Carrier for containers

A blank for forming a carrier for holding a plurality of containers, the blank comprising:

• a front portion for forming a front portion of the carrier, a back portion for forming a back portion of the carrier, and a reinforcement portion for forming a reinforcement portion of the carrier extending from the front portion of the carrier to the back portion of the carrier for reinforcing the carrier formed from the blank,
• the front portion of the blank comprising a front portion of an attachment panel for at least partially receiving a respective container of the plurality of containers in the carrier formed from the blank, at least one front side panel, and a front top panel foldably connected to the at least one front side panel,
• the back portion of the blank comprising a back portion of the attachment panel for at least partially receiving a respective container of the plurality of containers in the carrier formed from the blank, at least one back side panel, a back top panel foldably connected to the at least one back side panel, and a first reinforcement panel,
• the reinforcement portion of the blank comprising at least the first reinforcement panel having container retention features for at least partially engaging a respective container of the plurality of containers in the carrier formed from the blank, the container retention features comprising a plurality of container retention tabs foldably connected to the first reinforcement panel.

A method of forming a carrier for holding a plurality of containers, the method comprising:

• obtaining a blank comprising a front portion, a back portion, and a reinforcement portion,
• the front portion of the blank comprising a front portion of an attachment panel for at least partially receiving a respective container of the plurality of containers, at least one front side panel, and a front top panel foldably connected to the at least one front side panel,
• the back portion of the blank comprising a back portion of the attachment panel for at least partially receiving a respective container of the plurality of containers, at least one back side panel, a back top panel foldably connected to the at least one back side panel, and a first reinforcement panel having container retention features for at least partially engaging a respective container of the plurality of containers, the container retention features comprise a plurality of container retention tabs foldably connected to the first reinforcement panel;
• positioning the front portion of the blank to form a front portion of the carrier and positioning the back portion of the blank to form a back portion of the carrier,
• forming a reinforcement portion of the carrier from the reinforcement portion of the blank that extends from the front portion of the carrier to the back portion of the carrier to reinforce the carrier, the forming the reinforcement portion comprising positioning the first reinforcement panel with the container retention tabs in engagement with a respective container of the plurality of containers.