CCT In the News
CCT and the EEASY Lid were once again in the spotlight with articles appearing in two leading industry trade publications. A feature article appearing in The Canmaker and coverage of CCT’s recent announcement of the Chilau Foods partnership in Packaging Gateway created great visibility for the EEASY Lid among key packaging industry decision-makers.
The Canmaker, a monthly business intelligence publication for the metal packaging industry, featured CCT in its November issue.
The article highlighted the EEASY Lid’s extensive research and development journey, including the pivot from steel to aluminum to make the lid more durable and accessible. The article noted that in the U.S., steel lids are mostly used on jar filling lines, which have a magnetic mechanism to transfer lids from a hopper to a capping system. With the aluminum EEASY Lid, magnets won’t work. CCT president Brandon Bach described how the company addresses this issue through a program for brands and co-packers that enables a smooth transition from steel to aluminum.
CCT’s growth path was also outlined in the article. The company plans to expand from the current offering of the standard U.S. size lid of 63mm for grocery products to 58mm, 70mm and 82mm U.S. lid sizes. Today, CCT’s production line at its technology center in Dayton, Ohio, has the ability to produce 288 million lids per year at 100% capacity, but growing interest in the EEASY Lid is jumpstarting plans to add more production lines.
In the article, Brandon noted that impressive consumer sales of products topped with the EEASY Lid in the U.S. and Germany are fueling major interest in the EEASY Lid throughout the European market. He outlined the company’s plans to expand in this market to produce 66 mm, 72 mm, and 89 mm EEASY Lid sizes and said the company is exploring the viability of building a plant in Europe.
This in-depth piece also described the extensive testing the EEASY Lid underwent before hitting the market. Tests by the Cornell University Department of Food Science validated that the EEASY Lid is 50% easier to open than traditional jar lids and other safety testing showed that the EEASY Lid’s push button technology does not disturb the hermetic seal on jars, performing the same under vacuum as traditional steel lids. The lids were also tested with consumers, with one survey finding that 80% prefer the EEASY Lid.
This great feature on the EEASY Lid ran in both the print and online November issues of The Canmaker, which are available only to industry professionals.
CCT and the EEASY Lid were also featured in Packaging Gateway, a leading site for news and procurement in the packaging industry. Headlined ‘Chilau Foods Switches to CCT’s Patented Jar Lid,’ the article highlighted that Chilau Foods is partnering with CCT to enhance the product packaging on its full line of Southern inspired stew bases.
Chilau Foods founder Michael Anderson was quoted in the article, saying: “We’ve always been a company that makes cooking easy for consumers. As we expand, the EEASY Lid allows us to provide our customers with an unbeatable cooking experience, starting with accessible packaging.”
The article concluded by noting that Chilau supplies nearly 350 stores across the U.S. and aims to roll out its products featuring the EEASY Lid by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
As a result of this partnership, Chilau became the fourth brand to adopt the EEASY Lid.
Read the full Packaging Gateway article here.
Continue to watch this space for more news and developments!