Food & Beverage Kikkoman 

The Challenge

For centuries, soy sauce has been a kitchen staple, but behind the scenes it has always been one of the most difficult products to package. Thick, aromatic, and prone to foaming, soy sauce put packaging systems to the test.

Producers relying on traditional semi-rigid containers faced growing frustrations:

Bulky shipments: Only 3,000 pre-assembled cube-shaped containers could fit on a truck, meaning manufacturers were paying to ship and store empty space.

Costly fluorination: To keep the strong aroma from permeating, every container required a fluorination treatment—an expensive, time-consuming step.

Shipping failures: Long rail journeys led to flex cracking and leaks, risking product loss and costly returns.

Inefficient filling lines: The filling process was slow, with foam buildup reducing throughput and productivity.

For soy sauce producers, these weren’t just technical issues—they were day-to-day headaches that drove up costs, strained operations, and put product integrity at risk.

The Solution

CDF introduced the Cheertainer® Bag-in-Box system with the Flexifill filling machine, reshaping the way soy sauce could be packaged, shipped, and stored.

Improved filling experience: The Flexifill machine streamlined operations—reducing foaming, speeding up throughput, and cutting labor-intensive steps from the process.

Maximized logistics efficiency: Flat-packed Cheertainers allowed 72,000 bags per truckload instead of 3,000 bulky cube-shaped containers. This meant lower freight bills and warehouse aisles cleared of wasted space.

No more fluorination: After extensive shelf-life studies, CDF identified a medium-barrier film that protected product integrity without fluorination—eliminating a costly process while meeting barrier requirements.

Engineered against cracking: Vibration table trials replicated real rail journeys, helping CDF engineers pinpoint stress points. By refining bag structure and box orientation, they eliminated flex cracking and ensured leak-free transport.

The Results

The impact for soy sauce producers was immediate and measurable:

Higher throughput & smoother operations → filling became faster, cleaner, and less labor-intensive.

72,000 vs. 3,000 containers per truckload → dramatic savings in freight and storage.

Fluorination eliminated → reduced costs and a more sustainable packaging approach.

Leak-free shipments → product arrived intact, even after long rail transport.