Milk carton packaging has become an essential part of the dairy industry to preserve the taste and freshness of milk. Without packaging cartons, milk was used to spoil quickly once it was extracted from a cow. The availability of milk as a retail item became possible with the invention of packaging cartons in the 20th century.
Since then, milk carton packaging has been evolving in design. Read this blog to explore everything about milk cartons your business should know!
What are Milk Cartons?
Milk cartons are part of the aseptic packaging, which is specifically designed to retain milk quality and purity. These cartons are usually referred to as “shelf-stable and refrigerated cartons.”
Shelf-stable cartons are the best choice for traveling purposes as they don’t need a refrigerator until the milk box is opened. However, refrigerated cartons need to be placed in the fridge always unless they are not in use.
Advantages of Milk Cartons
Every business invests in products to maximize its profitability. Fortunately, milk cartons have several advantages that help brands boost recognition. Have a look at them:
Amplify Brand Opportunities
Boost your brand recognition by serving your customers with the best unboxing experience, leveraging milk cartons. Repurpose milk cartons as a unique marketing tool to attract customers and boost brand awareness in the competitive dairy industry.
Support Environmental Sustainability
Build a positive image of your brand by choosing eco-friendly milk cartons. Made from plant-based paper packaging materials, these cartons don’t contribute to landfill waste accumulation. Milk cartons significantly reduce the carbon footprint compared to traditional milk plastic bottles.
Preserve Freshness and Quality
Packaging materials for milk cartons produce long wood fibers that provide strength to cartons for storing milk effectively. With robust construction of cartons, milk remains fresh while retaining quality and taste even with long-distance delivery.
Enhance Shelf Life
Milk cartons become the most effective packaging solution due to their high-barrier properties against harsh environmental factors. UV light, oxygen, moisture, and heat are among those factors that degrade the quality of milk. However, the multi-layered structure of milk cartons protects the milk from these harmful factors while enhancing shelf life.
Make Shipping Convenient
Milk packaging cartons are lightweight, with a highly efficient design making them easier to ship. Moreover, the rectangular shape of milk cartons is a space-saving design, allowing effective stacking and storage in both retail settings and the home.
Allow Flexible Customization
Due to flexible packaging, milk cartons can be customized in any size, material, style, and print tailored to business needs. Convenient features like screw caps or pull tabs enhance customer experience making easy for users to open cartons without any hassle.
Types of Packaging Materials
Milk cartons made from paper-based materials play a significant role in supporting sustainability while enhancing durability. However, a thin plastic layer coating alongside these materials makes them safe from light, moisture, heat, and oxygen. Let’s dig deep into milk cartons' packaging materials:
Paperboard
Paperboard milk cartons are one of the most popular packaging materials. Wood pulp derived from trees and recycled paper is used to make paperboard cartons. Due to being lightweight, cost-effective, and sustainable, many dairy businesses use these cartons.
But a thin layer of food-grade plastic is also inserted into the paperboard carton to protect the milk from harmful external factors. Due to robust construction, paperboard cartons also serve best to withstand wear and tear punctures.
Cardboard
Milk cartons made from cardboard are durable enough to preserve the freshness and quality despite long-distance shipping. Cardboard milk cartons help milk retain nutrients like Vitamin D. However, the degradation of milk nutrients due to poor packaging spoils milk at a much faster rate.
These cartons are lightweight, budget-friendly, and sustainable. The difference between cardboard and paperboard lies in thickness and how they are constructed. Paperboard is single-layered, while cardboard is a multi-layered material with a fluted core.
Plastic
Another popular and most common packaging material for milk cartons is plastic. Three common types of plastic include LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene), HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene), and PP (Polypropylene).
All these types offer superior protection to milk from harsh external factors as well as rough shipping. Plastic cartons are adaptable to customization, ensuring a sturdy and stylish milk packaging solution with persuasive designs.
Explore the Sizes of Milk Cartons
Choosing the right milk carton sizes plays a crucial role in preserving milk quality, shelf-space efficiency, and saving overall packaging cost.
Milk Carton Sizes In Inches
Consider four standard sizes for custom milk cartons in inches:
Milk Carton Sizes In Centimeters
How to Measure Milk Carton Dimensions?
To measure milk carton dimensions, use the formula V=πr2h by measuring radius and height. Where you can calculate the volume by following this formula:
Volume = Length x Width x Height
Afterward, determine the length by measuring the longest side of the rectangular carton box while finding the width by the shortest side. In the next step, determine height by measuring the side perpendicular to length and width.
How Many Ounces In a Carton of Milk?
Each milk carton holds a different number of ounces depending on different carton size. Each milk carton size holds different ounces. Let’s explore them deeply:
Where to Find a Reliable Custom Milk Carton Packaging Supplier?
Invest in milk carton packaging to turn daily milk consumers into loyal customers. By leveraging milk cartons, your business boosts customer experience by offering a sustainable, flexible, and efficient way to ship milk. As innovations for milk cartons continue to improve, packaging design plays a significant role in food packaging for years to come.
To successfully cope with the latest design innovations, contact The Customize Boxes to attract milk consumers and boost your business profitability.
