Abstract:
Improvements in containers are provided, and in particular improvements in containers for preparing and dispensing foamable beverage and food products. The package may contain at least a liquid primary ingredient and a secondary ingredient and comprises at least one wall defining a chamber at least partially filled with the primary ingredient, an outlet for dispensing the prepared product, and a capsule surrounding the primary ingredient separating the secondary ingredient from the primary ingredient. The capsule may be attached to insides of opposing walls of the package such that as the opposing walls are moved further apart the capsule breaks. At least one of the ingredients may include a foaming agent such that the foamed product is produced when the capsule is broken and the primary and secondary ingredients mix.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a U.S. national phase application of International Application No. PCT/US2011/044491, filed Jul. 19, 2011, designating the United States, which claims benefit from Great Britain Application No. GB 1012106.9, filed Jul. 19, 2010, both of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     FIELD 
     The invention relates to improvements in containers, and in particular to improvements in containers for preparing and dispensing foamable beverage and food products. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Over the past few decades, there has been an erosion of traditional eating habits and this has led to a growth in the snack food market. Snacks are no longer confined to grazing between meals, but also are taking the place of meals, for example, as workers eat lunch at their desks. 
     Whilst consumers are demanding products which may be indulgent, more affordable, playful or overall more interesting, the success of any snack product is still highly dependent on its convenience. 
     Alongside the development of snack food products, there is a greater demand for a greater range of beverages and in particular there has been a rapid rise in packaged coffee products which have developed from a basic drink to a wide range of drinks designed to appeal to different consumer tastes. In particular some of these drinks use premium coffees, which are leading to the development of indulgent treats in the form of foamed food and beverage products. 
     One process for serving a ready-to-drink cappuccino is described in DE-A-4332387. This describes an extraction method using coffee powder which is mixed with liquid and stored in a container with an air space of a quarter to a twentieth of the container volume. Prior to opening and consumption, the containers are shaken until foam has formed in the air space. The container is then opened and the beverage drunk from the container or emptied into a separate drinking receptacle. 
     The Douwe Egberts Café Switch™ product launched in 2006 is described in US-A-2007/0031545 and comprises a package which can be used for preparing a coffee beverage from a foamable liquid and a gas. The package comprises two chambers which are connected, between which the liquid and gas are displaceable by squeezing each chamber consecutively. A flow disrupter placed in the connecting passage assists the mixing and foam formation. After pumping the package can be opened and the contents poured into a drinking vessel and topped up with hot or cold water. 
     Both of these prior art solutions, however, require rigorous shaking or some form of manual manipulation. It is therefore desirable to provide an improved package for preparing a foamable beverage or food product. 
     SUMMARY 
     Accordingly there is provided a package for the preparation of a foamed beverage or food product containing at least a liquid primary ingredient and a secondary ingredient, said package comprising at least one wall defining a chamber at least partially filled with the primary ingredient, an outlet for dispensing the prepared product, and a breakable barrier separating the secondary ingredient from the primary ingredient, wherein at least one of the ingredients includes a foaming agent such that the foamed product is produced when the breakable barrier broken and the primary and secondary ingredients mix. 
     Preferably the breakable barrier is a capsule surrounding the primary ingredient. 
     The capsule is preferably attached to insides of opposing walls of the package such that as the opposing walls are moved further apart the capsule breaks. 
     Preferably the package is resiliently deformable between the normal expanded position and a compressed position, the movement from the compressed position to the expanded position being such that it breaks the capsule. 
     Preferably the application of manual pressure breaks the breakable barrier. 
     The package preferably further comprises means for selectively opening and closing the outlet. 
     The package preferably also comprises air inlet means for selectively enabling the ingress of air into the chamber, which may be a one way valve in the at least one wall or a plurality of apertures in the at least one wall of a size which allows the ingress of air into the chamber but substantially prevents the egress of liquid from the chamber. 
     The outlet may provide the air inlet means. 
     The outlet is preferably formed by tearing a portion of the package along a line of weakening. 
     The outlet may comprise a nozzle or a path, the construction of which aids generation of foam. 
     Means are preferably provided for rupturing the barrier such as an activatable lever. 
     Preferably the barrier is located in a nozzle at the outlet. 
     There is also provided a method of preparing a foamed beverage or food product from a liquid primary ingredient and a secondary ingredient from a package as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising the steps of breaking the barrier separating the secondary ingredient from the primary ingredient to enable the primary and secondary ingredients to mix and foam, opening the outlet and squeezing the package to dispense the prepared product via the outlet. 
