From PET bottles to cartons – a step in the right direction for Levmilk

This year marks an important milestone for Levmilk Dairy in Slovakia, which has a history dating back to 1953. In May 2020, for the first time, the dairy launched its fresh products in cartons, switching from its long-established packaging format of PET bottles.

The new carton follows a decision by the dairy in 2019, based on feedback from retailers, to opt for a more ecological alternative to plastic packaging.

“Glass bottles were also considered, but Elopak’s portfolio clearly convinced us that the only right direction was the eco-friendly Pure-Pak® carton,” says Dominika Skacanova, Marketing Manager of Levmilk Dairy. “For the first launch, we chose our own brand Babička (The Grandma), which is well known throughout Slovakia and is very popular across all generations.”

“Both the Elopak technical and sales teams, have worked very closely with Levmilk from the very beginning to find the most suitable packaging solution. The dairy is now planning to increase the production capacity on the Elopak filling line to meet the growing consumer demand for eco-friendly packaging,” explains Boris Pavlacka, Elopak MU Manager Czech & Slovak Republic.

For the consumer, the easy to fold feature saves space when recycling and the easy pour wide cap are key benefits.

“The Natural Brown Board has also proved to be a competitive advantage for the new launches because Levmilk Dairy is the first to launch this carton on the Slovak market,” adds Boris.

“We also used another marketing tool that the PurePak® Sense carton design creates for us, and that is a printable top fin,” explains Dominika Skacanova. “The top fin features the word ‘Slovakian’ to really emphasize the affiliation and pride we have for the origin and tradition behind our products. Also, because of the high-quality print, we can have advertisements on the cartons for other products within our range.” The dairy has said that the new cartons reduce CO2 emissions by 38%. With up to 87% of the carton made from wood from renewable forests and other controlled sources, it has a lower plastic content, reduces transport costs, and consumes less raw materials in production.

“We are looking forward to future cooperation with Elopak, as the last few months have assured us that we have set out in the right direction with the new cartons,” concludes Dominika Skacanova.