Mary Beth's Apple Pies asked us to design a carton strong enough to hold and safely ship their signature 4.5lb frozen apple pie. In addition, they wanted the carton itself to project an image of uniqueness and fresh, "just-out-of the oven" quality, while allowing ample space for graphics and promotional material. Lastly, in keeping with the natural ingredients of their product, the package had to be environmentally friendly.
Our team designed a six-sided folding carton with an automatic bottom and an automatic top in a rosette-style pattern. A major departure from the previous cellophane and ribbon wrap package.
The final structure, made from .024 SBS paperboard uses four interlocking reinforcement flaps on the bottom of the carton that distribute the weight throughout the structure's six side panels.
Being very mindful of the weight and protection features the package needed to meet, we tested our design by filling the package way beyond the necessary "hold" weight of 4.5lbs to ensure that the interlocking panels would support the product weight. We also tested the stacking strength of the carton, which met and exceeded our client's standards.
A unique carton with graphics that highlight the pie's homemade origin and is very easy to assemble-bottom flaps are clearly numbered to make manual assembly quick and easy, thus providing a significant reduction in labor costs.
The unique hexagon shaped folding carton together with the six top panels, combine to create a unique appearance that tightly secures the carton top when manual pressure is applied. And not only is this carton recyclable, it uses the lightest weight board possible, while meeting the performance and cost requirements of our client.