     The packages can be used to prepare a finished foamed product, such as a frothy milk shake. Alternatively they can be used to prepare a foamed product, such as foamed milk, which may be mixed with another ingredient or another beverage, such as coffee, to create a cappuccino. In particular it is envisaged that these packages may be used to replace the currently used coffee mix and soft pod powder adjunct which contains powdered creamer and a foam booster ingredient. Typically a roast and ground (R &amp; G) coffee or a liquid coffee solution made from a small sachet of soluble coffee will be poured onto this to provide a coffee beverage with a white foam. The packages described herein allow a liquid concentrated milk/creamer to be used to provide the milkiness and the foam. 
     In another application the package contains a milk/creamer which replaces the two step pod approach (i.e. a creamer pod and an R&amp;G pod) which are separately prepared and then combined to provide the white foam on the coffee. Using the new package, only one brewing step is required (e.g. just the coffee) and the foamed milk may be added directly to the coffee or vice versa. 
     Using the packages described herein it is easy to produce a final drink of approximately 300 ml, of which 50 ml is foam, 50 ml is coffee and 200 ml is milk. 
     The foam produced may be aerated foam or a mousse similar to those that can be dispensed from a can for desserts. The latter may be used in combination with espresso to create an espresso macchiato drink. For this type of drink one might produce 50 ml of concentrated creamer (2-4 times concentrated) which is foamed with minimal dilution and added on top of a separately brewed espresso. 
     Another suitable application is for producing foamed chocolate (white, milk or dark chocolate) which may be used on top of an espresso or a cappuccino, or just diluted to create a foaming hot chocolate beverage. A suitable recipe for the former would be 100 ml of coffee plus 20 g of foamed dark chocolate paste or 25 g of milk chocolate paste. Another would be 200 ml coffee plus 20 g of foamed dark chocolate paste or 25 g of foamed milk chocolate paste. 
     In one form, a package is provided for the preparation of a foamed beverage or food product containing at least a liquid primary ingredient and a secondary ingredient, said package comprising at least one wall defining a chamber at least partially filled with the primary ingredient, an outlet for dispensing the prepared product, a breakable barrier separating the secondary ingredient from the primary ingredient, and a one way valve in the at least one wall enabling the ingress of air into the chamber wherein at least one of the ingredients includes a foaming agent such that the foamed product is produced when the breakable barrier is broken and the primary and secondary ingredients mix. The package may include means for selectively opening and closing the outlet. Further, the outlet may be formed by tearing a portion of the package along a line of weakening, and the outlet may comprise may comprise a nozzle. In addition, the outlet may provide a path, the construction of which aids generation of foam. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The packages will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:— 
         FIG. 1  is a cross sectional side elevation of a first package prior to filling; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross sectional side elevation of the package of  FIG. 1  filled with a product; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross sectional side elevation of the package of  FIG. 1  with the air evacuated; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross sectional side elevation of a filled and sealed package; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross sectional side elevation of the filled package of  FIG. 4 , showing the opening of the inlet valve; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross sectional side elevation of the package with gas inducted; 
         FIG. 7  is a cross sectional side elevation of the package with the foamed product ready for dispensing; 
         FIG. 8  is a cross sectional side elevation of a filled alternative package to that of  FIGS. 1 to 7 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a cross sectional side elevation of the package of  FIG. 8  with the foamed product ready for dispensing; 
         FIG. 10  is a plan view of yet another filled package; 
         FIG. 11  is a cross sectional end elevation of the package of  FIG. 10 ; 
         FIG. 12  is a plan view of the package of  FIG. 10  with the foamed product ready for dispensing; 
         FIG. 13  is a modification of the package of  FIG. 10  with the secondary ingredient capsule held in a side chamber; 
         FIG. 14  is a cross sectional front elevation of another package with the foamed product ready for dispensing; and 
         FIG. 15  is a plan view of another filled package. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The packages described below enable a foamed (frothy) food or beverage product to be prepared by mixing a primary ingredient, which is in liquid form, with a secondary ingredient, which may be air, a gas, a powder containing air or gas, or another liquid. It should be noted that, in the context of this specification the reference to “ingredient” may refer to a composition of formed from a plurality of ingredients. The primary and secondary ingredients are separated until the preparation process commences. This can be achieved in a number of ways. 
     The primary ingredient may be a liquid coffee solution, concentrated liquid milk or creamer, a flavoured milk and chocolate (white, milk or dark). Although it is intended that the package effects the foaming of a foamable primary ingredient, the primary ingredient may also contain a foaming agent. Alternatively the secondary ingredient may include a foaming agent. The foaming agent may be one of those described in US-A-2006/0040038, EP-A-1627572 and EP-A-1627568 or any other suitable agent. 
     One package  10 , illustrated in  FIGS. 1 to 7 , is a deformable package which is filled with the primary ingredient. The secondary ingredient is air, which is drawn into the package  10  upon opening. 
