Love ‘em or hate ‘em: Those new-fangled milk containers at big club stores

Moove over all you traditionalists. The conventional milk jug is undergoing a major makeover. If you belong to Costco or Sam's Club, you're probably familiar with – maybe even frustrated by – those orthodox square gallon milk containers at many warehouse stores. The redesigned plastic container stands considerable taller than its traditional counterpart. The mouth, an oversize screwcap, sits at the corner diagonally across from the handle. Call me clumsy, but I still can't quite get the hang of it. I don't even attempt to pour a glass of milk without keeping a sponge handy to catch the inevitable spills.

The containers made their debut at the clubs over the summer, and six months later I couldn't help but wonder if they've made as big a splash (sorry, I couldn't resist) with customers as they have with the clubs.

"The pros definitely outweigh the cons," Sam's Club spokeswoman Susan Koehler said, though she acknowledged a "small number" of members don't like them and complain about dribbling. "But even more (shoppers) are excited about the cost savings associated with the redesigned container, especially during the summer when milk prices were through the roof."

In fact, there are a lot of advantages to the new jugs. They're easier, more efficient, and faster to transport to the store, and use less energy. And because the flat top and wide spout do not come in contact with other equipment during filling, it reduces the risk of possible contamination, Koehler said. Together, the various efficiencies enable the chain to knock 10 to 20 cents off the price of each gallon. You can't argue about that. I was at a nearby club this week and paid $2.59 for a gallon of 1 percent milk; that was more than $1 cheaper than the price at several area grocery stores.

Koehler explained that the square — or "case-less" milk jugs — don't require crates or racks for shipping and storage. Instead, the containers are self-stacking because the spout is flatter and each gallon can sit atop another in transmit. It's such an efficient design, she said, that a delivery truck can hold about 4,700 more gallons, or 9 percent more milk, per trip. "In an average week, we can do in two deliveries what used to take four or five," Koehler said. That means less fuel consumption and exhaust emissions.

For container-challenged folks like me, who can't seem to avoid making a mess, Sam's Club went as far as to feature in-store demonstrations (replete with cookies) explaining how to pour milk out of the new jugs. The secret is to avoid lifting and pouring, Koehler said. Instead, just leave the jug on a flat surface and gently tip it. I'm working on it.

Eventually, Sam's would like feature the new containers at more of its club stores, though parent company Walmart doesn't yet have plans to do so at its flagship stores. The big obstacle to expanding the program, Koehler said, is that most dairies lack capability to accommodate the jugs in their processing plants.

I contacted Costco to sum up its experiences with the new jugs. I'll add an update, if I hear back from the company.

—Marc Perton