Faced with soaring cocoa prices chocolate players are turning to the premium product segment to boost value sales. One way to do this, is to pack their chocolate products in carton, said Henk Somers, director of Lareka.
"Current methods to achieve this are expensive, so we have found a solution, particularly for small to medium-sized businesses," Somers explained to ConfectioneryNews.com.
Costs
The film used by the confectioner is "substantially cheaper" than aluminium used by the traditional double-stage tablet packers, adds Somers. However, costs for the carton box are "more expensive" for the Lareka machine because of the glue required and the assembly.
Overall, material costs for chocolate makers using the Lareka TP75 are "pretty much on a par" with existing machines that pack for the premium chocolate segment.
The price of the machine, although dependent on how it should be equipped, is in the region of €200,000.
Film and pre-glued
The Lareka TP75 first packs the tablet in film and then secondly, in a pre-glued box. By comparison, traditional, more complex, machines on the market today wrap the tablet fold-style in aluminium, and then the carton is folded around the tablets.
"Our process uses cartons that are pre-glued in the long seam: the user only has to erect the carton and then they can slide it in from the side," said the Lareka director.
ProSweet 2009 launch
"The quality of the visitors is always very high at ProSweets. When you're selling capital investment goods like we do, you need to speak with the decision-makers," said Somers of this week's ProSweets trade fair in Cologne where the firm launched the Lareka TP75.
"We had a very nice product to show, and everyone was very enthusiastic about the machine," he added.