The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(December 2020) |
A squround (or scround [1] [2] ) is a container with a shape between a square and a round tub. It resembles an oval but is sometimes closer to a rectangle with rounded corners. These allow the contents to be easily scooped out of the container. The name is a portmanteau for "square round" (cartons), referring to a compromise between a square and a round carton.
As an adjective, squround has been applied to other objects, such as watches or swimming pools.
The term applies mostly to ice cream packaging design, [1] where the switch to a squround from paperboard bricks, [3] cylindrical half-gallons and other containers is motivated by consumer preference, [4] as well as cost effectiveness. These packages are more rectangular than square, but the side edges are rounded, while top and bottom surfaces are completely flat. Squround packaging affords some of the consumer appeal of traditional cylindrical packaging, while also packing tightly like brick-shaped square cartons. [5] [6]
The container is usually made of paperboard but can have thermoformed or injection molded plastic components. There is usually a separate lid made of paperboard, plastic, or both.
It offers several advantages over other ice cream packages:
Although squrounds are available in traditional half-gallon sizes, there exists a trend toward marketing non-traditional 56-ounce, and in recent years, smaller 48-ounce sized cartons. The downsizing in carton size has not seemed to negatively affect unit sales.
Mayfield Dairy, which announced the switch to squround cartons in January 2003, told Food Engineering in April that they expect to sell the same number of 56 oz. units in 2003 as it sold 64 oz. cartons in 2002. Breyers, which in 2000 was an early adopter of the smaller package for its "Ice Cream Parlor" brands, as of 2005 [update] uses the smaller package across all its ice cream flavors. In 2008, they changed to a smaller 48 oz container.
Outside the sector of Ice-Cream, Nestlé have also produced squround containers for its Nescafe range of large instant coffee tins. [9] They attributed the new design to make the containers "simple to hold, pour and store". [9] In a separate interview, they also stated that the design will help reduce losing lids and make their tins easier to grasp. [10]
A box is a container with rigid sides used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small or very large and can be used for a variety of purposes, from functional to decorative.
Condensed milk is cow's milk from which water has been removed. It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of sweetened condensed milk, to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condensed milk" are often used interchangeably today. Sweetened condensed milk is a very thick, sweet product, which when canned can last for years without refrigeration if not opened. The product is used in numerous dessert dishes in many countries.
A drum is a cylindrical shipping container used for shipping bulk cargo. Drums can be made of steel, dense paperboard, or plastic, and are generally used for the transportation and storage of liquids and powders. Drums are often stackable, and have dimensions designed for efficient warehouse and logistics use. This type of packaging is frequently certified for transporting dangerous goods. Proper shipment requires the drum to comply with all applicable regulations.
A carton is a box or container usually made of liquid packaging board, paperboard and sometimes of corrugated fiberboard. Many types of cartons are used in packaging. Sometimes a carton is also called a box.
A closure is a device used to close or seal a container such as a bottle, jug, jar, tube, or can. A closure may be a cap, cover, lid, plug, liner, or the like. The part of the container to which the closure is applied is called the finish.
Breyers is an American ice cream brand created in 1866 by William Breyer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By the 1920s, the brand was producing more than one million gallons annually. It was sold to the National Dairy Products Corporation in 1926 and again in 1993 to Unilever, which merged it with Good Humor to form the Good Humor-Breyers division.
Cardboard boxes are industrially prefabricated boxes, primarily used for packaging goods and materials. Specialists in industry seldom use the term cardboard because it does not denote a specific material. The term cardboard may refer to a variety of heavy paper-like materials, including card stock, corrugated fiberboard, and paperboard. Cardboard boxes can be readily recycled.
Glass milk bottles are glass bottles used for milk. They are reusable and returnable – used mainly for doorstep delivery of fresh milk by milkmen. Once customers have finished the milk, empty bottles are expected to be rinsed and left on the doorstep for collection, or rinsed bottles may be returned to a participating retail store. Bottle sizes vary depending on region, but common sizes include pint, quart or litre.
Plastic milk containers are plastic containers for storing, shipping and dispensing milk. Plastic bottles, sometimes called jugs, have largely replaced glass bottles for home consumption. Glass milk bottles have traditionally been reusable while light-weight plastic bottles are designed for single trips and plastic recycling.
In common usage, a scoop is any specialized spoon used to serve food.
Mayfield Dairy Farms is an American dairy products company, with its headquarters in Athens, Tennessee and additional production plants in Birmingham, Alabama. From 1990 to 2020 it was under the ownership of Dean Foods. Dairy Farmers of America acquired Mayfield in March 2020.
Chocolate ice cream is ice cream with natural or artificial chocolate flavoring. One of the oldest flavours of ice creams, it is also one of the world's most popular. While most often sold alone, it is also a base for many other flavours.
The folding carton created the packaging industry as it is known today, beginning in the late 19th century. The process involves folding carton made of paperboard that is printed, laminated, cut, then folded and glued. The cartons are shipped flat to a packager, which has its own machinery to fold the carton into its final shape as a container for a product. Some styles of folding cartons can be made of E-flute or micro-flute corrugated fiberboard.
A foam food container is a form of disposable food packaging for various foods and beverages, such as processed instant noodles, raw meat from supermarkets, ice cream from ice cream parlors, cooked food from delicatessens or food stalls, or beverages like "coffee to go". They are also commonly used to serve takeout food from restaurants, and are also available by request for diners who wish to take home the remainder of their meal. The foam is a good thermal insulator, making the container easy to carry as well as keeping the food at the temperature it had when filled into the container, whether hot or cold.
A dairy mix is the blend of milk, cream, sugar, stabilizers, and vanilla packaged by a dairy for commercial use. This mix can either be made directly into ice cream or placed into containers for the use in soft serve, frozen custard, or ice cream machines. Dairy mix used in restaurants can be also used to make frozen drinks or smoothies.
A tamper-evident band or security ring serves as a tamper resistant or tamper evident function to a screw cap, lid, or closure. The term tamper-proof is sometimes used but is considered a misnomer given that pilfering is still technically possible.
In technical usage in the shipping industry, a pail is a type of cylindrical shipping container with a capacity of about 3 to 50 litres. It can have straight or slanted sides and usually has a handle or bail. In non-technical usage, a pail is synonymous with a bucket.
A clamshell is a one-piece container consisting of two halves joined by a hinge area which allows the structure to come together to close. Clamshells can be made to be reusable and reclosable or can be sealed securely.
A tub is an open-top circular or oblong container. In earlier times they were made from wooden staves held together with iron hoops and were made by coopers. Modern tubs used in industry might be made from concrete, metal or plastic.
Closed Loop Box Reuse, is the process by which boxes or other containers are reused many times. It is a form of reusable packaging.