Packaging Phoenix

Frozen Foods Call for Packaging Innovation

Pioneer Packaging — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:17:27 +0000

Products like frozen fish may need some packaging innovation to bring back customers.

Take a mental trip to the grocery store. You fill up on staples, fresh produce, and specialty items. Just before you set your sights on the checkout counter, you take a quick swing through the frozen food aisle to pick up one or two things.

The frozen food aisle is where shoppers spend the least amount of time in a food store. It’s cold, they don’t want any purchased food to thaw, and they’re ready to have their shopping finished. Because shoppers spend so little time in this aisle, frozen food companies need to do whatever they can to grab shoppers’ attention. Sadly, this hasn’t happened. Frozen foods need packaging innovation to get more customers into the frozen food aisle to try new products rather than avoid the aisle all together.

Flat Sales
In the U.S. and the U.K., frozen food sales have remained flat or declined in recent years. Experts attribute part of the decline to the recession but even more so to changing consumer habits. Consumers simply don’t want to eat frozen food because of the perception that it’s unhealthy, unappetizing, and doesn’t fit their lifestyle.

Packaging Innovation
Can something as simple as better packaging improve consumers’ attitudes toward frozen foods? The answer is “Yes.” As you take that mental shopping trip, notice the other food products on the shelves. Packaging plays an extremely important role in the decisions shoppers make about their purchases. They look for an attractive appearance, an environmentally friendly container, and ease of use.

Appearance: The product must look attractive and engaging to the shopper. Bold graphics, colors, and a strong branding message matter in the cereal aisle, so why not the frozen food aisle?
Environmental impact: Frozen food packaging is often simply thrown away when the food is consumed. As shoppers weigh their own impact on the environment, the ability to recycle or reuse packaging matters more.
Ease of use: Frozen food packaging hasn’t accounted for how consumers want to use the food. Re-sealable containers, multi-portion containers, and split packs increase the ease of use of frozen foods and bring them in line with other products.

Frozen foods call for packaging innovation to help shoppers embrace the products in that aisle at the grocery store. Packaging innovation works for cereal and crackers. It will work for frozen food as well.

For more information on our packaging solutions, equipment, products and services, contact us today! You can also follow @pioneerpkg on Twitter to stay updated on all the latest packaging news and information.

More Consumers Choosing Eco-friendly Packaging

Best Beer Packaging

Pioneer Packaging — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 15:24:10 +0000

Glass is known as the traditional beer packaging option that helps consumers enjoy the experience.

The beer packaging process is extremely important, mostly because beer is a very sensitive product. Specific factors, such as oxygen and light, are bad for beer. Thus, only good packaging allows beer lovers to enjoy the brew as the brewer intended. Read on to find out more about the best beer packaging solutions available today.

Glass: The glass bottle delivers a reliable, affordable, and eco-friendly beer packaging solution. Known as the traditional beer packaging option, the glass bottle allows you to enjoy the experience of a “brand in hand.”

Aluminum: The aluminum can offers one of the best beer packaging options because it prevents UV light, commonly referred to as blue light, from infiltrating the beer. Blue light turns beer “skunky” if exposed to it. Furthermore, the aluminum can is readily recyclable and very lightweight, which make transporting it convenient and cost-effective. The slim-line style turns this packaging option into a distinct product, offering greater appeal, especially to female consumers. The aluminum can’s only drawback is that the metal may alter the delicate flavor of the beer.

Plastic: The plastic bottle, also known as the PET bottle, offers various advantages and disadvantages. This packaging option is not only lightweight and affordable, but is also safe. Additionally, PET bottles are re-sealable and familiar to consumers from carbonated drinks. The main drawback of plastic bottles for beer is that they are unable to maintain high levels of carbonation, negatively affecting quality.

The Importance of Choosing the Best Beer Packaging

Choosing the right beer packaging is very important to maintain quality as well as proper price point. While both aluminum and plastic packaging options have specific drawbacks that affect the quality of the beer, the glass bottle remains the best alternative. However, understand these two factors before opting for glass packaging:

Typically, brewers use three glass colors: brown, green, and clear. The best beer packaging option among these is the brown glass bottle because, unlike green and clear glass, it doesn’t allow UV light to infiltrate the beer.
The type of bottle cap on the glass bottle is important too. Although more and more brewers are using the twist-off bottle cap, the best option is the pry-off cap because it allows only a small amount of oxygen to enter the beer between bottling and consumption.

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The Popularity of Reusable Packaging

Pioneer Packaging — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:23:41 +0000

Reusable materials like product totes have been on the rise because of its multiple advantages.

