By choosing the new aseptic dry preform sterilisation technology, RJ Corp is commercialising its liquid dairy products (LDP) in PET for the first time in India
Varun Beverages, part of RJ Corp group, one of the largest franchises for PepsiCo Inc. globally, has installed Sidel’s Aseptic Combi Predis in its newly established plant in Punjab, India.
This pivotal project aims to expand PET bottling capacity and provide production flexibility for the private label milk brand Cream Bell as well as Pepsi’s Tropicana juice range. By choosing the new aseptic dry preform sterilisation technology, RJ Corp is commercialising its liquid dairy products (LDP) in PET for the first time in India.
With Indian consumers looking more and more for nutritional beverages, the market keeps shifting towards so-called “better-for-you” drinks. To remain competitive in light of this trend, RJ Corp decided to diversify its portfolio and put more emphasis on its 100 per cent juices with pulp and ultra-high temperature (UHT) LDP, thus gaining more production flexibility to switch product categories easily.
“Managing both juices and dairy products on the same PET packaging line flexibly was essential for us, and we could make it happen only by producing in aseptic,” said R.J.S. Bagga, Director Technical & Operations at RJ Corp. “High-level food safety and hygiene standards were must-have features to answer Pepsi’s demanding quality protocol as well as to pass internal and external validations.”
To face these challenges, RJ Corp decided to go with Sidel’s Aseptic Combi Predis, including dry preform sterilisation as they were Convinced with the safe and easy-to-operate solution while visiting a French copacker that has used and trusted this technology to handle both juices and milk for more than 10 years.
“RJ Corp chose Sidel because of our long-standing expertise in PET and aseptic technologies. Their new line allows for up to 200 hours of continuous production without any stoppages for cleaning, keeping the production running steadily without any compromise on product quality. Moreover, the equipment is easy to manage, and the operators find its functions intuitive and easily accessible,” said Rohit Sawhney, Sales Director, Sidel India.