What Raw Material Do You Need?

For a beverage factory, the choice of machine is of course crucial.

• What machine to buy?

• Where to buy machines?

• How to buy machines?

These are all important considerations for beverage factories. I believe that many customers will spend a lot of time on the purchase of machines. However, do not forget that the choice of raw materials is also very important.

What raw materials do you need?

Raw materials are divided into packaging materials and ingredients.

• Packaging materials: caps, bottles, labels, outer packaging materials.

• Ingredients: Water, the ingredients required in the recipe, the raw wine, the raw materials needed for winemaking.

Packaging materials

1. Bottle cap

There are two kinds of bottle caps: plastic caps and metal caps. In general, plastic bottles are covered with a plastic cap. Glass bottles with a metal lid and a wooden stopper. There will also be a few cases where plastic bottles are covered with aluminum caps.

The plastic lid is made from PE or PP. It is made by an injection molding machine.

There are many types of metal caps. Common are ROPP aluminum cap, crown cap, twist-off cap, pull ring cap. There will be plastisol(lining material) inside of the cap. So the bottle can be better sealed. This is especially important for soda and hot-filled beverages. Therefore, in plastic lids for soda and hot-filled beverages, plastisol is also common.

When purchasing caps, tell the supplier your product type so that the supplier can recommend a suitable cap according to the product.

2. Bottle

The plastic bottle materials used in beverages are generally PET and PP. Most of the room temperature filling and hot filling bottles are made from PET. PP is mostly used in sterile cold filling juices.

You can buy finished plastic bottles or PET preforms. If you buy PET preforms, you need a blow molding machine to make bottles. If you are making PP bottles, you need to purchase PP granules and PP bottle extrusion blowers.

Glass bottles are finished bottles purchased from suppliers. Different drinks are filled, and glass bottles will be different. For example, glass bottles of beer need to be pressure-resistant and explosion-proof. When purchasing glass bottles, you need to explain the type of beverage to the bottle supplier to choose the right glass bottle.

3. Label

There are several categories of labels: shrink labels, hot melt adhesive labels, and self-adhesive labels. For a detailed explanation, please check < How To Choose A Labeling Machine For A Beverage Production Line>.  

In simple terms, the cost of hot melt adhesive labels< shrink labels < stickers. The cost of hot melt adhesive label machine > shrink label machine > self-adhesive label machine.

You can choose the right label according to the outer packaging design, product level, budget, and other aspects of your beverage products.

4. Outer packaging

In the beverage industry, commonly used packaging materials are shrink film, stretch film, and cartons.

Films suitable for heat shrink packaging are PE (polyethylene), PVC (polyvinyl chloride), PVDC (polyvinyl chloride), PP (polypropylene), PS (Polystyrene), EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate) and ionic polymer films, etc. Among them, PE film has the most amount of usage, followed by PVC. These two types account for 75% usage amount of the total shrink film. 

Commonly used stretch films are PVC (polyvinyl chloride), LDPE (low-density polyethylene), EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer), and LLDPE (Linear Low-Density Polyethylene)

Packaging cartons can be divided into cardboard boxes, corrugated cardboard boxes, honeycomb cardboard boxes, and so on according to the structure.  Corrugated cardboard boxes are the most widely used for long-term storage and transportation.

More information can be found in <HOW TO CHOOSE A BACK-END PACKAGING MACHINE FOR A BEVERAGE FILLING LINE? >

If you plan to use a palletizer, you also need to prepare pallets.  The pallet size is also different for each country. You can customize the machine according to the common pallet size of your country.

Ingredient

1. Water

Whether you’re making a drink or making water, you need a good water source. Groundwater is generally recommended for water sources. Natural water sources must be filtered by specialized equipment to meet drinking standards, then be used for the production of beverages. For more information please see <Water Treatment Equipment>. Learn how to filter water.

2. Formula

If you are making beverages, it is crucial to find a good recipe supplier. You need to tell the recipe supplier what you think. For example:

• Is it carbonated?

• Any specified fruit or plant?

• Want the taste of milk?

• Want to have a coffee flavor?

The recipe supplier will create a formula that you are satisfied with according to your ideas. They will even provide you with the entire process of beverage production. This is very helpful for your subsequent purchase of machines.

Some formula suppliers can even recommend raw material manufacturers to you. Of course, you can also purchase the raw materials by yourself according to the recipe.

3. Wine

If you are planning alcoholic beverages, you can choose to brew your own wine or purchase the wine to make the finished product.

If you’re brewing the wine, you’ll need grains and yeast. For a more detailed brewing process, check out our previous publications of <Beer> and <Whiskey> articles.

The preparation of raw materials is not simple at all. You have to consider the price, the cost of storage, whether it is easy to get, etc. Linho is willing to help you with all your questions.