VALIDATION • EVIDENCE BEFORE CLAIMS
A development programme
designed to say no.
Nacrealia advances only if it preserves the cold-cup experience while meeting material, safety and manufacturing requirements. Every phase has an explicit stop condition.
CLOSURE VALIDATION
The rim is where material science meets daily use.
The closure concept concentrates testing on the difficult interface: forming repeatability, engagement force, splash resistance, venting and drop integrity. The render clarifies the geometry; the development programme must prove the performance.
SIX INDUSTRIAL GATES
Success is a complete cup, not a promising specimen.
01 · Optical clarity
Target haze ≤3.5% in flat sheet and ≤5% in the finished formed component, subject to agreed measurement conditions.
02 · Cold containment
No unacceptable leakage, delamination or loss of useful stiffness during a defined 24-hour iced-beverage exposure.
03 · Sensory neutrality
No material taste or aroma impact in controlled comparison testing.
04 · Closure integrity
Rim retention, removal force, drop behaviour and anti-splash performance within a usable operating window.
05 · Food-contact safety
Migration and constituent review against the intended food-contact conditions before consumer testing.
06 · Manufacturing relevance
Repeatable forming, stacking and handling at a conversion rate credible enough to justify scale-up.
STAGED DEVELOPMENT
Learn cheaply before scaling expensively.
PHASE 1
Sheet and barrier screening
Clarity, wet stiffness, barrier continuity and sensory risk.
PHASE 2
Formed components
Cup and lid forming, rolled rim, CurlLock engagement and barrier damage.
PHASE 3
System testing
Ice hold, condensation, drop, stacking, drinking and store-use simulation.
PHASE 4
Pilot conversion
Repeatability, line speed, yield, cost drivers and end-of-life evidence.
KNOWN RISKS
The difficult questions are part of the design.
Clarity versus barrier loading. More coating may improve containment while making the cup hazier.
Wet performance versus circularity. Greater water resistance may complicate fibre recovery or biodegradation pathways.
Secure closure versus removability. CurlLock geometry must retain the lid without excessive application or removal force.
Laboratory forming versus commercial conversion. A successful bench cup is not evidence of useful line speed.
The intended output is a decision, not a demonstration.
Proceed, refine or stop will be determined from the six evidence gates.
Nacrealia 