Food and Beverage Packaging September 2012 : Page 38

Market Trends SPICES/CONDIMENTS (PACKAGING) VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE Advancements in spice and condiment packaging add new ﬂ avor to the segment. by JENNIFER LADUKE, Associate Editor A move to PET containers allows the Chosen By You salad dressings line to lessen its carbon footprint. s the spices and condiments them-selves do not change very drastical-ly or very often, producers of these items often rely on packaging cre-ativity to stay relevant and alluring to consumers. Innovations in packaging that appeal to consumers’ interest in protecting the environment, their appetite for the new and excit-ing and their desire for healthy options appear to be the way off the shelf and into the kitchen. As the world gets “greener” in more and more ways every day, some spice/condiment manufac-turers are moving toward packages that can help draw in consumers who make purchases based on eco-friendliness. ASDA, a supermarket chain in the UK, has decided to switch its Chosen By You salad dressings from a glass bottle to a 250ml PET container, which is estimated to create a 90% A reduction in weight, reduce shipping costs and lower the product’s carbon footprint. The bottle is designed by the Association of Petrochemical Pro-ducers in Europe’s (APPE) (www.petrochemistry. net) facilities in Belgium and has a high resistance to shattering and breakages during manufacturing and shipping. The shift toward environmentally-conscious packaging is proving to be a good move for Swed-ish company SourceFood, which produces dry and liquid ﬂ avorings including the popular Caj P brand of barbeque grill oils, marinades and sauces and preservatives for jams and marmalades. Sales have been on the rise for SourceFood since they began using Petainer (www.petainer.com) brand 200, 250, and 750ml PET containers for a variety of their products. SourceFood attributes the sales boost to the safety, recyclability, durability and low cost beneﬁ ts of PET containers. Findings from plastics research consultancy Applied Market In-formation Ltd. (www.amiplastics.com) show that many packagers in the food and beverage industry, not just those in the spice and condiment segment, are turning toward PET containers as the demand for packaging with an emphasis on being light-weight and recyclable grows. While the importance of sustainable packaging cannot be overlooked, sometimes the best method to reconnect with consumers is to give them a new way to use a product they already love. Kraft drove this point home with the introduction of two new uses for the company’s tried and true salad dress-ings—Kraft Anything Dressing and Kraft Sizzling Salads. Both products advocate for consumers to put a new spin on an old favorite. Kraft Anything Dressing dropped onto the spice/condiment scene with a bang—Kraft used the release of the prod-uct as an opportunity to relaunch its entire line of dressings with a new look and fresh campaign. ‹ ‹ 38 FOOD & BEVERA GE P A CKA GING SEPTEMBER 2012 WWW . FOOD ANDBEVERA GEP A CKA GING . COM

