Labels aid relaunch for fruit drinks maker

An Advanced Labelling Systems product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Feb 11, 2002

When Midlands-based fruit drink manufacturer Belvoir Fruit Farms decided to revamp its packaging, it identified a new high-accuracy label applicator as a priority acquisition.

When Midlands-based fruit drink manufacturer Belvoir Fruit Farms decided to revamp its packaging, it identified a new high-accuracy label applicator as a priority acquisition.

The ALS-R-series rotary labelling system from Advanced Labelling Systems (ALS) met the company's requirements and helped it relaunch its Belvoir sparkling and Presse range of drinks and launch its new organic sparkling presse drinks.

Founded by the brother of the late Duke of Rutland in 1981, Belvoir (pronounced Beever) Fruit Farms has grown from a pick-your-own operation into a commercial enterprise distributing finest-quality fruit cordials and presses throughout the UK, Germany, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Canada and the USA.

Although the company has a proud heritage, a recent bottle redesign reflects its aim of achieving a greater market share of the mass consumer fruit drinks market.

The move away from traditional green bottles signifies the importance Belvoir Fruit Farms places on packaging and, in particular, labelling.

Employing 20 full-time staff members, as well as seasonal part-time fruit pickers and packers, Belvoir Fruit Farms produces a variety of fruit drinks and recipes.

In particular, the new organic press? range includes elderflower presse, hand-made lemonade and ginger beer.

The new bottle design, featuring a clear glass contoured shape, presented a number of production challenges, none more so than the application of the new labels.

The solution was to employ a high-accuracy, cost effective ALS-R-series rotary labeller capable of applying front/back and neck position labels.

This represented a change in the company's production system, abandoning the use of a wet-glue labeller for self-adhesive pressure sensitive labelling techniques.

The ALS-R-series rotary labeller manipulates the bottles by an infeed scroll, starwheels and a centre guide, all of which are manufactured from impact and wear resistant materials.

Fed by a conveyor, it rotates products between the three labelling stations, presenting the correct face for labelling at each station.

Since the product's position does not vary in relation to the label head dispensing edge, the labeller is capable of extremely high accuracy levels.

The new sophisticated shape of the bottle from Belvoir Fruit Farms incorporates a clear label, both front and back, that gives the impression of a printed bottle.

To achieve this effect, self-adhesive labels are applied on a slightly-angled surface, with the challenge being accurate application to ensure alignment front and back.

The accuracy of the ALS-R-Series rotary labeller meets this challenge with ease, at an application rate of 60 bottles per minute.

Peverel Manners, Sales and Marketing Director at Belvoir Fruit Farms, says the ALS rotary labeller was key to the company's rebranding project.

"The change wasn't just a physical one, we had to change the way we manufactured our product, and the rotary labeller was vital to this transition".

The new design also includes a vertical paper neck label that displays the company's crest and folds onto the cap.

The cap label not only adds aesthetic balance and gives the main fruit illustration to the bottle, but it also provides a source of secondary tamper-evidence.

Manners says: "The cap label is pretty tricky to apply, but was an extremely important element of the overall design.

I am very impressed by the rotary labeller's ability to cope with these challenges".

Find out more about this article. Request a brochure, download technical specifications and request samples here.
Send to a friend Send to a friend
Print this page Print this page
Bookmark this page Bookmark this page

Not what you're looking for? Search the site.

Back to top Back to top

Find out more about this article or product Arrow

Contact Advanced Labelling Systems

Contact Advanced Labelling Systems

Tel +44 1844 213177

Visit Advanced Labelling Systems website

Other Advanced Labelling Systems stories

Contact Advanced Labelling Systems

More stories More stories

Newsletter sign up

Request your free weekly copy of the Engineeringtalk email newsletter ...

Sign up now Sign up now

Browse by category

All suppliers A - Z

A Pro-talk Publication

A Pro-talk publication