Milk Jug Gets A Makeover

New Square Jugs Made For Shipping, Not For Sipping, And Some Customers Are Having A Cow

(CBS)  The price of milk isn’t the only thing changing at the grocery store, CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy reports.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me,” said grocery shopper Jennifer Cerny.

The shape of the iconic gallon jug itself is shifting in stores like Sam’s Club.

And some folks are having a cow.

"My friend bought it and hates it...it doesn't pour very well," one grocery store customer told CBS News.

The new jug is more square - prompting a slight tilt in the usual instructions.

So why this change in dairy design?

"Because of the shape, traditional milk jugs can't be stacked, so they're shipped in milk crates. But they waste space on delivery trucks and millions of gallons of water are used to keep them clean."

The new flat-top jugs can simply be stacked and shrink-wrapped. No need for washing.

The new containers also store 50 percent more milk per cubic foot than the old jugs. That means more milk on each truck - reducing delivery trips and fuel costs.

"We're estimating it could be up to 11,000 trucks we're reducing on the road this year," said Daniel Book, marketing manager for Sam’s Club.

Sam’s used to take five milk-deliveries per week - now it’s down to two. They could only store 80 conventional-shaped gallons in their coolers. Now they can fit 224 of the new kind.

Experts say high fuel costs are driving all sorts of changes in product packaging.

"We really have all of the sort of bell weather signs of the perfect storm of depleted resources, finite planet,” said Anne Johnson of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. “It's time to take some action if we want to protect our bottom line in the future."

But the new packaging may also save you money - about 10 to 20 cents per gallon.

And for some, that’s reason enough to be a little more lactose tolerant.

[akafozzie]

Its great that they're working out transportation-saving innovations, but the idea that milk will get CHEAPER is terrible. Most people already pay WAY TOO LITTLE for industrial milk, making it hard enough for the few small community dairies to continue to operate. Finding ways to further undervalue this product will cause more problems. Bring on the new jugs, sure, but how much more can we devalue the products of hard-working food producers?

[acolton1]

Costco in Kansas City has had these New Milk Jugs for about a year. I hated them to start with now I love them. They take up less room in the Refrigerator and they are a little different to pour.

This is a great change less trucks hauling milk, reduced cost, and even a savings for the customer.

With the cost of GAS and Energy this is just the FIRST of many changes too come. I welcome the new milk jugs.

[o2bewealthy]

I always think that Americans should live overeseas for a couple of years to see how other people live. Throughout the Commonwealth and EU, milk is sold in vacuum-packaged squared containers. Not only can you store it for months, unrefrigerated, the containers fit in the fridge better and stack better for shipping. Out with the old and in with the new, I say.

[d25276]

Saw your show this a.m. on the new milk bottle - really like the design - something to look at listed on www.popon.net under "Green News" titled "Revolutionary Green Dispensing Technology Reduces Shipping and Packaging" - you should find this extremely interesting - it goes along with the newly designed milk bottle - the "Turnout Dispensing" technology should revolutionize many different items -please do check out this site

[quandress]

Well I suppose we could start seeing more vaccum boxes replacing round cans, there is waste in cardboard boxes when round cans are used, similarly to the milk jug issues%u2026I suppose ''square'' will become the rule%u2026imagine square cantaloupes, tomatoes, oranges, apples, toilet paper, paper towels, paper plates, bottles of water, soda, %u2026.the list is endless but it begs the question%u2026how will THIS impact the roads%u2026the trucks will be carrying more weight dispersed over the same frame%u2026.so that means more breakdown on the highway, the truck frames, tires%u2026hmmmm%u2026.i wonder if they''ve though this through%u2026.not to mention more wear and tear on human joints as the boxes will be heavier when they are moved from the carts to be stocked on the shelves. And the weight in the grocery sacks%u2026.wow this could be huge.

[pdchapin]

www.capsule.com is a truly hideous web site. Excessively complex, difficult to navigate, artful but unuseful images. I thought this kind of style over substance websites had been abandoned years ago.

I was also unable to find anything relevant to this article. The packaging for the dairy was very standard. I don''t even know what these people are suppose to do but I sure as hell wouldn''t hire them for anything.

[ajkeller2]

Just a bit of time spent on the aesthetic could have given the design a higher acceptance rate. Great idea and wonderful results, but design could be better.

See Schroeder Milk for a better example in its time.

www.capsule.us -- go to the Schroeder Milk work in the portfolio.

ajk

[ajkeller2]

Just a bit of time spent on the aesthetic could have given the design a higher acceptance rate. Great idea and wonderful results, but design could be better.

See Schroeder Milk for a better example in its time.

www.capsule.us -- go to the Schroeder Milk work in the portfolio.

ajk

[oneworldusa]

Great Idea! I agree with the poster about what kind of material is being used. I threw away all my baby bottles when the BFH (or whatever) news came out. But then, do we really know what goes into the current milk containers?

We need indredient lables for product and packaging materials coming in contact with ingestibles.

[geotale-2009]

No mention was made about the type of plastic the new container is made of. What type is it? Types 3, 5 and 7 (nalgene plastic, etc.) have been identified as potentially subject to leaching carcinogenic chemicals. Has anyone checked out the new plastic jugs?

[geotale-2009]

No mention was made about the type of plastic the new container is made of. What type is it? Types 3, 5 and 7 (nalgene plastic, etc.) have been identified as potentially subject to leaching carcinogenic chemicals. Has anyone checked out the new plastic jugs?

[geotale-2009]

No mention was made about the type of plastic the new container is made of. What type is it? Types 3, 5 and 7 (nalgene plastic, etc.) have been identified as potentially subject to leaching carcinogenic chemicals. Has anyone checked out the new plastic jugs?

[yongamerica]

That''s not milk in dartngriss''s glass.
That is some serious unintelligible bar babble.

[Syndicate]

Remember the old square carton milk containers still used for half gallons. I like those.

dartngriss??? ***?? If your going to make political statements learn how to make your point understandable. It looks like a bad translation program.

[erasmus81]

That is just plain ugly.