Squround
Encyclopedia
Squround is a portmanteau for "square round" (carton
s), referring to a compromise between a square and a round carton. It is also sometimes known as the scround.
The term applies almost exclusively to ice cream
packaging design, where the switch to a squround from paperboard
bricks, cylindrical
half-gallons and other containers is motivated by consumer preference. These packages are more rectangular than square, but the side edges are rounded. The top and bottom surfaces are completely flat.
Pierre’s French Ice Cream, when announcing their switch in May 2003, cited several reasons:
Smith Dairy, which made the switch that same year for its Ruggles line of ice cream, cited other reasons. They note that the packaging makes tampering more evident
, and offers better protection from freezer burn
.
Although squrounds are available in traditional half-gallon sizes, changes in U.S. federal regulations covering ice cream have led since 2000 to increased use of a smaller 56-ounce volume. The downsizing in carton size has not seemed to affect unit sales.
Mayfield Dairy
, which announced the switch to squround cartons in January 2003, told Food Engineering
in April that they expect to sell the same number of 56 oz. units in 2003 as it sold 64 oz. cartons in 2002. Breyers
, which in 2000 was an early adopter of the smaller package for its "Ice Cream Parlor" brands, uses the smaller package across all its ice cream flavors. In 2008, they changed to an even smaller 48 oz container.
Carton
Carton is the name of certain types of containers typically made from paperboard which is also sometimes known as cardboard. Many types of cartons are used in packaging. Sometimes a carton is also called a box.-Folding cartons:...
s), referring to a compromise between a square and a round carton. It is also sometimes known as the scround.
The term applies almost exclusively to ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
packaging design, where the switch to a squround from paperboard
Paperboard
Paperboard is a thick paper based material. While there is no rigid differentiation between paper and paperboard, paperboard is generally thicker than paper. According to ISO standards, paperboard is a paper with a basis weight above 224 g/m2, but there are exceptions. Paperboard can be single...
bricks, cylindrical
Cylinder (geometry)
A cylinder is one of the most basic curvilinear geometric shapes, the surface formed by the points at a fixed distance from a given line segment, the axis of the cylinder. The solid enclosed by this surface and by two planes perpendicular to the axis is also called a cylinder...
half-gallons and other containers is motivated by consumer preference. These packages are more rectangular than square, but the side edges are rounded. The top and bottom surfaces are completely flat.
Pierre’s French Ice Cream, when announcing their switch in May 2003, cited several reasons:
- it fits better in home freezers
- its easier and less messy to scoop out the ice cream
- it makes more efficient use of retail shelf space
- it improves brand recognition (over the round half-gallon) since the flatter front is a more legible "billboardBillboard (advertising)A billboard is a large outdoor advertising structure , typically found in high traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers...
" for each flavor
Smith Dairy, which made the switch that same year for its Ruggles line of ice cream, cited other reasons. They note that the packaging makes tampering more evident
Tamper-evident
Tamper-evident describes a device or process that makes unauthorized access to the protected object easily detected. Seals, markings or other techniques may be tamper indicating.-Tampering:...
, and offers better protection from freezer burn
Freezer burn
Freezer burn is a condition that occurs when frozen food has been damaged by dehydration and oxidation, due to air reaching the food. It is generally induced by substandard packaging.-Cause and effects:...
.
Although squrounds are available in traditional half-gallon sizes, changes in U.S. federal regulations covering ice cream have led since 2000 to increased use of a smaller 56-ounce volume. The downsizing in carton size has not seemed to affect unit sales.
Mayfield Dairy
Mayfield Dairy
Mayfield Dairy Farms is a United States dairy products company, with its headquarters in Athens, Tennessee and additional production plants in Birmingham, Alabama, and Braselton, Georgia. Since 1990 it has been under the ownership of Dean Foods.-History:...
, which announced the switch to squround cartons in January 2003, told Food Engineering
Food engineering
Food engineering is a multidisciplinary field of applied physical sciences which combines science, microbiology, and engineering education for food and related industries. Food engineering includes, but is not limited to, the application of agricultural engineering, mechanical engineering and...
in April that they expect to sell the same number of 56 oz. units in 2003 as it sold 64 oz. cartons in 2002. Breyers
Breyers
Breyers is a brand of frozen dessert and ice cream owned by Unilever . They have a large plant in the town of Framingham, Massachusetts, outside Boston....
, which in 2000 was an early adopter of the smaller package for its "Ice Cream Parlor" brands, uses the smaller package across all its ice cream flavors. In 2008, they changed to an even smaller 48 oz container.
External links and references
- Some ice cream buyers get short end of scoop, a February 2003 article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Stiff Competition a November 2003 article from Dairy Field magazine about innovations in rigid packaging