As I walk down any given grocery aisle, I can almost hear each package shouting, “Pick me, pick me!” With a plethora of options for various spirits, cereal and snacks, how does somebody make a choice? Which package is getting chosen? According to MWV’s (mwv.com) newest Packaging that Matters study, packaging is very impactful when making a purchase decision. We at Food and Beverage Packaging pored over your package submissions and scoured store shelves and the web to compile this list of some new packaging that is leaving its mark.
Flexible frenzy
AATU pet food
In 2014, Pet Food UK Ltd. asked Tyler Packaging Ltd. (UK) to develop an ultra-premium pet food packaging for its new pet food brand, AATU. The company tasked Tyler Packaging Ltd. (tylerpackaging.co.uk) to produce a package that suitably conveyed the high quality of the product, while making it appealing to its high-end target market.
“Quite simply, the higher the meat content, the better the quality. We see AATU as the premium luxury brand when it comes to pet food. We’re the equivalent of Rolls Royce or Bentley, the Tiffany & Co of the pet food market,” says Paul Hunter of Pet Food UK Ltd.
Tyler Packaging developed the 1.5kg flat-bottomed bag with a quad seal and an EASY-LOCK by APLIX (easylock-aplix.com) opening top. The closure was selected to complement this ultra-premium packaging design, offering consumers an easy reclosable package to preserve freshness.
New Zealand Jerky
New Zealand Jerky Inc. (NZJ) is made with all natural ingredients, and is crafted from premium, grass-fed beef from New Zealand. NZJ jerky products are packaged in pouches, sourced from Coveris (coveris.com). The company wanted to create a unique, visually appealing package within the beef jerky category. They wanted it to stand out from the majority of packaging in the category, which traditionally is designed to appeal to a masculine audience, using solid blacks and reds, and often a Wild West theme.
NZJ’s aims to appeal to both genders, to convey an overall uplifting feeling of a fresh, crisp, clean jerky product from a healthy environment. To achieve this, they chose to capture the fresh, clean colors and image of nature to transmit the feeling of “fresh” with snowy mountain peaks contrasted against the brilliant blue sky & vibrant green grass. NZJ is the first Non GMO Verified Beef Jerky on the market in the US, so they included the Non GMO Badge onto the package.
Ocean’s Halo Seaweed Chips
Ocean’s Halo™ Seaweed Chips is the first product from New Frontier Foods, Inc. The Bay Area-based natural foods company was started in Burlingame, CA by four dads. Made from only sustainably grown seaweed and other natural ingredients, Ocean’s Halo Seaweed Chips are using Innovia Films’ (innoviafilms.com) bio-based NatureFlex™ packaging. This flexible packaging material is derived from sustainable wood pulp, offers
excellent barriers to oxygen and moisture, and is certified compostable.
When looking at packaging options, Ocean’s Halo felt that the package should reflect their core values while also providing superior protection for their product. In order to maintain the crunch of the chips it was critical to guard against moisture vapor. A high barrier to oxygen was also necessary to extend shelf life.
PacXpert Packaging Technology
Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics (dow.com) recently launched its PacXpert™ Packaging Technology, which enables the transition from larger traditional rigid containers to flexible packaging. The collapsible, cube-shaped technology can be used in numerous household, institutional and industrial applications including food, condiments, liquids and dry goods.
The lightweight packaging design offers benefits for consumers, brand owners and converters, including a fitment closure and integrated ergonomic dual handles, for precision pouring, easy reclosing and convenient carrying. The package is shelf stable when filled and can stand upright or on its side, is easy to handle and does not take up too much space. Brand owners can print on all four sides, ensuring optimal brand visibility.
Yumbutter
Peanut, almond and sunflower seed butters consistently satisfy snack cravings with freshly roasted flavor and now, for the first time, Yumbutter organic nut and seed butters are available in portable pouches. The new grab-and-go, multi-serving package is a squeezable, utensil-free pouch.
“We created the GO-Anywhere Pouches to allow consumers to enjoy our quick, easy-to-eat nut and seed butter blends wherever their busy lifestyles take them,” says Yumbutter co-owner Matt D’Amour.
Rigid regiment
Bake Me Happy
Bake Me Happy is a specialty gluten-free bakery in Columbus, OH that also offers carry-out and retail packages. The company logo and branding was created by Slagle Design (slagledesign.com), also in Columbus. Bright colors on the packaging further reiterate the brand name, and evoke a fun, playful and happy experience. The packaging reflects the bakery’s atmosphere, as many of the colors from the logo are on the walls in the bakery. They supply baked, gluten free items to various stores in Columbus, as well as other outlets that are in need of gluten free items. The scones are packaged in a box of five as a take and bake item that are in the freezer section, and sold fresh in the bakery.
Coop’s MicroCreamery Hot Fudge
Coop’s MicroCreamery Hot Fudge is made in small batches with European chocolate and local dairy ingredients. The fudge is all-natural and uses distinct packaging to set it apart from competitor products. The jar is 9-ounce straight sided glass with the contents being 10.6-ounces. The lid is a gold colored lug lid covered in a decorative wax, which is infused with the essence of chocolate, giving the appearance of hot fudge dripping on the jar. Each jar’s wax design is hand applied and therefore each one is unique.
Johnnie Walker Blue Label
Diageo plc and Thin Film Electronics ASA (thinfilm.no), a Norwegian printed electronics company, teamed to create a new consumer experience with a prototype JOHNNIE WALKER BLUE LABEL® “smart bottle” unveiled at Mobile World Congress last month.
The connected “smart bottle” aims to enhance the consumer experience by using printed sensor tags featuring Thinfilm’s OpenSense technology, which can detect both the sealed and opened state of each bottle. The tags and the sensor information they contain will allow Diageo to send personalized communications (such as promotional offers and recipes) to consumers who read the tags with their smartphones.
Thinfilm’s proprietary and patent-pending OpenSense technology makes use of smartphones’ Near Field Communication capabilities. The technology allows Diageo to track bottle movements across the supply chain, in-store and to the point of consumption, with the sensor tags remaining readable even when the factory seal has been broken, providing an additional layer of security in protecting the authenticity of the product.
Owen + Alchemy
Owen + Alchemy is a cold-pressed boutique juice bar in Chicago, IL. Juice prepared with a cold press is regarded as more healthful that juice produced by traditional centrifugal juicers. The juice is sold in 16-ounce and 32-ounce Boston Round glass bottles in addition to a two-ounce Boston Round for samplers. Threaded black and gold metal closures are used, and the labels are pressure sensitive and silk screened. TricorBraun (TricorBraun.com) received a gold medal for the package from the 2015 World Beverage Competition.
Shake Me pasta
Leading French food manufacturer Soulié Restauration, part of William Saurin, introduces its new Shake Me range in a bespoke packaging solution from RPC Barrier Containers (rpc-group.com). Each pack contains a sauce topped with pasta which is then microwaved and shaken for instant enjoyment. Keeping the pasta and sauce separate until the last moment helps to preserve the texture of the pasta.
The thermoformed PP/EVOH/PP 590ml multilayer pot from RPC Bebo Plastik delivers an ambient shelf life of 18 months. The injection molded PP lid is manufactured by RPC Bramlage and provides a tight hermetic seal with the pot to prevent leakage of the sauce. The lid incorporates a bayonet system with two closed positions – the first seals the pack after filling and while on shelf; the second is the position used for reheating by the consumer. The lid features 52 small holes to allow steam evacuation during microwaving, and its design allows the incorporation of a fork underneath for on-the-go consumption.
