Beyond the Can and Jar

Today’s consumers are more sustainability-minded than in years past. Eco-friendly packaging, therefore, snags consumers, says Erin Reynolds, marketing director for Evergreen Packaging, Memphis, Tenn. A 2015 EcoFocus study found the top influence for grocery shoppers in determining whether a retailer is eco-friendly was the type of packaging on the shelf, surpassing even the products stocked, she adds.

“With the growing consumer demand for sustainable packaging, many companies are examining the recyclability and renewability of the materials used in their packaging,” Reynolds says.

Evergreen’s products include gable-top packaging, as well as paper and paperboard that take the shape of cups, food trays and envelopes. The company’s cartons are 70 percent paper and recyclable for more than 50 percent of U.S. households, Reynolds says.

“Paper comes from a renewable resource, trees, [and in Evergreen’s case], all from forests where responsible forest practices are used and overall rate of growth exceeds harvest,” she adds.

In that eco-friendly vein, technical advancements in barrier materials for shelf-stable products are enabling manufacturers to transition into flexible packaging materials, according to Millie Nuño, senior market manager, food for Cincinnati-based Ampac. For example, non-foil barrier laminations allow the brand to show its product through a strategically placed window and also allow the consumer to place those packages in a microwave to heat.

In addition, Nuño adds, registered matte varnish technology such as that Ampac produces on its Hanover Park, Ill., rotogravure press is used to highlight a brand’s messaging and graphics to catch the consumer’s eye. Also, numerous closure options exist to fit either premade pouches or on roll stock for form-fill-seal (FFS). Zippers of all kinds are available, too, for dry products, and spouts/fitments are available for liquid pourable products, upping the convenience level for consumers.

Another important new packaging advancement is the integration of label and film technologies, says David Bartish, Ampac’s vice president of marketing.

“Ampac developed a product called ‘Ampac Pull Tab,’ which involved the integration of a pull-tab label over an opening in a pouch for accurate and easy placement of a straw for liquid applications. The T-shirt-shaped version of this product won an Alufoil award earlier this year,” he says.

The same technology, Bartish says, can be used with dry products for controlled dispensing from a precisely-sized pouch opening.

Enhance own brands

Retailers could support their own brands with packaging innovations such as recloseable features for both premade pouches and roll-stock FSS applications, Nuño says.

“We are seeing store brand programs provide convenience and enhanced experiences to their consumers through packaging. Flexible packaging is the perfect marketing billboard for a store brand’s message — whether it is high-barrier films, reclosable packages or packages that combine several features,” she says.

Responsive retailers also are building brands that appeal to today’s green consumers, Reynolds declares.

“Making eco-friendly choices easier has become significantly more important in deciding where to shop these days, and store brands are powerful differentiators. In fact, 54 percent of shoppers surveyed indicated it was extremely or very important that brands make it easy for them to make eco-friendly choices when shopping,” she says.

“Retailers can attract shoppers, who are increasingly green-leaning, through the type of packaging used for their store brand products, Reynolds adds.

“In addition, they can strengthen their brand story and connection with consumers by talking about the environmental attributes of the packaging on the package itself. Our research indicates that this type of environmental messaging causes consumers to feel more positive about the brand and can be a reason to try a different brand,” she says.

Leverage advances

Retailers also would be wise to engage in story-telling around the green-minded and other advances made to store brand packaging.

Evergreen Packing is actively building its sustainability story so companies that choose its cartons can leverage that story as part of their own-brand stories, Reynolds explains. In fact, Evergreen recently received the American Forest and Paper Association’s annual Sustainability Award for its Evergreen Forest Certification Program. The program promotes responsible forest practices by increasing the number of certified forests and amount of certified fiber.

“Since March 2013, we have added 60 landowners and approximately 50,000 acres of certified forests under this program,” she reports.

At Ampac, recent product introductions, Nuño says, include E-Z SnackPak, QuickZip, Cubepak, Pull Tab Beverage Pouch, FlexiFoil Free and No. 2 Pouch. E-Z SnackPak is a tetrahedron snack pouch that converts into a tray upon opening, protecting the product and enhancing the consumer experience. It also makes the product stand out on the shelf.

QuickZip is a hook-and-loop closure system that can be provided on most premade pouches, including the Box Pouch, Nuño explains. The Box Pouch provides five panels of marketing billboards and sits like a box on the shelf.

CubePak, meanwhile, is a flexible alternative to rigid containers. The spouted pouch has top and bottom handles for ease of pouring and cubes out on the shelf, she says, creating a stable package for liquid and dry products that are pourable.

What consumers want

“Consumers are always intrigued by packaging that provides convenience [and] ease of use and caters to our busy lives and on-the-go lifestyles, Nuño says.

She expects to continue to see growth in reclosable packaging for frozen foods, snack foods, center store goods and even produce.

In fact, Ampac recently worked with a customer to move refrigerated olives from a clamshell to a reclosable standup pouch. Another recent product launch included flavored fresh sauerkraut in a colorful valved reclosable standup pouch, Nuño reports.

Consumers also want to see a “clean label,” Bartish adds.

“Packaging combined with processing that can deliver this experience is growing rapidly; thus, aseptically manufactured and packaged products are on the rise,” he says. “In general, shelf-stable products in flexible packaging formats are increasing, typically packaged today via hot fill and retort processing. The next frontier will be the aseptic flexible pouch, which will provide the convenience of shelf stability with product purity.”

Shoppers are looking for brands they can feel good about purchasing, Reynolds adds.

“In the 2015 EcoFocus Study, 49 percent of grocery shoppers [said they] always or usually consider the environmental impact of the packaging before purchasing a product, up from 44 percent in 2012,” she notes.

In addition, 44 percent of shoppers have changed what they buy due to the type or amount of packaging, while 62 percent have changed what they buy to reduce their exposure to chemicals from food or beverage packaging, Reynolds adds. Moreover, 67 percent try to buy packaging that is recyclable, and 47 percent look for beverages in packaging that is made with renewable materials.

Retailers would be wise to engage in story-telling around the green-minded and other advances made to store brand packaging.