’t eat.
This feature article is restricted to logged-in paid subscribers.
Login or subscribe now to view this exclusive content.
