License To Chill

Packaging innovations continue to enhance perimeter offerings.

When it comes to food packaging in perimeter sections, a key priority of manufacturers is that retailers and customers can see it — well as see right through it.

"Visibility is more important with refrigerated foods than it is with frozen foods," explains Roman Forowycz, chief marketing officer for Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based Clear Lam. "Premium graphics are commonly used with frozen foods to convey maximum appeal to consumers. With fresh, refrigerated foods, the packaging needs to showcase the product inside, whether it is a rigid container or flexible pouch."

In keeping with that emphasis on visibility, "[i]t's important that packaging for refrigerated foods includes technology to eliminate fogging," says Forowycz. "Consumers don't [like] to see a lot of condensation in the package.

Sean Brady, Sealed Air marketing manager for Cryovac Ready Meals at Duncan, S.C.-based Cryovac/Sealed Air, concurs that looks matter, adding that price is another important issue. "In the retail setting, products must present a fresh and appealing look for shoppers at a price they value," he says. This added value "can be achieved in a variety of combinations of such factors as cooking experience, customer engagement, easier opening, consistent portioning, and storage capabilities/versatility, to name a few."

Forowycz and Brady additionally cited convenience, protection of the item within, freshness retention, efficient use of materials, and technology to extend shelf life as desirable attributes of perimeter packaging. "Secondary factors such as display options and branding versatility also come into play," notes Brady.

Technological Advances

Having changed the ready meal market a few years ago with the original Cryovac Simple Steps package, which offered a solution that improved both the convenience and quality of microwavable products, the brand is now, according to Brady, "taking it one step further to elevate ready meals into an experience similar to eating a restaurant or upscale dining setting with a new plate-style tray."

Designed for frozen or refrigerated heat-and-serve meals, the Cryovac Simple Steps plate retains all of the benefits of the original product line, including the unique vacuum-skin package, which provides steam-assisted cooking and self-venting, and eliminates the need for package perforation, so users don't have to cut, peel or otherwise open the package to facilitate the cooking process. The single-serve plate boasts an upscale design and is available initially in square varieties sized to fit in most kitchen microwaves.

Sealed Air is also continuing to expand the Cryovac Multi-Seal and FoldLOK reclosable packaging formats, which provide the convenience of a reclosable package while reducing the materials and hassle associated with such traditional reclosable formats as zippers and tubs.

Both Multi-Seal and FoldLOK employ advanced adhesive technologies that enable packages to open and reclose easily many times over the life of the product. The formats' easy-open design makes them simpler for children and seniors to use, and the resultant packaging offers space savings to retailers through material reductions and a more efficient design.

U.K.-based Sirane has recently introduced the microwaveable Smart-Release bag suitable for refrigerated and frozen meals. With Sira-Cook Smart-Release, food and sauces are kept separate, sealed into two compartments. The central dividing seal has been designed to rupture in a controlled way, allowing the mixing of the contents of the two compartments. A second vent in the main compartment then opens, maintaining pressure in the bag.

Says Ian Beardsall, director of product and process development at Telford, Shropshire-based Sirane, of the cost-effective concept: "The seals will only open at certain temperatures, so the food is cooked to absolute perfection in just a few minutes. The venting seals can be tuned for retailers to meet the cooking requirements of any contents, be it seafood, poultry or even desserts."

Beardsall adds that the product line could be extended. "At the moment, it is a dual-compartment bag, but there's no reason why, in theory, it couldn't become three or four compartments," he says.

The company has also introduced a versatile self-seal bag, made from very high temperature-resistant film, for retail or home use that can be filled with a product, sealed and refrigerated, or heat-sealed for frozen produce. The odor- and leak-proof Si-bag and its contents can then be cooked quickly in a microwave or an oven at a later date, with all of the flavors and juices sealed in.

Additionally, the Sira-Cook PA is a unique packaging solution that enables frozen meat, fish and poultry to be packed, shipped, retailed and cooked in either an oven or microwave — all in the same package. The nylon cooking bag's material absorbs the fat released during cooking, ensuring crisp, clean food, while allowing the protein to be cooked in its own juices for added succulence. The food can be cooked without the need for a baking tray, and the oven remains clean. Sirane promises that "a new, even better version of this product will hit the shelves very soon."

Environmental Stewards

Another packaging priority in the perimeter, as throughout the store, is the environment. That was the thinking behind Clear Lam's introduction of intuitive, consumer-friendly peel-and-reseal technology for multi-use refrigerated foods. The new product eliminates the need for rigid lids and shrink bands, not only providing an enhanced safety seal, but also reducing weight by as much as 30 percent, which helps companies save on transportation and fuel costs. Additionally, warehousing space is significantly reduced, because storing rolls of film instead of preformed parts requires much less space.

"For most food processors and retailers today, sustainability has become not just an option, but [also] a normal course of doing business," says Clear Lam President and CEO James Sanfilippo. "This is translating into growing demand for packaging solutions, like our Peel and ReSeal Lidding Film, that help companies meet their sustainability goals while providing improved efficiencies and cost advantages."

"[C]onsumers are becoming more sophisticated in this area," affirms Sealed Air's Brady. "They realize consideration of the entire product life cycle is more important than whether a product is biodegradable or recyclable, for example."

Package Deals to Come

As for what can be expected in perimeter packaging's near future, Brady believes convenience will only grow in importance. "The number of meals prepared at home continues to rise during this period of economic uncertainty, and consumers are still crunched for time," he says. "Also, changing demographics associated with the aging baby boomer population and the move towards smaller and dual-income households lend to the increased desire for convenient foods and packaging. The result is a consumer base that demands simplified purchasing, storage, preparation, serving and cleanup for the foods they choose."

Brady continues: "One packaging trend continuing to gain momentum is earlier involvement in the product development stage. Specific technologies include active packaging that can extend shelf life without the need to modify product formulation, and ovenable/cook-in packaging that performs more than just a protective function, but also impacts product quality during preparation." He notes that sustainability will remain an important consideration as well.

"We see continued development in single-serve packaging," says Clear Lam's Forowycz. "This includes prepared meals and healthy snacks where different … meats and cheeses are combined with fresh fruit or vegetables. Also, we see the expansion of convenient snap-apart refrigerated snacks such as cheeses, yogurts, vegetables or deli salads."

"With fresh, refrigerated foods, the packaging needs to showcase the product inside, whether it is a rigid container or flexible pouch."

—Roman Forowycz, Clear Lam

Consumers realize consideration of the entire product life cycle is more important than whether a product is biodegradable or recyclable."

—Sean Brady, Sealed Air