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SIG opens 'new chapter' as it targets UK food market

Liquid carton giant SIG Combibloc has revealed plans to target the UK food market with a new mid-sized carton format.

The business is set to launch the CombiblocMidi, a new format that is specifically designed for products such as soups and cooking sauces, onto the UK market in the coming weeks.

The group, which is owned by New Zealand-based Rank Group, said that the move was an effort to increase volumes outside the ambient juice market, which is the current source of the majority of its UK business.

The CombiblocMidi format is already being used by the Campbell Soup Company in France.

Alongside the new packaging format, the company, which supplies food producers including Unilever, Premier Foods and Campbells, is also planning to launch new filling technology to handle the format.

SIG Combibloc marketing manager for Europe North Cindy Haast said: "We’re getting ready to open up a new chapter in our aseptic filling technology that will set benchmarks in both speed and efficiency withing the UK liquid food industry.

"In sectors such as soup, consumers are looking for more content such as meat and vegetables and our forthcoming formats, such as the CombiblocMidi, will be able to handle larger particulates, enabling our customers to respond flexibly to changing trends and consumer expectations."