Squround

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Ice cream in a squround container. 2019-11-28 15 52 03 A tub of Turkey Hill Choco Mint Chip Premium Ice Cream in the Parkway Village section of Ewing Township, Mercer County, New Jersey.jpg
Ice cream in a squround container.
Round corner tub of cottage cheese, lid, and lidding film Tub of cottage cheese.jpg
Round corner tub of cottage cheese, lid, and lidding film

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.

Contents

As an adjective, squround has been applied to other objects, such as watches or swimming pools.

Usage within food packaging

Ice cream squround containers

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 uses the smaller package across all its ice cream flavors. In 2008, they changed to a smaller 48 oz container.

Other squround containers

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]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Condensed milk</span> Milk from which water has been removed and sugar added

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice cream cone</span> Pastry

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drum (container)</span> Cylindrical shipping container used for shipping bulk cargo

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carton</span> Type of domestic container

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Closure (container)</span> Devices and techniques used to close or seal a bottle, jug, jar, tube, can, etc.

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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardboard box</span> Type of packaging

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glass milk bottle</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scoop (utensil)</span> Type of spoon

In common usage, a scoop is any specialized spoon used to serve food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayfield Dairy</span> Dairy products company in the United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foam food container</span> Form of disposable food packaging

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamper-evident band</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pail (container)</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clamshell (container)</span> Type of consumer product packaging

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tub (container)</span> Type of large bowl typically for washing or packaging

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Closed-loop box reuse</span> Business practice

Closed Loop Box Reuse, is the process by which boxes or other containers are reused many times. It is a form of reusable packaging.

References

  1. 1 2 US20120012489A1,Mongen,"Packaging Article and Device",published 2010
  2. Marshall, R T; Goff and Hartel (2003). ice Cream Health and Public Policy. Springer Science and Business. p. 234. ISBN   9781461501633 . Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  3. Makalintal, Bettina (2021-05-04). "Ice Cream Makers Are Bringing Back Vintage-Style Boxes of Ice Cream". Vice. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  4. 1 2 Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences. Academic Press. 2011-03-25. p. 20. ISBN   978-0-12-374407-4.
  5. "Ice Cream Packaging Update", Dairy Foods, September 1, 2003, retrieved 8 April 2020
  6. 1 2 3 Marshall, Robert T.; Goff, H. Douglas; Hartel, Richard W. (2012-12-06). Ice Cream. Springer. p. 234. ISBN   978-1-4615-0163-3.
  7. 1 2 "'Sqrounds', 'billboard', and why in-mold labeling is taking off". www.ptonline.com. 2024-05-31. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  8. Shaffer, Hunter (2019-05-13). "Tamper Evidence in Ice Cream & Frozen Dessert Packaging". Double H Plastics. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  9. 1 2 "Why go round when you can go 'sqround'? | Nestlé". www.nestle.co.uk. 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  10. "Nescafé launches new 'sqround' packaging | Public Sector Catering". www.publicsectorcatering.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-06-05.