Why do gallon jugs that milk and juice come in have so many different designs?

Question

I buy most of the milk and orange juice that my family uses from Hiland Dairy. I have noticed that the gallon jugs come in many designs. They are all about the same shape but have different ridges or indentions. It seems like they would just use one supplier. I think that I read somewhere that these design elements are to allow the jug to expand without splitting if it is dropped. I have also read that that they are used in the plants where the bottles are filled so that machinery can grab the jugs easier.

Not Really a Doctor · Accepted Answer

A lot of times, milk and juice bottling lines will create their own bottles as part of the packaging process.  A machine has a blow-mold device that takes liquid plastic and makes brand new bottles, prints the logo on and then lines them up on the filling machine.

ckngbbbls · Answer

you answered your own question.
If you want REAL frustration, work in food service and save those big plastic buckets to reuse. the damn things are all different sizes even if they hold the same amount and the covers are NOT interchangeable.

Anonymous · Answer

No one here has done as much thinking about this as you have.

I loathe the gallon jugs that the Costco milk comes in.  I know they're designed to be as space-efficient as possible, but you can't pour from them without spilling everywhere and making a mess.

Why do gallon jugs that milk and juice come in have so many different designs?

3 Answers