A production and transportation system that utilizes reusable packaging, cleverly designed to meet a company’s and customer’s needs in cost-effective and attractive ways, is becoming more and more valuable to companies across the country. As executives realize that consumers expect sustainability in their company’s functional, versatile, and high-quality packaging materials, they are capitalizing not only on the cost-effectiveness of reusable packaging in product shipments, but also on the time-savings of getting materials collected or delivered during the production process. The popularity of reusable packaging has been rising in recent years as companies become aware of its multiple advantages.

Reusable materials are preferable to recyclable materials because they avoid additional energy expenditures to convert a material to a reusable form, and thus drastically simplify participation in the reduce, reuse, and recycle process. Reusability simplifies sustainability and requires only a bit of forethought and planning in the creation of packaging materials.

Below are some examples of a few well-known companies that have caught on to the popularity of reusable packaging and have used it to improve their bottom lines.

Office Max – This office supply store, along with others in this market, uses many recyclable materials, which has pushed it to the forefront of recycling. Office Max allows business clients to take advantage of a special “Boomerang Box” program. Since 2010, the company has shipped product to business customers in its “Boomerang Box,” which can be reused and is made from recycled materials.

Sun Chips – Frito-Lay has developed a compostable bag for its Sun Chips product. After finishing the product, consumers simply add the bag to a compost pile and avoid putting more material into landfills. Frito-Lay’s development of compostable packaging is a daring and pioneering foray into the potential benefits of packing product in materials that don’t contribute to landfill volume.

Ghirardelli Chocolates – A San Leandro, California production facility of this Swiss chocolate producer uses reusable packaging materials in its production process. Its reusable totes not only cut back on waste and packaging costs, but also prevent injuries to workers, which were a problem when cardboard boxes were used for packaging.

Reusable Packaging Increases Sustainability for the Healthcare Industry

Rise in Online Shopping Affecting the Packaging Industry

Pioneer Packaging — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:04:53 +0000

More people are purchasing online, which will impact product packaging.

Online shopping is transforming consumer behavior in ways that directly affect the future strategies of the packaging industry. As popular online retailers such as Amazon.com attract consumers from all segments of the economy, shoppers are becoming a hybrid species, using bricks and mortar stores to research a product, and then going online to buy. Yet when consumers do make a purchase, it is often not from the online site of the bricks and mortar retailer where they saw it live.

That’s because giant online retailers like Amazon.com snatch up purchases from shoppers engaging in the fast-paced game of hunt, graze, compare and buy. The purchasing impulse has evolved somewhat into a compromise between instant gratification (I want!) and finding the best price (what can I afford?)

For a packaged goods company, these changes present a challenging picture – the source of purchases may be shifting, and with it the priorities in packaging. For example, products sold through Amazon.com and shipped directly to the customer require different packaging strategies than products sitting in boxes on shelves. Retailers can focus on this changing dynamic and use more efficient product packaging to their advantage. One approach is treating Amazon and other online retailers as a type of customer rather than a competitor.

Price drives online buying, but so does convenience. To meet this dynamic, one solution is bundling frequently purchased products to enhance perceived value. To customers, that sense of having gotten greater value for less money never gets old. Better yet, bundling and other innovative packaging solutions may ultimately save costs for packaged goods company while leaving room for more profit margins.

Retailers have other alternatives as well. Proprietary packaging or web images that convey “online deals” and packaging shipped to the home may help stoke online sales. In-store displays of online packaging and the website address can satisfy both the grazers and meat eaters among consumers. Online shopping will only continue its upward climb, and that means packaging must adapt to fit consumer needs in order to keep profits flowing in all sectors – in-store and online.

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6 Tips for Creating Seasonal Packaging

Pioneer Packaging — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:10:43 +0000

Some colors like green, can be used for Christmas but are also useable throughout the year.

Designing seasonal package requires some serious thought. Here are 6 tips to create high-impact seasonal packaging that are good for business:

1. Pick a general theme. When designing a seasonal package for your product, use a winter or spring/summer theme rather than a specific holiday – Christmas or Easter, for example — theme. In this way, the package design is appropriate for six months or so, instead of the few weeks around a holiday.

Instead of a winter holiday design, think about sports, parlor games, or indoor entertaining, for example, as a theme. For warm weather designs, think outdoor activities, beaches, and sports. Consider creating a collectible theme for your package and place it on cookie tins or tea tins that customers can use in the pantry after they finish the product.

2. Use colors and fonts that reflect the holiday but still can be used all year. Red, green, white, and gold are great colors for Christmas but are also useable throughout the year.

3. Design labels that are easy to read and user-friendly. Seasonal packaging boosts sales, especially when it can be used again. For example, beverage manufacturers may use seasonal packaging themes on decorative plastic ice trays or pitchers, which can then be used throughout the year.

4. Create a universal product design that reinforces a theme. If you want to market candy year-round, package it as a sweet gift that can be given on any occasion — holidays, birthdays, special events, and more. Use deep and shiny colors, perhaps, to make the package look important.

