Whole eating from a plastic container that had 4 different pockets in it, I noticed that the liquid food tends to enter the grooves in the container. It got me thinking what is the purpose of these and why can’t there be containers that have a smooth interior?
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It’s a structural thing. Those groves make a panel that is stronger than a flat one would be.
Sometimes it’s for stacking, too. The grooves make it easier to pull them apart when they’re in a stack.
They add strength to the containers. I’m assuming the container was made out a very thin plastic? There are containers that have smooth interiors, but they have to be made out of a thicker material (which makes them more expensive).
Depends on the container, but largely they’re to make the container more sturdy with less material – the same reason that soup cans are corrugated. Soda cans have internal pressure that helps hold them up against being crushed, but soup cans don’t. The corrugation adds strength without needing to make the metal thicker.
Cheap, plastic containers need to be as cheap as possible, so they want to use as little plastic as possible. A millimeter of extra thickness doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re making millions of units, that tiny cost adds up.
See also: corrugated cardboard, corrugated metal sheets (like for roofs), etc.
Depending on the purpose of the container, it may also be there to increase grip for things like twisting off a screw-on top.
It makes it so they can stack eaiser. A smooth container would get stuck if stacked because you create a air vacuum. Grooves allow air to get in and not get stuck when stacking them.
its to give it rigidity without adding thickness
take a piece of paper, like _______________, hold it horizontally and try to bend it… it’s easy to bend right? you can literally fold it with very little effort
now fold it in half length wise (or many times in opposite directions, making the paper wavy), like vvvvvvvvvvvvvv, then try to bend it again, it will be harder to bend perpendicular to the direction of the folds
As others are saying, there are structural decisions, so you can make a stronger container with less material. HOWEVER, these types of container changes can also be a method of “shrinkflation”, ie selling less of the product for the same price.
When you have containers with “bumps” at the bottom, or “integrated handles” that squeeze the middle of the container, or “ridges” where none were needed before, it can be a way of making the container look the same size as before, for the same price, but putting 5% less product inside…and the consumer doesn’t realize.
they strengthen the container so that less plastic can be used. Without them, the container would need to be thicker.
Disposable containers need to be cheap, and the easiest way to make them cheap is to make them from a single piece of material that’s as thin as possible. The more materials used, the more complex the shape and the more amount of material used, the more expensive they become. Using a thin single piece of material allows for cheap and easy production, most are either stamped from a single piece or injection molded. Since the material is thin, in order for it to be structurally sound, using grooves and ridges make it stronger than it would be if it were just flat on all surfaces.
I think other commenters are on point with saying it’s structural.
My Tupperware has smooth, wavy grooves instead of rigid cornered grooves, which makes for easier cleaning. You might look for that as an alternative or glass Tupperware, which is strong enough to not need grooves at all and an overall better material for regular microwaving and cleaning.
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