Out-of-the-box packaging for ready-to-serve cocktails

Established in 1874, Bickford’s has come a long way from its beginnings in Adelaide. Best known for its Bickford’s Lime Juice Cordial, the company has diversified considerably and now produces not only cordials but also fruit juices, essences, flavoured and unflavoured waters and premium adult-orientated carbonated sodas.

Bickford’s juices and cordials also feature in a range of ready-to-pour cocktails sold under the VOK trademark. As part of the collaboration, Bickford’s developed an in-house packing solution to commercialise the line of ready-to-serve, two-litre, bag-in-box (BIB) cocktails.

Bickford’s commissioned HMPS to design and build the HMPS1000 Bag-in-Box packer for its BIB cocktail range. The machine erects, loads and seals BIB packs ranging in size from one to 10 litres.

The HMPS1000 Bag-in-Box packer.

When compared with bottles or cans, the BIB packs offer transportation benefits as there is no shipping of air. The bag technology is suitable for all non-carbonated beverages.

“The first prototype of the Bag-in-Box we manufactured for Yalumba Wines and Coca-Cola Amatil in the early 1990s, and we are very proud of the transformation of our machines, integrating robots and cutting-edge technology,” said HMPS Managing Director Mark Emmett.