     The package  10  is preferably made from a semi-rigid liquid impermeable material, for example high density polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyester, or a laminate of two or more of these materials. The addition of a layer of ethylene-vinyl alcohol polymer is desirable as it renders the package  10  fully gas impermeable. The preferred thickness of the walls lies in the range of 50 to 300 microns. The material, shape and makeup of the package  10 , however, must be selected so that the package  10  is resiliently deformable when pressure is applied, but which will return to its original shape configuration when the pressure is removed. A convenient shape for the package  10  is a sphere or a compressed sphere. 
     The package  10  may be opaque, transparent or translucent and a suitable manufacturing process is injection moulding. 
     The walls  11  of the package  10  define a mixing chamber  12 . It should be noted that the reference to “walls” herein should be considered to incorporate a single continuous wall or multiple walls depending on the design of the package  10 . The walls  11  include an outlet  13  which is preferably selectively opened and closed by sealing means  14 . The outlet  13  may be a simple orifice or a nozzle and the sealing means  14  may be a screw on cap, stopper, peelable adhesive foil or label or other suitable means depending on the nature of the outlet  13 . Air inlet means  15 , preferably in the form of a one-way valve, are provided in one of the walls  11 , preferably at a distance from the outlet  13 , for selectively allowing the ingress of air into the chamber  12 . A removable cover  16  may be used to seal the air inlet means  15 , which is removed when the product is to be prepared. The removable cover  16  may also be a peelable adhesive foil or label. 
     Prior to filling the empty package retains a normal expanded shape and configuration, as shown in  FIG. 1 , and is filled with air. The chamber  12  is partially filled with the primary ingredient  17  via outlet  13  ( FIG. 2 ) and air escapes via the outlet  13 . The package  10  is compressed to evacuate any remaining air via the outlet  13  and, when all the air has been evacuated, the outlet  13  is sealed with the sealing means  14  ( FIG. 4 ). 
     When the food or beverage product is to be consumed, the consumer opens the air inlet means  15  by removing the cover  16  ( FIG. 5 ). The resilient nature of the package  10  causes it to expand to its original shape, sucking air (the secondary ingredient) back in through the air inlet means  15  ( FIG. 6 ) as it does so. The in-rush of air at least partially mixes with the primary ingredient  17 . Depending on the nature of the primary ingredient  17  the in-rush of air may be sufficient to effect at least some foaming of the primary ingredient  17 . However the consumer may need to shake the package  10  to complete the foaming action. The outlet sealing means  14  is then removed so that the prepared foamed product can be poured or squeezed out through the outlet  13 . 
     The ratio of primary ingredient to air in the chamber  12  varies according to the nature of the primary ingredient and the desired quantity of foamed ingredient. If a typical cappuccino is considered to comprise one third foam, one third espresso and one third milk, for 180 ml of cappuccino around 50-60 ml of foam is expected. For mousse type applications the air to liquid ratio may be around 50:50. 
     In a modification of the package  10 , the air inlet means are provided by the outlet  13 . To effect the beverage preparation, the sealing means  14  is removed from the outlet  13  to allow air to enter the chamber  12 . Once the package  10  has recovered its normal pre-formed shape the product may be dispensed or sealing means  14  may be reapplied to prevent the product from leaking during shaking. 
     In a further modified version of this package  10 , the air inlet means  15  comprise small apertures or perforations in the wall  11 , the perforations being small enough to allow air in, but minimal liquid out. 
     As a further modification still, an insert may be located inside the package  10  in the form of a mesh web, ball, disc or another device, which assists the foam generation and reduces or eliminates the need for additional shaking. As yet a further alternative a mesh, duct, or suitably shaped nozzle may be provided at the outlet  13  to aid foam generation as the product exits the package  10 . 
     A second package  20  is illustrated in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . This package  20  is made from a suitable resiliently deformable semi-rigid material, such as are described above, which is liquid, and preferably air, impermeable. The walls  21  of the package  20  define a mixing chamber  22  and include an outlet  23  with sealing means  24  for sealing the outlet  23 , which may have a similar configuration to that described above. 
     The package  20  is filled with the primary ingredient  17 , and air evacuated. A capsule  25  containing the secondary ingredient  26  is located in the chamber  22 . The capsule  25  is made from a relatively frangible material, which is at least liquid impermeable. The capsule  25  is attached to the insides of opposing walls  21  of the package  20 . The primary ingredient  17  is therefore unable to mix with the secondary ingredient  26 , which is enclosed within the capsule  25 . 
     When the package  20  is opened by removal of the sealing means, air is sucked in via the outlet  23  and the package  20  expanding to its normal position causing the capsule  25  to rupture and release its contents (secondary ingredient  26 ) to mix with the primary ingredient  17  ( FIG. 9 ). The sealing means  24  may be replaced if shaking of the package is required. 
     In this, and other versions of the package which include a capsule, the secondary ingredient may be or include a foaming agent (such as those described in US-A-2006/0040038, EP-A-1627572 and EP-A-1627568 or a bubble of compressed gas. 