5. Steer clear of seasonal packaging that promotes religion or politics. Keep it focused on winter, gifts, or snow for Christmas instead of Santa, for example. Look for unique seasonal symbols to incorporate into the packaging. Perhaps stars or the Milky Way in winter, and daffodils or frogs on a lily pad for summer, Create a slogan that signals your packaging and product as different from the competition. Customers buy what looks pretty, environmentally friendly, and festive.

6. Consider mounting a point-of-purchase display, perhaps counter cards, posters, floor signs, and shelf talkers that compliment your custom seasonal design.

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Do You Know What the #1 Problem with Packaging Is?

Pioneer Packaging — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:52:45 +0000

There are few things to consider before putting your new product packaging on the shelf

Picture this: Your new product packaging is on the market less than a week and customers are calling to complain. Or perhaps you’re getting whiffs of a potential product recall. What happened? And what’s the #1 problem with packaging? Before you put your new product packaging on the shelf, here are a few things to consider.

Do You Understand Your Customers?

If you haven’t done your due diligence with market research, you will miss the mark. What consumers want and what you think they want need to mesh. A product intended for a “green economy” whose packaging is not sustainable will not be well received.

What Will Consumers Think?

Not researching to understand your customers is a typical problem with packaging. If you don’t know what they think, how can you design the packaging to attract them? Will they recognize your product? Will it be easy to open? Will it be attractive to them? Will they even want the product?

Is It Safe?

The last thing you need is a product recall. Bad publicity. Is the product tamper-proof? Could the packaging cause any harm to a consumer trying to open it? Are instructions and warnings clear? Does it conform to the labeling requirements of various federal and state agencies? Could a non-edible or potentially harmful product be mistaken for something edible?

Does the Packaging Fit Your Product?

Think of the product size and then the size of the packaging. Does it give you a large enough shelf footprint so that customers find it? But you also don’t want to over-package, especially with a growing trend toward eco-friendliness. Do customers recognize your packaging because of a certain shape or style? If you change the look of your packaging, will it be so different that customers won’t recognize your brand? Have you selected the right type of packaging material?

Have You Anticipated Possible Problems?

Here’s where doing your homework comes in handy. If you rush to get your product and packaging on the market, you could end up with major problems. Take time to carefully review and test before you release, and follow the tips above. The solution to the problems with packaging? Good market research, good design, and understanding your customer.

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Eco vs. Convenience: Which Matters More?

Pioneer Packaging — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:51:17 +0000

When it comes to packaging, both ecological and user friendliness matters.

Food packaging production has changed considerably over the past few decades. With an eye toward conservation, recycle-ability, and ease of transport, containers and the material from which they’re made have become less clumsy, more lightweight, and environmentally friendly. The packaging industry is constantly seeking ways to improve its products so that consumers, along with the environment, benefit.

Of course, even for the most environmentally friendly consumer, ease in opening a package takes precedence over “green” concerns. In other words, in the packaging debate about eco vs. convenience, convenience often wins. Who wants food packaged in a container which proves difficult to open, store, or even repurpose?

In a recent study conducted in the United Kingdom (UK), 85% of participants said they have experienced frustration with packaging at some point. In response, today’s manufacturers recognize the need for simple, efficient, and easy-to-open packaging and are addressing ways to reduce consumer frustration when it comes to getting to a container‘s contents.

Ease-in-opening means gaining access to the package’s contents without having to use scissors or other implements to open the container. Functionality of the containers is also very much on consumers’ minds. Being able to re-use or store the container with ease is a major consideration when choosing products.

Addressing this issue has spawned improvements to packaging through multi-faceted solutions, including tear-strip opening and the ability to re-seal unused contents. Both eliminate additional waste and give consumers a present of multi-use containers. Moreover, combining user-friendliness and re-purposing in packaging offers not only an eco-friendly solution, but also engages the consumer in brand loyalty. In other words, when offered a choice in products, go for the packaging that provides the most “bang for the buck.”

When it comes to making the sensible choice, many consumers feel the pull toward ecologically sound purchases. However, should that product’s packaging feel clumsy and difficult to open, the consumer will likely gravitate toward a more user-friendly product. By bringing together ease-of-opening and environmentally sound materials, the argument for eco vs. convenience with packaging is solved.

DHL’s New Eco Containers

Pioneer Packaging — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:32:42 +0000

DHL is helping other companies cut costs by being green.

The International logistics company, DHL, has taken green packaging to a new level with its New Eco Containers. Categorized as an MRC (multipurpose returnable containers), DHL’s New Eco Containers were developed by its Japanese division to transport precision equipment. Just how eco-friendly are these containers? DHL has made them durable enough to be reused up to 100 times, which is 99 times more than the containers the company previously used.

