Test your packaging IQ: Aluminium foil packaging

Aluminium foils are widely sold into the consumer market, as it is used for wrapping food in order to preserve it. 

According to a report, approximately 75% of aluminium foil is used for the packaging of foods, cosmetics, and chemical products, and 25% is used for industrial usage. 

Aluminium has the ability to form any shape along with its strong barrier properties. Also, aluminium cans and other aluminium packaging materials can be recycled and reused.

In this edition of ‘Test your packaging IQ’, the WhatPackaging? team brings to you, some fun facts and trivia related to the aluminium foil.

09 Feb 2019 | By WhatPackaging? Team

 Q. Who invented aluminium foil?
A. The first aluminium foil came into place in the year in 1910. Tin was replaced by aluminium in 1910, when the first aluminium foil rolling plant, "Dr Lauber, Neher & Cie" was opened in Emmishofen, Switzerland. The plant was owned by JG Neher & Sons, and together with Dr Lauber, they discovered the endless rolling process and the use of aluminium foil as a protective barrier in December 1907.

 Q. Which was the first product to be packaged using the aluminium foil?
A. In 1911, Bern-based Tobler began wrapping its chocolate bars in aluminium foil, including the unique triangular chocolate bar, Toblerone.

 Q. In the year 1912, Maggi started using the aluminium foil to pack soups and stock cubes. Maggi is one of Nestle’s billion-dollar brands. But do you remember in which year did Nestle merge with Maggi?
A. In 1947, Maggi's holding company merged with the Nestle company to form Nestle-Alimentana SA.

 Q. Aluminium is widely used for the manufacturing of the blister packs. But have you ever wondered who invented blister packaging?
A. In 1949, in the city of Montreal Canada, Peter Green created the first ever blister sealing machine for retail packaging. Peter, the inventor of the rotary blister-pack seal unit, was the pioneer and originator of the blister packaging machine.

 Q. Who manufactured the world’s largest packaged beer?
A. Austin Beerworks, a brewery in Texas, supersised beer product called 99-pack, which has 99 cans of beer and three rows of 33 cans. The "99-pack" beer is 7 feet long and weighs 82 pounds. It's the world's largest packaged beer.