“At Campbell we are focused on leveraging packaging innovation in combination with product innovation to more holistically solve consumer needs that could not be achieved with product innovation alone. We take a collaborative approach with suppliers to effectively drive for better and new consumer solutions, which in turn has enabled faster speed to market.”
- Mary Gregg director, packaging, Campbell North America
Packaging innovations
Campbell’s Go! Soup is a new line of soups launching into the market this month, packaged in flavor-lock pouches from C&K Propack (www.ckpropack.com). The polymer based retortable stand-up pouch enables the consumer to microwave the soup directly in the pouch and then pour into a bowl to enjoy. The package features quirky descriptions and a fun, modern design, created by Deutsch Design Works (www.ddw.com). The eye-catching design and innovative flexible packaging choice has these soups screaming off the shelves. The Go! Soup line features six varieties of soup.
Campbell also launched a new line of sauces called Skillet Sauces. These sauces are packaged in an aluminum foil based retortable stand-up pouch from Ampac (www.ampaconline.com), which the consumer simply tears open to use and pours into a skillet. The pouch was designed by Soulsight (www.soulsight.com) and comes in six varieties.
Campbell also has award winning packages swimming through grocery aisles. Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Breads are packaged in flexible film lamination that provide excellent seal strength, resists tears and feature tear tape that provides the benefit of tamper evidence. They also have a resealable pressure-sensitive seal instead of a zipper, providing easy open and close benefits. The package recently won a DuPont Award for Packaging Innovation and an Ameristar award from the Institute of Packaging Professionals. Both awards recognize the company’s innovative design, sustainability and waste reduction. The new packaging reduced the use of materials by 65%. The more compact package has an added benefit, 25 % more product can be shipped in the same shipping unit, resulting in reduced transportation costs and a smaller carbon footprint. The packages are supplied by Printpack (www.printpack.com), CP Flexible (www.cpflexpack.com) and Sealstrip (sealstrip.com). The Goldfish Bread package was designed by S2 Design (www.s2designgroup.com).
About
Campbell Soup Company is a global manufacturer and marketer of foods and simple meals, including soup and sauces, baked snacks and healthy beverages. Founded in 1869, the company has a portfolio of market-leading brands, including Campbell's, Pepperidge Farm, Arnott's and V8. Through its corporate social responsibility program, the company strives to make a positive impact in the workplace, in the marketplace and in the communities in which it operates. Campbell is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes. www.campbellsoup.com
“Packaging innovation has always played a key role in making Dannon’s products more attractive and recognizable for our retail customers to display to consumers. In the past, we introduced a color coding strategy to make it easier to find the specific product a consumer intends to choose and to make the yogurt shopping experience more user friendly. Additionally, whenever possible, we seek to reduce the amount of primary and secondary packaging of our products in our quest for continued improvement in environmental sustainability.”
-Michael Neuwirth, senior director of public relations
New products
Dannon’s Activia Breakfast features four flavors and is a blend of yogurt, fruit and oats. The new 6-ounce cup offers 50% more yogurt per cup than currently exists in Activia’s 4-ounce cup. Dannon’s Activia Breakfast is produced at Dannon’s plant in Minster, OH and filled in cups produced on-site by Dannon.
As the growing trend of greek yogurt takes the dairy industry by storm, Dannon has released the first light Greek nonfat yogurt with fruit. Dannon’s Light & Fit Greek is the first light Greek nonfat yogurt in the category. It is packaged in a 4-pack, 5.3-ounce cup format, created on site at Dannon. The packaging showcases the key benefits of the product in an enlarged font for maximum visibility, notably its 0% fat content, two times the protein versus regular lowfat yogurt and 80 calories per serving. Light & Fit Greek is produced at Dannon’s plant in Minster, OH.
About
Dannon is the U.S. subsidiary of Danone, the world leader in fresh dairy products, the second largest seller of bottled water (Evian) and baby nutrition and the largest seller of medical nutrition products. The company sees big opportunities for Dannon to continue to grow in the yogurt market, as the market is currently underdeveloped (approximately $5.5 billion) with Americans eating less than one fifth the amount of yogurt per person than those in many European countries. Headquartered in White Plains, NY, Dannon has plants in Minster, OH, Fort Worth, TX, West Jordan, UT, and Portland, OR, which make more than 200 different flavors, styles and sizes of cultured refrigerated and frozen dairy products. www.dannon.com
Technology for frozen meals spurs sales
In hopes of increasing frozen meal sales and addressing consumer concern over the freshness and taste of these meals, ConAgra Foods has recently introduced a new technology that aims to deliver oven baked taste from the microwave. Healthy Choice Baked entrees and Marie Callender’s Comfort Bakes lines use MicroRite™ technology, from Graphic Packaging Inc. (www.graphicpkg.com) to deliver oven-baked taste without the oven.
The MicroRite tray provides improved quality by evenly cooking the meals, minimizing burnt edges and eliminating the need for a stir step. The technology is already in use with Marie Callender’s line of multi-serve entrees, a product that drove 20% incremental category growth.
About
ConAgra Foods, Inc. is one of North America's leading food companies, producing such brands as Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters, Hebrew National, Hunt’s Tomato Sauces and Ketchup, Marie Callender’s, Orville Redenbacher’s, PAM, Reddi-wip and Slim Jim Meat Sticks and Beef Jerky. Headquartered in Omaha, NE, ConAgra Foods also has a strong business-to-business presence, supplying frozen potato and sweet potato products as well as other vegetable, spice and grain products to a variety of well-known restaurants, foodservice operators and commercial customers. ConAgra Foods operates more than 70 plants across the U.S. www.conagrafoods.com
"We are always looking for new, multi-functional packaging options – such as retail-ready and stand-pouch packaging – that maximize convenience, while saving space (and sometimes costs) throughout the supply chain. All of our efforts are collaborative, taking into account the supplier, the plant, operations, purchasing, and the R&D packaging group."
-Daniel S. Miller, manager of packaging development, research and development, Hormel Foods
A closer look
In 2011, Hormel Foods launched three new Pepperoni Snack Stix varieties in a pouch package, from Ampac (www.ampaconline.com). The pouch-packed Snack Stix use a retail-ready display case, designed in sync with the packaging to better build brand recognition on store shelves. The display case holds five or six individually-packaged dry sausage stix. Twelve of the pouches are placed in the display case, and the cases are palletized 34 per layer and five layers high, for a total of 170 cases per pallet. These products are produced at the Hormel plant in Austin, TX.
About
Hormel Foods Corporation is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of high-quality, brand-name food and meat products for consumers throughout the world. The company was founded in 1891 and is based in Austin, MN which is home to the headquarters along with its research and development division and flagship plant. The company has a total of 41 U.S. manufacturing facilities. Hormel Foods is committed to responsibly managing its business to ensure its sustainability, and consistently strives to identify and implement practices that protect natural resources and the environment. www.hormelfoods.com