     This package  20  may also incorporate similar air inlet means as described in relation to the first package  10  to allow the ingress of air during the product preparation process. This package  20  may also incorporate any of the other modifications described in relation to package  10 . 
     A third package  30  is illustrated in  FIGS. 10 to 12 . This package  30  is preferably made from a flexible material and is not required to be resiliently deformable. The materials described above may be suitable if sufficiently thin to be flexible. The walls  31  of the package  30  again define the mixing chamber  32 . 
     The package  30  may have a preformed outlet as described above. Alternatively, and as illustrated, the walls  31  may be sealed at opposing ends of the package  30  by end seals  33  in one of which is located a line of weakening  34 , such as a laser score line, and tear initiation point  35  such as a notch. This enables the package  30  to be torn open in a controlled manner leaving an outlet  37  through which the foamed product can be dispensed. 
     Air inlet means  36 , such as a one-way valve, may be provided in one of the walls  31 , preferably at a distance from the outlet  37 , to allow the ingress of air into the chamber  32 . A removable cover  36   a  seals the air inlet means  36 , which is removed when the product is to be prepared. The removable cover  36   a  may also be a peelable adhesive foil or label. 
     Located in the chamber  32  is a capsule  38  which contains the secondary ingredient  26 , which may be a foaming agent, compressed air or/gas. The capsule may be unrestrained and therefore able to move freely within the chamber or it may be restrained in a predetermined location. Some air may need to be left in the headspace of the chamber  32  to enable expansion of the foam to take place. In one example the capsule  38  has a volume of 10 to 15 cm 3  and the primary ingredient takes up a volume of 50 to 100 cm 3  with a preferred headspace of 25 to 50 of the total volume of the package. 
     The capsule  38  is made from a material which can be broken when the consumer squeezes the capsule  38  (through the package walls  31 ) between their fingers, thereby bursting the capsule  38 . The capsule  38  is at least liquid impermeable and, if the secondary ingredient  26  is gas or air, also gas impermeable. The primary ingredient  17  is therefore unable to mix with the secondary ingredient  26 , which is enclosed within the capsule  38 . 
     To prepare the foamed product, the consumer squeezes the capsule  38  within the package  30  until it bursts, releasing the secondary ingredient  26  to mix with the primary ingredient  17  so that the foaming reaction is activated. If the package  30  includes air inlet means  36 , this must also be opened to allow air to enter the chamber  32 . 
     The outlet  36  is opened and the foamed product is squeezed out of the outlet  36 . Preferably the outlet  36  is designed to provide a narrow and/or torturous path which further aids the generation of foam as the product  18  is dispensed. The outlet  36  may also be provided with an eductor which enables air to be drawn in from the atmosphere and incorporated in the product as it is dispensed. 
     In a modification of this package  30 , shown in  FIG. 13 , the capsule  38  is restrained in a side chamber  39  formed by creating a weak seal  40  between opposing walls  31  of the package. This makes it easier for the consumer to locate the capsule  38  for bursting. Alternatively the capsule  38  may be restrained in a desired location by a loose fibrous web or other suitable means. 
     A fourth package  40  is illustrated in  FIG. 14 . This package  40  incorporates a cap  41  to which is attached the capsule  42  containing the secondary ingredient  26 . This is held at the top of the chamber  43 , in the bottom of which is the primary ingredient  17 . 
     In order to prepare the product  18  the cap  41  is pushed or squeezed in order to burst the capsule  42  and release the secondary ingredient  26 . As the secondary ingredient  26  comes into contact with the primary ingredient  17  foam is generated. Once the foaming reaction has finished, an outlet  44  is opened in the base  45  of the package  40  to dispense the foamed product into a cup  46  or other receptacle. 
     A further alternative embodiment of the package has a similar general construction to those described above, and additionally comprises an activatable lever, which is moved by the action of opening the package or removing a layer, to burst the capsule containing the secondary ingredient. 
     In vet another version of the package  50 , which has a similar general construction to those described above and is shown in  FIG. 15 , instead of using a capsule located in the mixing chamber  32 , the outlet is provided by a nozzle  51  which is filled with the secondary ingredient  26 . The nozzle  51  is provided with a closure  53 , such as a cap or a removable seal. A breakable barrier  52  such as a membrane, separates the secondary ingredient from the primary ingredient  17  held in the chamber  32 . The barrier  52  is broken by squeezing the package  50  to allow the primary and secondary ingredients to mix and the foaming action to take place. The closure  53  is removed from the nozzle  81  and the foamed product is then squeezed out through the nozzle  51 . In a further modification the primary and secondary ingredients  17 ,  26  can be held separate until the point of dispensation so that the primary ingredient only comes into contact with the secondary ingredient as it passes through the nozzle  53 .