No doubt, the reusability factor is exciting, but DHL’s New Eco Containers also come with a bevy of other exciting modifications. Inside these containers is a hardboard made from recycled paper that supports the urethane film used for shock absorption, resulting in a container weight reduction of 50 percent. DHL’s New Eco Containers are also capable of carrying a load 2.5 times bigger than other containers. And, when you are finished using the container, you can fold it to half its size, cutting down on valuable storage space. These containers can hold loads of different sizes for a variety of equipment types, making them that much more versatile.

What else can you expect from these super containers? They reduce carbon emissions by 4 tons and packaging materials by 3.7 tons per year. DHL is doing its part to reduce its carbon footprint on the earth, while encouraging other companies to follow suit.

DHL has really put companies with packaging needs in the driver seat. Not only can companies now significantly reduce packaging costs, they can also decrease weight fees and protect important equipment more effectively. In addition, companies that use DHL’s New Eco Containers really put the “green stamp of approval” on their shipping efforts.

Alternative to Cardboard Boxes: The NotBox

Pioneer Packaging — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 15:25:13 +0000

For sustainability, some companies are creating alternatives to cardboard boxes.

Large companies all over the world are turning to multi-use, environmentally friendly packaging options over single-use corrugated cardboard boxes as they work to contribute toward the sustainability of the planet. One such option is the alternative to cardboard boxes: the NotBox.

Alternative to Cardboard Boxes: The NotBox
You, too, can consider an alternative to cardboard boxes — the Notbox, that is made from recycled materials and enables your organization to join in the effort to preserve the Earth’s natural resources. NotBoxes are reusable more than 20 times when shipping orders to your customers. If you are committed to global sustainability, it’s important to look at the advantages of the NotBox, not only to the environment, but also to your company:

Advantages for Your Company

Cost savings: You’ll slash your orders for cardboard shipping boxes, saving money in the process.
Storage space: The NotBox is designed for easy and compact storage when not in use.

Advantages to the Environment
If you look around, you’ll notice that cardboard boxes are everywhere. But they are not a very sustainable packaging solution. Although some may be recycled, the vast majority typically ends up in a trash compactor and then crowds our landfills. Another disadvantage: Cardboard boxes can’t be used to ship extremely heavy items or items that drip.

A much better, more sustainable solution for shipping needs is the NotBox, which is made using fewer natural resources and produces less environmental waste. In addition, you save money using the NotBox to ship your products because you use fewer of these containers than you normally would.

Best of all, when shipping goods to your customers, with the NotBox you communicate the message that preserving the environment is a company value. You are helping to increase the public’s awareness of the environment and the importance of protecting it. If you are seeking alternatives to cardboard boxes, the NotBox is clearly one of the best options.

Food producers and health care organizations, among many others, are the primary users of the NotBox today. For example, think about transporting organs for transplants. NotBox manufactures a product called a “coolbox” which allow shippers to keep perishable and stored items at a cool temperature. By using a coolbox, hospitals and transplant centers ensure that human organs remain viable while in transit.

So, if you are seeking sustainable packaging solutions, join the big companies like Nestle and start shipping with environmentally friendly containers. Your customers – and your bottom line — will love you for it.

Reusable Packaging Increases Sustainability for the Healthcare Industry

Rhode Island Lawmakers Look to Reduce Packaging Waste

Pioneer Packaging — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 17:26:49 +0000

The state of Rhode Island is taking active steps to reduce consumption and packaging waste.

The past 60 years have been tough on the environment. The combination of consumerism, marketing, and an expanding middle class has shifted conservation and thrift below the need for company profits and customer convenience. Low-cost imports have made the situation even more critical. The United States has been very slow to acquiesce to pressure from environmentalists and concerned citizens to be more environmentally conscious, as more and more landfills are created. The residents of Rhode Island don’t have the luxury of unending rolling hills and unpopulated backwaters to cover with landfills.

As the smallest state, Rhode Island is very conscious of its rate of both consumption and waste. It was the first state to press for aluminum can recycling in the 1980′s, and is now leading the way with a comprehensive trash-reduction program called Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which holds manufacturers accountable for the entire life-cycle of their products and packaging. Rhode Island is now making businesses responsible for assisting consumers in the recycling of paint cans, CFL light bulbs, mattresses, and other products that clog waterways and contribute to landfill overflow. Packaging itself accounts for up to 30 percent of all trash.

Rhode Island is also taking the initiative to view products and packaging not simply as waste, but as a resource to add jobs for residents and profits for businesses that recycle. The Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation is now shipping up to 20 containers of recyclable material out of state and to China daily. Putting recyclable materials to work in this way is certainly at the forefront of waste management in the United States today, and will hopefully set the standard for other states to follow.