Wine Packaging Corporation (WPC), a supplier of all types of packaging to the wine industry, was looking for a simple, effective solution to ship wine during the warm summer months. The wine home delivery market is huge and growing, but often customers can’t get shipments in warm weather. According to vinepair.com, occasional spikes in temperature won’t decimate wine, but prolonged exposure above 70F will. As a result, many online wine sellers suspend shipment in the summer. WPC wanted to change that, and they came to Polyfoam to develop a special package.
Online shipments typically go via a single parcel delivery method and protective packaging is critical, especially during the summer. The packaging presents a number of challenges – it needs to fit a huge variety of bottle shapes and sizes including champagne; it needs to provide enough cushioning to withstand the rigors of the single parcel delivery arena; it needs to be easy to load and unload; and in the case of a summer pack it needs to keep product at the right temperature for up to 24 hours. That last feature requires a slot in the pack to hold a frozen gel pack to keep the wine cool. Adding to the complexity, the gel cannot come into contact with the bottles or risk breaking them.
Polyfoam and WPC worked closely together to determine the optimal size and geometry of the pack. Several prototypes were built and both drop-tested for cushioning and thermal tested for wine temperature. The result is a summer wine pack that meets all the size, cushioning and ease of use goals, and will keep wine at a protective temperature during the warm months.
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