Ordering

Case Packs and Bottle Partitions: A Buyer's Guide

What is a bottle partition box?

A bottle partition box is a corrugated case with a grid of inserts inside it. Each bottle drops into its own cell, so glass never touches glass. The outer case carries the stack and the print. The partitions, cut from the same board family, hold the bottles apart and take the knocks. Vikrama Industries builds both parts to one spec so the pack ships as a single unit. Every cell is sized to your bottle, not to a stock grid, because a loose bottle rattles and a tight one cracks.

Buyers reach for this pack when the product is heavy, round and breakable, and when the case has to move through a filling line, a warehouse and a courier network without a single loss. The partition is not a nicety. It is the part of the pack that decides whether twelve bottles arrive as twelve bottles.

• Outer case: a regular slotted carton in 3, 5 or 7 ply, sized to the full grid.
• Partitions: die-cut or slotted corrugated strips that lock into a grid.
• Cell fit: each opening cut to the bottle diameter, with a small clearance.
• Ply match: heavier bottles get 5 ply walls and stiffer partition board.
• Print: plain, one colour or multi colour on the outer case only.

How do you spec the grid?

The grid is the first number to fix. It is written as columns by rows, so 3x2 is six cells, 3x3 is nine and 3x4 is twelve. The grid sets the case footprint, the board area and the partition count, so it drives most of the cost. Pick the grid from how the product sells and how the line fills, then size the case around the real bottle, including the neck and the base, not a rounded figure.

These grids are illustrative. A real pack is built to the bottle spec, so the cell count, the wall height and the clearance all come from the sample bottle you send. A tall spirits bottle needs a deeper case and a taller partition wall than a squat one. A heavy base needs a floor pad so the weight does not ride on the slot joints. The grid names the layout, the bottle sets the dimensions.

The grid names the layout. The bottle sets every dimension, from cell diameter to wall height to floor clearance.

What must the pack survive?

A bottle case does not fail on the shelf. It fails in the four places between the line and the buyer, and a good spec is written against all four. Design for the worst leg of the journey, not the average one, because the pack only has to lose once to cost you the order.

• Line fill: bottles drop in fast, so the cells must guide, not snag. A tight or misaligned partition jams the line and slows the run.
• Stacking: cases sit under other cases in the warehouse. The walls and partitions share the top load, so ply and grid decide how high you can stack without crush.
• Transit vibration: road freight shakes glass against glass for hours. The partition clearance keeps each bottle in its cell, absorbing the buzz instead of passing it to the neck.
• Monsoon warehousing: humidity softens board and steals stacking strength. A pack that holds in January can sag in July, so the spec has to carry a monsoon margin.

Corrugated partitions handle all four when the board and the grid are matched to the bottle weight. Vikrama Industries specs corrugated inserts only, never moulded or plastic dividers, because one material means one recycling stream and one price to track. If a pack is losing bottles, the fix is almost always more ply in the walls, a stiffer partition board or a tighter cell, and a fresh sample proves it before the next run.

What does a bottle partition case cost?

Price a partition case the way you price any corrugated box, then add the partition board. The outer case is a regular slotted carton, so its cost starts from board area, ply grammage and the kraft paper rate. The partitions add their own board area and a die-cutting and assembly step, so a case with inserts sits above a plain case of the same size. The engine shows every step, so nothing hides inside one number.

Take a worked example: a 12-bottle case at 14 x 11 x 10 inches, 5 ply, plain print, at 1000 units. The case blank and the partition strips together carry roughly 0.6 to 0.7 kg of board. At a kraft rate of about Rs 38 to Rs 46 per kg that is close to Rs 24 to Rs 32 of paper. Apply a conversion band that covers the extra die-cutting and partition assembly, keep the print plain, and apply the 1000-unit quantity multiplier. The per-box estimate lands near Rs 30.89 to Rs 42.70. This is a worked example, not a fixed quote, and the kraft paper rate is a market band.

Prices attract 5% GST (HSN 4819); a GST invoice is issued with every order. Move the grid down to 3x3 or 3x2 and both the case and the partition board shrink, so the band drops. Move to a heavier bottle and the 5 ply walls and stiffer partitions push it up. Your confirmed figure comes back on WhatsApp usually in minutes, always within 24 hours, after a person checks the day's paper rate and the exact bottle dimensions.

Why order a sample before the run?

A partition case is a fit-critical pack, so it is approved on a physical sample, never on a drawing. You send the real bottle, the factory cuts one case and one partition set to spec, and you fill it, seal it and shake it. Only after that sample passes does the run start. It is the cheapest hour in the whole project, because a wrong cell caught on a sample costs one case, and a wrong cell caught on a run costs a thousand.

Once a sample is approved, Vikrama Industries holds the spec: the grid, the case dimensions, the ply, the partition board and the print. A repeat run then reprices only on the day's kraft rate and quantity, so your second and third orders come back fast and consistent. The bottle does not change between runs, so the pack should not either. Holding the spec is what turns a one-off case into a reliable line item you can reorder without re-solving the fit.

A wrong cell caught on a sample costs one case. The same error caught on a run costs a thousand.

Frequently asked questions