Clamshell Package Packaging Solutions

Clamshell package technology has been developing steadily and continues to be used for a wide assortment of retail items, food products, electronics, personal care products, and even industrial parts and components. The clamshell package remains popular despite its drawbacks because it provides many significant benefits to manufacturers and consumers. Replicating these benefits with alternate methods of primary packaging at a competitive cost is a great challenge. The packages are constructed by the thermoforming of various types of plastic resin. They are available in standard sizes for many types of products, for example food items and standard electronic components. For large volume purchase and unique products, shells are manufactured from custom molds to the customer’s specifications. A welcome development in packaging technology was the introduction of easy opening containers, which addressed one of the most prevalent consumer concerns.

Industries and Applications

In the retail and food sectors, the clamshell package is seen everywhere. In the fast food industry, containers are made from a wide range of materials including paperboard, polystyrene, and even corrugated linerboard. The polystyrene product was once almost universal in fast food packaging, but has grown out favor due to sustainable packaging considerations. Polystyrene remains readily available, but other materials provide comparable performance at a comparable price. Toy and game manufacturers, hardware manufacturers, and medical / pharmaceutical packagers also rely heaviliy on this style of package. In retail packaging, cardboard or paper inserts are added to the package in order to convey a sales or branding message, provide user instructions, and display product identification information. Retail packages are often made with a hang tab or punchout to enable it to be displayed on a peg or rack in the retail store. For shelf display or use in point of purchase display, or POP, containers can be made with a flat bottom in order to stand upright without support.

Benefits of the Clamshell Package

Although consumers sometimes dislike the difficulty of opening these packages, this characteristic provides a significant benefit – protection against pilferage. This packaging approach enables manufacturers of popular consumer products to merchandise them freely, which is ultimately a benefit to all consumers. Tamper evidence and pilferage protection make this an excellent choice for expensive, high end consumer electronics, as well as personal care products of all types. Fragile items and products subject to rough handling and temperature extremes are well protected from impact and moisture when they are secured within these containers. Cost, an an important packaging product benefit in every industry, is often found here as well. Pricing for custom manufactured products vary depending on run size, product size, and construction, but in large quantity, per package costs are extremely competitive. Link back to the Clamshell Package page or visit our main page for other packaging solutions.