Sidel launches StarLITE®-R Nitro-High resistance bottle base for nitrogen dosed products
8 July 2024 – Sidel has introduced the StarLITE®-R Nitro, a new bottle base designed for nitrogen-dosed still beverages and edible oils, made from 100 per cent recycled PET (rPET). The StarLITE®-R Nitro features a distinctive ‘wave’ design, in contrast to traditional petaloid shapes, and has been tested under industrial conditions to ensure high bottle resilience and quality.
Laurent Naveau, Packaging Innovator Leader at Sidel, explained, “StarLITE®-R Nitro is the perfect choice to create stand-out shelf appeal. It is the most aesthetically appealing bottle base for liquid nitrogen-dosed products with a mainstream or affordable market positioning. The design is compatible with any existing bottle shape and is easy to blow and shape, even at high production speeds with 100 percent rPET.”
Sidel is widening its existing StarLITE®-R range, a dedicated portfolio of bottle bases designed for recycled PET (rPET). Nitrogen dosing involves adding a small amount of liquid nitrogen to beverages and food products, increasing the pressure inside the bottle to aid the pack’s resistance through the supply chain. This process is utilized for still beverages and food products. Naveau explained that brands are looking for a design that maintains the performance of traditional shapes yet distinctive in appearance.
Sidel’s new wave-shaped bottle base provides the foundation for many bottle shapes and designs, from 0.2 litres to 2.5 litres, increasing the scope of manufacturers to create distinct shelf presence while differentiating from carbonated soft drinks. StarLITE®-R Nitro’s bottle base features optimised mould base geometry and an efficient venting system which helps to achieve perfect shaping easily.
The StarLITE®-R Nitro demonstrates high mechanical performance at high speed when used with 100 percent rPET. The base design can be used with production speeds up to 2,700 b/h/m for single-serve formats or 2,500 b/h/m for multi-serve bottles.
The design has also undergone stringent testing including drop tests with no base breakage, particularly important for bottles made with rPET which tends to be more sensitive to breakages. The new Nitro base features an ideal standing surface to secure bottle stability. Similarly, it is qualified to withstand storage up to 38 degrees centigrade.
Sidel’s patented mould technology, featuring 8 to 10 waves, allows the bottle base to withstand high internal pressure resistance of 0.5 to 0.8 bar, even with lightweight bottles. The design is compatible with Sidel’s range for SBO blowers: series 2, Universal and EvoBLOW and can easily be retrofitted onto existing production lines and moulds.
Sustainable packaging
The StarLITE®-R Nitro also offers manufacturers the opportunity to switch from virgin PET to 100 percent rPET. For a 0.5L bottle, manufacturers can reduce carbon dioxide tonnage produced by 32 percent by switching to 100 rPET. Additionally, the Nitro base’s optimized venting design reduces the blowing pressure needed, achieving an 18-bar pressure for single-serve formats compared to the market average of 24 bars, resulting in a 25 percent CO2 reduction.
The bottle solution is also compatible with a wide range of bottle weights including extreme light weights.
