Variety Mix: Packaging Different Products in a Single Automated Solution
Variety Mix Packaging makes it possible to handle and pack different products, flavours, variants or SKUs within the same pack. In the first Case History of Packaging Engineering Talks, we explore how this requirement can be addressed through a packaging automation solution designed around the product and the production process.
What Is Variety Mix Packaging?
Variety Mix Packaging makes it possible to combine different products within the same pack. Different SKUs, flavours or variants can be grouped into a single package according to a predefined configuration.
A seemingly simple requirement that, from an automation perspective, presents an important challenge: managing different product flows, coordinating them and delivering them to the packaging stage in the correct composition while maintaining continuity, accuracy and production efficiency.
The Challenge: Managing Multiple SKUs in the Same Pack
Creating a Variety Mix means coordinating different products and delivering them to the packaging stage in the required combination. The critical point is therefore not only the final packaging process: a fundamental part of the project involves managing the different product flows upstream of the packaging machine and synchronising them with the subsequent stages of the line.
The number of SKUs, quantity of each product, pack format, required speed and feeding method can vary from one application to another. For this reason, a Variety Mix solution must be designed around the actual characteristics of the production process.
The Solution: A Packaging Line Designed Around the Product
Cosmopack’s approach starts from the required configuration and considers the packaging line as an integrated system. Feeding, product handling, movement and packaging must work together so that the different SKUs can converge into the required pack configuration.
Automation makes it possible to transform a complex requirement — different products in a single pack — into an organised and repeatable process, while maintaining the flexibility required to handle different production configurations.
Why Variety Mix Packaging Is Increasingly Relevant
Variety Mix Packaging enables manufacturers to create assorted packs and multipacks for different markets, promotions or distribution channels, integrating pack composition directly into the automated production process.
The ability to manage this logic directly within the line also opens the way to more flexible production configurations, capable of adapting to changing SKUs and commercial requirements. This approach can also be applied to flexible packaging systems for the food industry, designed to handle different formats and configurations within the same production process.
From Production Requirements to the Solution
Packaging Engineering Talks explores industrial packaging through real-world applications. Each Case History starts from a specific production requirement and examines the challenges involved, the engineering choices and the solutions developed.
Variety Mix is Case History #01 of the series.
Do You Have a Variety Mix Project or Need to Handle Different Products on the Same Line?
Tell us about your product, pack configuration and production goals. The Cosmopack team can analyse your application and develop a packaging automation solution tailored to your line.
