Category: SPECIAL AWARD - Packaging that Saves Food
Special Award: Gold Award
This Australian-first innovative flow wrap (envelope pack) solution for smallgoods provides consumer convenience, communicates to consumers intuitively for the easy to open and close features that retain product freshness, minimises free liquid in the pack that supports increased product shelf life and is a mono material lightweighted packaging solution that does not compromise food quality.
The use of flow wrap with label reseal functionality technology is new to Australia. There are similar systems with alternative reseal options and flow wrappers without reseal but not with the adhesive label.
The reseal functionality preserves food freshness, sealing in moisture and flavour, thus reducing wastage due to dry, spoiled product. It enables consumers to retain product in its original packaging for fridge storage, thus product information such as use by dates are visible to consumers. It also prevents wasteful double packaging through use of cling wrap and therefore reduces packaging disposal.
Consumer research completed by BrandTonic in November 2022 investigated what consumers did and didn’t like about various closure systems. Zip locks were described as tricky to manoeuvre, particularly for kids. Stickers that were too small in size were not considered capable of keeping the product fresh, particularly after multiple uses. Tape reseal were considered not sticky enough and tend to lose their stickiness with moist product. This functionality also raised concerns around tamper evidence.
Research showed a clear correlation between the stickiness of the label and the perception of keeping products fresh. The challenge was how to balance this against the ease of opening on first use. Various adhesives and adhesive designs have been tested and research has identified a cross hatch adhesive structure that meets consumer needs, keeping it fresh between use whilst making it easy to open on first initial opening.
Consumer research (Benchmark, June 2023) asked consumers to rate how effective the seal on the pack world be at keeping the ham fresh? After single use consumers considered the seal to be extremely effective (76). After multiple opening and closing, the effectiveness score was 65 (very effective).
The presence of free liquid from the product was also considered. Many consumers do not like to touch the product or have liquid run out of the pack. To alleviate this, we have placed the products onto an aqueous board which will absorb any free liquid. Consumers have responded well to this addition. The use of the board performed well in research with a score 75 vs benchmark of 65 when asked ‘How much did you like or dislike the board?’. After it was revealed that the boards used in the ham packs were moisture wicking, liking of the board directionally increased to 79. The board improves the consumer experience and allows the product to be easily removed and replaced into the pack.
The use of the board has also shown to improve shelf life performance. Shelf life testing has exceeded that of the same product in a thermoformed pack.
The reseal label, heat seal and board provides new innovative manufacturing technique, solving consumers key frustrations around accessibility, reseal ability and freshness thus reducing food waste.
Consumers are moving away from purchasing at the Deli counter. Apart from the wait time at the Deli, meats need to either be decanted or re-wrapped once at home to retain freshness and use by dates are disposed of with wrapping.
Consumers are looking for convenience, and reseal functionality. The small pack size is the fastest growing pack size in the fillers category. DON is reinventing this 80/100g pack size as consumers look for pack solutions that provide greater portion control, and minimising wastage.
This innovative packaging solution delivers on providing consumers with a convenient easy open/easy close pack that is compact, provides product visibility, minimises the mess of liquid in the pack, is more sustainable but does not compromise food quality and freshness. The reseal functionality preserves food freshness, sealing in moisture and flavour, thus reducing wastage due to dry, spoiled product. It enables consumers to retain product in its original packaging for fridge storage, thus product information such as use by dates are visible to consumers.
Consumer research (Benchmark, June 2023) asked consumers to rate how effective the seal on the pack world be at keeping the ham fresh? After single use consumers considered the seal to be extremely effective (76). After multiple opening and closing, the effectiveness score was 65 (very effective).
The inclusion of the board in the pack has multiple benefits which have been described in Criteria 1 and 2 above.
The aqueous coating provides an additional product benefit in the absorbtion of any free liquid in the pack. This protects the consumer from any liquid running out of the pack and has also proven to provide shelf life protection. The board is easy to grasp and remove from pack to enable consumers to take the required portion without damaging or touching the product, thus protecting the product from microbial contamination through handling.
