New Flexible Bag with CrossSeal™ Technology Meets Consumer Desire for Ease of Opening, Maximizes Brand Visibility While Ensuring Freshness, Quality

HARTSVILLE, S.C., March 16, 2016 -- Responding to consumer desire for easier-to-open packaging, Sonoco (NYSE:SON), one of the largest global diversified packaging companies, has announced its latest innovation: an easy-open quad-seal flexible bag with Cross-Seal™ technology.

Brand owners are increasingly adopting the quad-seal bag format for premium packaging in order to stand out at retail. This package format involves sealing along a side corner of the bag rather than via a traditional back seam, which results in four full panels for bright, clear graphics and messaging to help drive brand identity and product differentiation. The squared-off edges offer more billboarding space on the package, as well as improved blocking/facings on the shelf compared to rounded flexible bags.

“The challenge with producing a quad-seal bag is that you want a strong seal down the edge of the bag, but the top of the bag needs to remain easy for the consumer to open,” said Rod Pettis, Sonoco director of flexible packaging technology.  “Bags produced with Sonoco’s trademarked Cross-Seal technology are easier for consumers to use because they require less force and open more cleanly, while reducing the potential for corner tears and product spilling.”

Sonoco’s first commercial application for the Cross-Seal technology is in the coffee segment. For coffee manufacturers, Cross-Seal technology minimizes headaches through uncompromised production speeds, greater consistency regarding slip transfer, a wider sealing range and less buildup on sealing jaws compared to pattern-applied heat seals.

Unlike other quad-seal coffee bags on the market, bags produced with Cross-Seal technology do not have to be in perfect registration. “With other quad-seal bag structures, variation in the sealing process can cause difficult or inconsistent opening for the consumer,” added Pettis. “Sonoco’s Cross-Seal technology eliminates this risk.”

Quad-seal bags made with Cross-Seal technology are designed to keep coffee fresh while maximizing branding opportunities and customer satisfaction. Sonoco’s expertise in optimized product protection ensures that the product remains at its best when the consumer opens the package. High oxygen barrier and moisture protection provide the optimum consumer experience every time the bag is opened.

Sonoco will be exhibiting its diverse product range, including quad-seal bags with Cross-Seal technology, at the National Coffee Association Annual Convention this week in San Diego. Sonoco supplies the coffee industry with diverse packaging solutions including flexible bags, paperboard containers, rigid plastic containers, ends and closures, graphics management and displays. Coffee manufacturers can draw from Sonoco’s diverse packaging expertise to create solutions that help reduce costs while building market share.  

About Sonoco
Founded in 1899, Sonoco is a global provider of a variety of consumer packaging, industrial products, protective packaging, and displays and packaging supply chain services. With annualized net sales of approximately $5.0 billion, the Company has 20,800 employees working in more than 330 operations in 34 countries, serving some of the world’s best known brands in some 85 nations. Sonoco is a proud member of the 2015/2016 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. For more information on the Company, visit our website at www.sonoco.com.

Contact: Brian Risinger
+843/383-7509
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