A container carrier for unitizing a plurality of containers. The carrier includes a planar sheet of a material and a plurality of container receiving apertures within the planar sheet and arranged in longitudinal rows and transverse ranks. Each of the plurality of container receiving apertures includes a central opening shape and a plurality of clefts radially extending in the planar sheet outward from the central shape to form a plurality of container friction flaps each adapted to extend along a side wall of a corresponding container of the plurality of containers.

A flexible container carrier and related method for unitizing a plurality of containers that includes a plurality of flexible bands forming an array of container receiving apertures, the array arranged in longitudinal rows and transverse ranks. A series of frangible lines of separation are provided between each container receiving opening so that removing a container from the package results in the separation of the frangible lines of separation defining the respective container receiving opening and thus the container and a respective band of the plurality of bands are removed from the package together.

A method for manufacturing an edible, multi-ring, can holder comprises the steps of dehydrating beer by-product to produce a dried pulp, grinding the dried pulp into a powder, forming a pulp slurry by adding the powder into a mixture comprising plant fibers, an environment-friendly, oil-repellent chemical, an environment-friendly, water-repellent chemical, and water, a water-to-other ingredient ratio being approximately 1000 liters of water to approximately 60 kg of the powder, the plant fibers, the oil-repellent chemical, and the water-repellent chemical, injecting the pulp slurry into a mold having an interior cavity in the shape of at least one six-pack ring, and applying pressure and heat to the mold containing the pulp slurry to produce at least one edible six-pack ring.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to a carrier for packaging one or more articles. The carrier is formed from a set of connected blanks each of which form a top engaging carrier, wherein the blanks are detachably connected together in a matrix fashion wherein each blank has a plurality of top-receiving apertures wherein a first distance (D.sub.1) between the respective centres of two adjacent ones of the apertures of a first blank is less than a second distance (D.sub.2) between the centre of a corner aperture of the first blank and the centre of the adjacent corner aperture of a second blank and wherein the first distance (D.sub.1) is less than a third distance (D.sub.3) between the centre of the corner aperture of the first blank and the centre of the adjacent corner aperture of a third blank.

A method for manufacturing an edible, multi-ring, can holder comprises the steps of dehydrating beer by-product to produce a dried pulp, grinding the dried pulp into a powder, forming a pulp slurry by adding the powder into a mixture comprising plant fibers, an environment-friendly, oil-repellent chemical, an environment-friendly, water-repellent chemical, and water, a water-to-other ingredient ratio being approximately 1000 liters of water to approximately 60 kg of the powder, the plant fibers, the oil-repellent chemical, and the water-repellent chemical, injecting the pulp slurry into a mold having an interior cavity in the shape of at least one six-pack ring, and applying pressure and heat to the mold containing the pulp slurry to produce at least one edible six-pack ring.

A blank (1)0 for forming an article carrier (90) has a main panel (12) which includes at least one article retention structure R1 having an aperture A1 defined in the main panel and one or more tabs formed about a periphery of the aperture in the main panel. The one or more tabs are connected to the main panel such that the tabs yield out of the plane of the main panel when an article is received in the aperture to bear against the article. The main panel includes a paperboard substrate and at least one polymeric layer.

A container carrier for unitizing a plurality of containers. The carrier includes a planar sheet of a material and a plurality of container receiving apertures within the planar sheet and arranged in longitudinal rows and transverse ranks. Each of the plurality of container receiving apertures includes a central opening shape and a plurality of clefts radially extending in the planar sheet outward from the central shape to form a plurality of container friction flaps each adapted to extend along a side wall of a corresponding container of the plurality of containers.

A flexible carrier for carrying a plurality of containers includes a flexible sheet having two or more rows and multiple ranks of container apertures formed therein. The plurality of containers are each placed into a respective container receiving aperture and are thus unitized in a package. The flexible carrier further includes a plurality of handles corresponding with the multiple ranks, each handle formed at a periphery of the flexible sheet and a line of weakness formed between the transverse ranks. As a result of the described configuration, the flexible carrier is divisible into multiple sub-carriers, each unitizing a set of containers and each including a handle along a respective transverse edge of the resulting sub-carrier.

A blank (1)0 for forming an article carrier (90) has a main panel (12) which includes at least one article retention structure R1 having an aperture A1 defined in the main panel and one or more tabs formed about a periphery of the aperture in the main panel. The one or more tabs are connected to the main panel such that the tabs yield out of the plane of the main panel when an article is received in the aperture to bear against the article. The main panel includes a paperboard substrate and at least one polymeric layer.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to an article top engaging device 90a-90d, a carrier 90a-90d for packaging one or more articles B and a blank 1 for forming the carrier. The top engaging article carrier comprises an engaging panel having upper and lower panels 12,14 secured together in face-contacting relationship. The upper panel has at least one first top-engaging opening A1 of a first diameter and the lower panel has at least one second top engaging opening A2 of a second diameter. The first diameter is greater than the second diameter. Each of the first and second top-engaging openings is defined by a substantially circular, uninterrupted perimeter.