Sustainability is driving the excess from packaging materials, energy use, and waste. The challenge for brand owners will be to improve product protection and shelf impact while also using materials and technologies that lessen packaging's environmental impact.
Though sustainability is important, consumers are seeking easier, more healthful, and fresher food options.
What this means for packaging is a growing need for materials and formats that ensure product freshness and protect nutrients, and also extend product shelf life and deliver consumer convenience. Two examples:
The trends of product freshness and consumer convenience have increased the need for rigid plastic containers. Microwave packaging is one hot market for this packaging format. In the refrigerator case, one such package is Kraft Foods' Oscar Mayer Deli Creations refrigerated, MAP-packed sandwiches in Graphic Packaging International's QuiltWave microwave receptor trays. Created to deliver restaurant-quality, hot sandwiches in 60 seconds, each Deli Creations product includes all the fixings for a hearty sandwich, including individually wrapped meat, bread, and cheese, plus pouched condiments. The components are grouped on the QuiltWave tray inside a paperboard carton.
Hormel Compleats microwavable meals, from Hormel Foods, also was developed to "cater specifically to busy workers looking for convenient, quick, and satisfying meal options," says Brett Asay, Hormel Compleats Product Manager. The meals replace Hormel's Microwave Trays line of frozen, microwavable meals and include 21 varieties in a shelf-stable, microwavable polypropylene tray with a film lid, marketed in a paperboard sleeve. "You can toss one in your bag, store one in your desk, or keep a stock in your pantry, and you don't have to worry about keeping them frozen," Asay says.
In beverages, the bottle-can format is gaining wider acceptance, in part because aluminum and steel are recyclable materials. But designers are beginning to let their creativity flow in using both color and shape for visual appeal. One of the latest applications is from Coca-Cola North America and Caribou Coffee, for a premium ready-to-drink ice coffee line in three varieties. The brand employs a 12-oz reclosable, shaped AlumiTek aluminum bottle from Ball Corp. The package is reclosable and offers good shelf life, tamper-resistance, and the ability to chill quickly.
Shape is catching on elsewhere in the beverage aisles. Carolyn Takata, Director of Marketing, Silgan Containers, says one reason is that evolving technologies are bringing about production efficiencies for aluminum and steel that compare favorably with those of metal cans.
One striking example of a new steel, shaped can is the 5-oz aerosol for PAM Professional High Heat no-stick cooking spray. ConAgra Foods opted for a three-piece steel can, created using Ball Corp.'s Aergo blow-molding shaping technology. The process expands can walls up to 30% beyond conventional, straight-walled cans.
The custom-shaped PAM can's ergonomic contours resemble brushed stainless steel and replicate the look of a modern kitchen appliance.
By Anne Marie Mohan, Senior Editor, Packaging World
