In 2026 Danone asked CIRCPACK to evaluate a redesign of a 1L PET bottle for a Western-European dairy line. The redesign brief was tight: keep the shelf-life and the top-loading performance, but unlock a RecyClass green-class score without retooling the existing blow-mould platform.
The starting point
The incumbent pack scored amber on RecyClass: wall thickness 0.32mm at the panel, with a multilayer sleeve that interfered with NIR detection on the sorting line. CIRCPACK ran a desk study in 5 days and flagged two specific deltas against the RecyClass PET-rigid design guideline.
A subsequent operational sorting test confirmed the desk study: auditors inside the MRF observed an ejection rate of 18% on the sleeved pack, well above the threshold for a green class.
The full deltas report sat with Danone packaging engineers for two weeks before any retooling decision was made. That is the point of the operational evidence — it informs trade-offs without forcing them.
The relaunched pack ships in Q3 2026 with a sub-1mm wall, an unsleeved label, and a fresh RecyClass green-class certificate. The redesign required no change to the existing blow-mould platform.