The new resealable Deli Cuts range has been designed to protect the product from spoilage and damage through the manufacture, warehouse and distribution, through the careful consideration of the packaging design and the equipment selection.
The packing of the product commences with the log being sliced and shingled. The portion is then conveyed to a robotic pick and place system where the portion is positioned on a board. The robot heads that have been selected specifically to minimise any damage to the product, when being picked and placed. Like fingers they scoop under the portion to gently lift and arrange the portion on the board.
The board provides multiple benefits;
The board provides stability and increased rigidity when presented in the vertical position on shelf. This stops the product from slipping down into the pack, making it difficult for consumers to separate the product for use. The aqueous coating provides an additional product benefit in the absorbtion of any free liquid in the pack. This protects the consumer from any liquid running out of the pack and has also proven to provide shelf life protection. The board is easy to grasp and remove from pack to enable consumers to take the required portion without damaging or touching the product, thus protecting the product at a food safety level.
The new flow wrap offers resealable functionality. It is initially heat sealed to ensure product integrity and freshness on delivery to store. This provides secure protection of the product against contamination between leaving site and consumers initial opening. It also provides tamper evidence giving consumers confidence in the quality or the product.
The secondary seal and reseal functionality are secured on the reverse of the pack with a resealable label with clear instructions on how to open and close the pack for optimal freshness and removing the need to decant product into sealed containers or using secondary plastic for wrapping in the moisture and flavour.
Once sealed the product is packed into the shelf ready shipper for palletising. In order to ensure the optimal presentation of product, the shippers are transported in the horizontal position. The robotic palletiser lift the cartons via vacuum to stack. The pallet is transported with cartons in the horizontal position so that the first time product is placed in the vertical position is when it is opened on retailer shelves.
Product is transported in chilled transport to ensure product arrives fresh, ready for consumers to enjoy.
This Australian-First innovative flow wrap (envelope pack) solution for smallgoods provides consumer convenience, communicates to consumers intuitively for the easy to open and close features, provides product visibility, minimises the mess of liquid in the pack and is a CEFLEX compliant mono material lightweighted packaging solution that does not compromise food quality and freshness.
The new flow wrap pack uses 50% less plastic than the current DON 100g Fillers Range (10.2g vs 4.9g plastic) and 69% less plastic than current competitors 100g Fillers Range in market (15.8g vs 4.9g), therefore reducing the amount of plastic in the market.
The more compact pack, improves pallet efficiency by 150%, moving from 144kg per pallet to 222kg/pallet. The cascading effect is the improved efficiency in transportation and reduction in emissions as materials move between supplier to manufacturer and manufacturer to retailer DC and DC to stores.
The material being utilised in the new packaging design is CEFLEX complaint and recyclable through alternate pathways, such as the council trial program and return direct to recyclers. The internal board is kerbside recyclable and complies with Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation requirements for pulpability.
Moving away from a rigid thermoformed pack with a product that can release moisture and fall to the bottom of the pack was a challenge as packs need to stand upright on shelf to maximise consumer facings. Structural integrity was achieved through use of a board. The boards coefficient of friction was measured to ensure product would not slip to the bottom of the pack. Various boards were tested for moisture absorption. Plastic free - Two side laminated dispersion barrier food board was shown to provide positive results. This has proven successful in trapping free liquid, resulting in longer primary shelf life of the product by up to 40% (42 days to 60 days) whilst also being kerbside recyclable.
Consumer research investigated multiple reseal options currently in market including zip lock and tape reseal as well as various label sizes. The adhesive label performed above benchmark against ease of opening and closing.
Various adhesives and adhesive designs have been tested and research has identified an adhesive structure that meets consumer needs, keeping it fresh between use whilst making it easy to open on first use.
Manufactures are increasingly looking for more energy efficient conversion of materials. Flow wrap technology uses 50% less energy compared to conventional thermoformed packaging. In addition it enables manufacturers to make a step change in terms of reducing the weight of plastic being put into the market and sent to waste by 50 - 70% compared to current thermoformed packaging. This becomes critical in an environment where, only 15% of recyclable plastic is recycled due to lack of operators in this sector. The impact being that 75% of recyclable material is still ending up on landfill. By shifting to a flow wrap format, there is an immediate reduction in the plastic going to landfill by 35%.
