MEAT+POULTRY
www.meatpoultry.com/articles/19381-progressive-packaging

Progressive packaging

12.14.2017

Packaging
Multivac thermoforming machines are designed to package products of all shapes and sizes.
 
Changing consumer preferences not only reflect the formulation and types of meat and poultry products on the market, but the merchandising and marketing of those products as well, and that includes the packaging. Recent industry news demonstrates how consumer preference has an impact on the products and how those products are packaged to maximize shelf life while showcasing what’s inside.

John Stanton, professor of Food Marketing at Saint Joseph’s Univ. in Philadelphia, has been working in the food marketing industry for 40 years. During those 40 years, there have been a lot of changes in the food landscape – but Stanton feels the most change has occurred in the past five years. And as convenience has become the rule and meal times have blurred, today’s packaging has evolved to adapt to changing needs, diverse venues and to appeal to consumers’ social consciousness. For starters, traditional shopping venues are no longer the rule.

“There are so many more channels of distribution now,” Stanton said during a Nov. 1 presentation about the changing food industry, and the role packaging plays in it, as a part of Multivac’s 30th anniversary celebration at its US headquarters in Kansas City. He added: “There’s more impact from social media; more technology. There are so many ways to communicate with and sell to consumers today.”



Packaging
Packaging has a strong correlation with product shelf life for raw and pre-cooked meat products.
 


Channel surfing

Logistics plays an increasingly important role in the supply chain as more links to the chain have been added with new retail channels blending the markets. Timeliness and packaging that can preserve products in varying formats and withstand the rigors of delivery and merchandising in all retail environments is critical and it starts with the processors of the food.

“As a producer of perishable products, it is critical to minimize travel times and make timely deliveries to our growing customer base throughout the mid-Atlantic region as well as national accounts throughout the United States,” according to Jeff Saval, president of Deli Brands of America, a Columbia, Maryland-based subsidiary of Saval Foods Corp. On Nov. 1, the company announced the construction of a 19,000-sq.-ft. packaging plant and warehouse in Lansdowne, Maryland.

The new operation will support two nearby facilities that produce deli meats, entrees and custom-cut steaks. The new plant is about 10 miles from the Deli Brands headquarters in Baltimore. “The highly developed transportation network servicing this building met our stringent criteria,” Saval said.

Minimizing travel times from plant to retailers to ensure timely deliveries has become more important as consumers are finding new and different places to spend their food dollars. Supermarkets and club stores are being joined by c-stores, drug stores, dollar stores and limited assortment stores (like Aldi and Lidl) as shopping destinations for today’s consumers. Consumers can even do their food shopping in airports and in vending machines.

“People are going everywhere to buy their food,” explained Stanton during his presentation at Multivac. “Millennials don’t see a brick and mortar store as the primary place to shop. We’re losing the opportunity to sell them other things when they skip coming into the store to shop.”

The changes in the food merchandising landscape has made food packaging more important than ever, Stanton added. “People are still making purchasing decisions by looking at the packaging, whether they’re looking at food in the store on the shelf or shopping online. If they buy online they still see pictures of the packages,” he said. “Packaging is a billboard for your brand. Even if the shopper isn’t shopping for your product, they’re walking by it in the store. They’re being exposed to your brand just like on a billboard. The packaging is the connective tissue that brings it all together.”

Realizing the role of packaging as a marketing vehicle, Rosina Food Products Inc., a Buffalo, New York, processor of frozen meatballs, pasta and entrees, unveiled new packaging across its line of meatball products, which rolled out to its retail customers on Sept. 1.

The new packages are color coded to identify the flavors and style of the products, which include Italian, Homestyle and Swedish. The packaging also displays the product size and number of servings to make selection more convenient for retail consumers.

“We’re confident the new packaging better reflects the quality of the Rosina brand,” said Chris Tirone, Rosina’s director of marketing. “Our new packaging design will clearly identify our brand and make it easier for consumers to select their favorite styles and flavors in the freezer section at retail.”

“Based on research and consumer insights, the introduction of our new packaging will improve consumer engagement with our products and our brand,” said Tom Finn, Rosina’s vice president of retail sales and marketing. “The new packaging will also benefit our retail partners, who understand and appreciate that better packaging can help increase sales.”



Packaging
While packaging is crucial in order to maintain the shelf life of meat products, processors are looking for sustainable options in packaging materials.
 


Evolving consumers

Increasing sales is predicated on food companies identifying consumer preferences and purchasing behavior. During his presentation, Stanton explained that one of the biggest changes the food industry must contend with today is the change in family households. Three groups affecting the food landscape today are:

The sandwich generation – adults that are both taking care of their parents and taking care of their kids at the same time;
Boomerang kids – adults that are going back to live with their parents later in life; and
Millennials – “Millennials behave differently, shop differently and eat differently,” Stanton explained.
Another change in consumer groups today comes from single-person households – many of which are part of the millennial generation. Twenty-seven percent of US households are made up of just one person. “Single-person households don’t shop the same way a family does,” Stanton said.

Sustainable partners

Minimizing waste by controlling the amount of packaging material is the focus of one recent partnership between a packaging company and customers in the hospitality industry and a giant retailer.

One of the UK’s retail giants, Tesco Plc, along with the global hospitality conglomerate, the Hilton Food Group, announced this past April, a partnership with packaging company Linpac as part of a group commitment to eliminate packaging waste in the food-supply chain. Using 95 percent recycled materials from plastic water bottles derived from household waste, Linpac’s Rfresh Elite packaging has been adopted by Tesco for its meat and poultry products. Linpac also supplied Elite packs to Hilton UK and Ireland in 2016.

Unlike some other sustainable plastic material on the market the Elite packaging utilizes a sealant between the tray and top film that facilitates easier post-consumer recycling, extending the life and uses for the material in the future. The sealant also reduces the weight of the packages by up to 5 percent compared to traditional packaging formats. Tesco’s adoption of Rfresh Elite products has created an end-market use for over 1,300 tons of plastic post-consumer waste.

According to a statement, “The process is the same as that used to recycle clear plastic water bottles, meaning that the resulting crystal clear recycled plastic (rPET) can re-enter the recycling chain to create closed-loop recycling and ultimately, contribute to a circular economy.”

According to Mark Caul, Ph.D., technical manager for packaging at Tesco, the recycling attributes of the packaging demonstrates a long-term commitment to preserving the environment by the company and has the potential to have an impact on a more global scale.

“These trays represent a step change for the packaging industry by being much lighter, with the added bonus of making recycling easier for local authorities,” he said. “This is a landmark innovation and a clear demonstration of our commitment to reducing our impact on the environment we live in.”