(Packaging) Variety Is The Spice Of Life

Jennifer Laduke

Advancements in spice and condiment packaging add new flavor to the segment. As the spices and condiments themselves do not change very drastically or very often, producers of these items often rely on packaging creativity to stay relevant and alluring to consumers. Innovations in packaging that appeal to consumers' interest in protecting the environment, their appetite for the new and exciting and their desire for healthy options appear to be the way off the shelf and into the kitchen. As the world gets "greener" in more and more ways every day, some spice/condiment manufacturers are moving toward packages that can help draw in consumers who make purchases based on eco-friendliness. ASDA, a supermarket chain in the UK, has decided to switch its Chosen By You salad dressings from a glass bottle to a 250ml PET container, which is estimated to create a 90% reduction in weight, reduce shipping costs and lower the product's carbon footprint. The bottle is designed by the Association of Petrochemical Producers in Europe's (APPE) (www.petrochemistry. net) facilities in Belgium and has a high resistance to shattering and breakages during manufacturing and shipping. The shift toward environmentally-conscious packaging is proving to be a good move for Swedish company Source Food, which produces dry and liquid flavorings including the popular CajP brand of barbeque grill oils, marinades and sauces and preservatives for jams and marmalades. Sales have been on the rise for Source Food since they began using Petainer (www.petainer.com) brand 200, 250, and 750ml PET containers for a variety of their products. Source Food attributes the sales boost to the safety, recyclability, durability and low cost benefits of PET containers. Findings from plastics research consultancy Applied Market Information Ltd. (www.amiplastics.com) show that many packagers in the food and beverage industry, not just those in the spice and condiment segment, are turning toward PET containers as the demand for packaging with an emphasis on being lightweight and recyclable grows. While the importance of sustainable packaging cannot be overlooked, sometimes the best method to reconnect with consumers is to give them a new way to use a product they already love. Kraft drove this point home with the introduction of two new uses for the company's tried and true salad dressings- Kraft Anything Dressing and Kraft Sizzling Salads. Both products advocate for consumers to put a new spin on an old favorite. Kraft Anything Dressing dropped onto the spice/condiment scene with a bang-Kraft used the release of the product as an opportunity to relaunch its entire line of dressings with a new look and fresh campaign. Kraft Anything Dressing is designed to help consumers explore new possibilities with their favorite dressings and prompts home cooks to "think outside the salad bowl." The campaign attempts to encourage Kraft buyers to get creative, as reflected in TV spots that depict the "break-up" of lettuce and dressing-as Anything Dressing is "seeing other foods." The Kraft Sizzling Salads Dinner Kits are another innovation that attempts to get consumers to see an old product in a different light. Each 12-ounce combo pack contains a 6-ounce salad dressing and 6-ounce cooking sauce for combining chicken and salad into a complete Kraft based meal. The kits currently come in four varieties, including: Chicken Caesar Dinner Kit, Southwest Chicken Dinner Kit, Tuscan Chicken Dinner Kit and Asian Chicken Dinner Kit. The bottles for the combo packs are a custom design supplied by Plastipak Packaging (www.plastipak.com). Both the Kraft Anything Dressing and the Kraft Sizzling Salad Dinner Kits try to inspire consumers with images of the meal creation possibilities right on the packaging, helping provide ideas for new uses for the classic dressings. Swanson is also looking to refresh the way consumers use its products, through the introduction of the new Swanson Flavor Boost. Swanson Flavor Boost is a concentrated, no MSG added, 100% natural version of the traditional chicken, beef, and vegetable Swanson broths. Available in 3.95-ounce cartons that contain eight pouches each, Swanson encourages consumers to use the single serving packets as "a whole new way to cook" by adding the sauce to skillet dishes, pastas, stir fries, soups and more. These inventive new ways to use familiar products show consumers that there is no limit to the things they can cook up when they allow the creative juices to boil over in the kitchen. Another way spice/condiment producers are refreshing the scene is by creating health-conscious alternatives for popular ingredients. Truvia sugar substitute sweetened the pot with the release of Truvia Baking Blend, a mixture of Truvia natural sweetener and sugar with 75% fewer calories per serving than pure sugar. The product is packaged in a stand-up pouch, which features a closeable, easy-to-pour PET spout that keeps the product fresh. The pouch and pour spout are supplied by Dutch Pack International B.V. (www.dutchpack.eu) in the Netherlands. When poring over the spice and condiment shelves, it becomes evident that though some things never change, a dash of ingredients that are good for the earth as well as your dinner, a sprinkle of fresh looks for favored products, and a pinch of diet friendly alternatives that do not skimp on flavor are the right recipe for keeping packaging tasty. SPICING UP THE SMARTPHONE Old Bay, the multipurpose seasoning from McCormick, has found a new way to engage consumers by jumping off their spice racks and into their smartphones. As part of Old Bay’s “The Summer of Baytriotism” campaign, smartphone and tablet users can download the new application Blippar and “blip” Old Bay cans and logos for additional fun. Depending on the image “blipped,” the application will provide Old Bay recipes for foods ranging from wings to shrimp scampi, games including Whack-A-Crab and Duckpin Bowling, or trivia on Old Bay’s hometown of Baltimore.

Previous Page Next Page

Publication List
Using a screen reader? Click Here