The pack has been designed to make it obvious where and how to open the pack. The aqua blue sash across the top of the pack with a picture of the back of pack aims to direct consumers to turn over for opening. Once turned over, the label has a 4-step process with legible and easy to understand opening instructions with images for opening and resealing the product.
The instructions for opening were also tested in consumer research. In June 2023 Benchmark asked consumers ‘Were the instructions on opening this pack clear?’ 98% of respondents answered ‘Yes’.
The colours and print have been used for high contrast. Font is large and images support the directions to assist the consumer. The expiry on the back of pack is black against a transparent film for visibility.
All nutritional and ingredient declarations are high contrast with dark blue against white film. We have used bold font to highlight warnings and allergen information such as ‘NOT HEAT TREATED and ‘MAY CONTAIN SOY’ to draw the attention of the user. All information relating to the product inclusions are laid out together, ARLs are clearly identifiable at the bottom of pack.
The expiry on the back of pack is black against a transparent film for visibility. The use by date is on a separate line to the batch information. A large type font has been used, making the information visible.
The reseal functionality preserves food freshness, sealing in moisture and flavour, thus reducing wastage due to dry, spoiled product. It enables consumers to retain product in its original packaging for fridge storage, thus product information such as use by dates are visible to consumers. It also prevents wasteful double packaging through use of cling wrap and therefore reduces packaging disposal.
The future of the smallgoods category is all about less waste, less packaging waste, less food waste, and less energy waste. This innovation addresses these issues through food preservation, less plastic, and less energy utilisation. The Sustainable Packaging Guidelines have been a key driver in the design of the DON Deli Cuts resealable range.
The material being utilised in the new packaging design is CEFLEX complaint achieving our goal for APCO 2025 targets. The ARL for the soft plastic is ‘check locally’. The label does not need to be separated from the pack. The internal board is made from renewable sources and is kerbside recyclable and complies with APCO requirements for pulpability. No hazardous materials have been used.
The new flow wrap pack uses 50% less plastic than the current DON 100g Fillers Range (10.2g vs 4.9g plastic) and 69% less plastic than current competitors 100g Fillers Range in market (15.8g vs 4.9g).
The smaller packs, enable smaller cartons and greater pallet utilisation so more packs can be shipped in this new format.
In addition to these primary benefits, research completed by Benchmark (June 2023) reported that consumers inclination to store the product in its primary packaging rather than decant or use cling film increased from 2% for thermoformed product to 76% for the new flow wrap pack, thus resulting in a reduction in the use of plastic for storage.
Flow wrap technology enables manufacturers to make a step change in terms of reducing the weight of plastic being put into the market and sent to waste by 50 - 70% compared to current thermoformed packaging.
The benefits of this change are cascaded through the supply chain. Through smaller, lighter packs the cycle of polymer manufacture, through to the consumer pack purchase, is made more energy efficient.
Transportation of materials becomes more efficient between supplier to manufacture and manufacturer to retailer.
Manufactures are increasingly looking for more energy efficient conversion of materials. Flow wrap technology uses 50% less energy compared to conventional packaging.
Category: SPECIAL AWARD - Accessible Packaging
Special Award: Silver Award
This Australian-first innovative flow wrap (envelope pack) solution for smallgoods provides consumer convenience, communicates to consumers intuitively for the easy to open and close features, provides product visibility, minimises the mess of liquid in the pack and is a mono material lightweighted packaging solution that does not compromise food quality and freshness.
Packaging in the smallgoods category is conventionally thermoformed. Thermoformed packaging requires some force to open the pack with consumers reporting that the top web often rips on opening, or they require the use of a knife or scissors to open the pack. On top of this there is currently no Australian Packaging Covernant Organisation compliant technology available to develop reseal capability on a thermoformed pack.
DON has partnered with Omori Europe in bringing a new flow wrapped (envelope pack) with reseal functionality to Australia. Initially DON researched pack design globally and conducted consumer research on the envelope and the tape seal pack to gauge consumer liking and test for ease of opening.
The first research conducted in February 23 by Benchmark found that that the Omori (envelope pack) and Ilapak (edge seal) flow pack performed significantly better (61) for ‘Ease of opening’ in comparison to the current thermoformed pack (41) in market. (Note: No branding and limited instructions were provided for opening)
(DEFINITION OF BENCHMARKS: 70=extremely easy; 65=very easy, 60=easy, 55=reasonably easy; 50=neither, 45=reasonably difficult, 40=difficult.)
On further consumer testing by Benchmark (June 2023) with a branded pack with improved opening instructions we saw an improvement in score on ‘Ease of opening’ to 75 for the Omori envelope pack versus a benchmark of 65, putting our newly designed pack at ‘Extremely Easy’ to open.
The pack is initially heat sealed to ensure product integrity and freshness on delivery to store. The secondary seal and reseal functionality are secured on the reverse of the pack with a resealable label with clear instructions on how to open and close the pack for optimal freshness and removing the need to decant product into sealed containers or using secondary plastic for wrapping in the moisture and flavour.
When designing the pack and adhesive label there was consideration for the area to grip to open.
After initial design, the grasping point on the label was increased in size to enable enough space to grip between the thumb and the knuckle (55mm x 15mm at greatest width).
Optimal grip area for the initial opening of the heat seal has also been considered with a 25mm overlap of web to grip and open with both hands. The pack is easy to grip, control and manoeuvre between hands. The textured finish on the film provides friction for grip and opening. The opening does not require excess number of actions to open; does not cause pain or discomfort and there are no sharp edges or awkward hand movements. No tools are required to open the pack.
Research showed a clear correlation between the stickiness of the label and the perception of keeping products fresh. The challenge was how to balance this against the ease of opening on first use. Various adhesives and adhesive designs have been tested and research has identified cross hatch adhesive structure that meets consumer needs, keeping it fresh between use whilst making it easy to open on first use.
Consumers have also raised concerns over the reseal functionality being impaired by free liquid in the pack. On cooling pork products, it is normal for products to release some moisture. This can be seen as free liquid in the bottom of packs. To alleviate this, we have placed the products onto an aqueous board which will absorb any free liquid. To enable the board to be removed and replaced from the pack with ease, we worked on providing tolerances around the board for the optimal opening size. Consumer research indicated that the pack performance in ‘ease of removing the Ham’ was significantly better (83) than benchmark (65) and on Ease of placing the board back into the pack were 79 vs benchmark of 65.
The pack has been designed to make it obvious where and how to open the pack. The aqua blue sash across the top of the pack with a picture of the back of pack aims to direct consumers to turn over for opening. Once turned over, the label has a 4-step process with legible and easy to understand opening instructions with images for opening and resealing the product.
The instructions for opening were also tested in consumer research. In June 2023 Benchmark asked consumers ‘Were the instructions on opening this pack clear?’ 98% of respondents answered ‘Yes’.
The colours and print have been used for high contrast. Font is large and images support the directions to assist the consumer. The expiry on the back of pack is black against a transparent film for visibility.
The pack has been designed to make it obvious where and how to open the pack. The aqua blue sash across the top of the pack with a picture of the back of pack aims to direct consumers to turn over for opening. Once turned over, the label has a 4-step process with legible and easy to understand opening instructions with images for opening and resealing the product.
The instructions for opening were also tested in consumer research. In June 2023 Benchmark asked consumers ‘Were the instructions on opening this pack clear?’ 98% of respondents answered ‘Yes’.
The colours and print have been used for high contrast. Font is large and images support the directions to assist the consumer.
All nutritional and ingredient declarations are high contrast with dark blue against white film. We have used bold font to highlight warnings and allergen information such as ‘NOT HEAT TREATED and ‘MAY CONTAIN SOY’ to draw the attention of the user. All information relating to the product inclusions are laid out together, ARLs are clearly identifiable at the bottom of pack.
The expiry on the back of pack is black against a transparent film for visibility. The use by date is on a separate line to the batch information. A large type font has been used, making the information visible.