Irrespective of the manufacturing industry, whether it is food, beauty products, apparel, or tools, high-quality packaging is essential. However, when it comes to the food industry, several factors come into play, including taste, freshness, and safety, which is why product packaging becomes the most critical factor.
Food manufacturers must ensure that at all food production stages, from the starting point of food preparation at the manufacturing facility to the supermarket shelf, their food products remain safe and contamination-free.
A carefully-chosen product packaging, such as paper strapping, ensures that the products are kept in a stronghold, and it must also serve as an-store marketing with the help of labeling and inline printing.
If you have just started your food manufacturing business, you ought to know everything related to high-quality food packaging and why food packaging matters. Before we proceed to the list, here is an overview of what the functionality of high-quality product packaging should ideally be about:
- Good packaging protects your food product.
- Good packaging prevents food from getting contaminated.
- Good packaging fits perfectly on a supermarket shelf and is portable from one place to another.
- Good packaging is eco-friendly and can be recycled.
Besides the functionality of good-quality packaging, high-quality food packaging should also be visually appealing and communicate the brand image of the manufacturing company. The visual appeal of the food packaging includes the size, color, shape, and text as well.
Read on to learn more about what high-quality food packaging is about and why it matters.
A Brief History of Food Packaging
How food is packaged is an essential part of food production. Adequate packaging doesn’t only protect food from contamination but also other things. Traditionally, food would be wrapped in natural material, such as bamboo leaves or cloth.
If we trace the history and get back to the Roman times, we see that they would store oils and wine in pots. The Celtic people stored their wines in wooden barrels. Glass jars and bottles are one of the oldest ways to store preserves and liquids. Glass jars and bottles have always effectively transported food from one place to another.
What is Modern Food Packaging About?
Today, we get our food and drinks in loads of different ways. For instance, take the aluminum cans that are pretty new – invented in the late 1950s. Many of us also buy our orange juice and milk in plastic-lined cartons – these cartons enable food to remain fresh for months without placing it in the refrigerator.
When it comes to efficient food packaging, you can also benefit from the lighter and less breakable glass plastic bottles widely used for drinks today. Today plastic bottles are used in their billions – these are one of the most successful inventions for food packaging.
However, now potential consumers have become more aware of the pollution caused by plastic, especially plastic bottles, which has led to greater stress on recycled bottles and packages.
Promote Food Products in Stores
Food packaging also serves another purpose – it has become a crucial way of attracting potential buyers to purchase one particular food product over another. Furthermore, product packaging is an essential source of information.
This way, product packaging aids consumers in knowing precisely what it is that they are buying. Ideally, when you are buying a product from a shop, you should be able to see a list of all ingredients that it contains.
A different analysis of consumer behavior has shown that consumers are more likely to purchase colorful, informative, and rather eye-catching food products than the generically labeled produce packaging.
In other words, the more colorful a packaging is, the more likely it is to attract the attention of personal buyers. That said, manufacturers should pay special attention to the food packaging’s quality, labeling, and font size.
Typically, the ingredients are listed in order, with the biggest in weight listed first. This way, people know beforehand about what they can be allergic to and avoid buying those items – peanuts, for example.
Food packaging should also tell consumers about the manufacturing and expiry date. Most importantly, the product also tells us where a product is coming from so that the buyers know how far the product has traveled.
When the food manufacturers add all of these things to a package, it helps potential consumers make informed decisions about the food they are about to buy.
The Display of Nutritional Information
The nutritional information is also listed on the packaging. Some food manufacturing companies also use visual guides to quickly help potential consumers understand nutritional information. The nutritional information will also contain the percentages of fats, saturated fats, sugars, and carbs.
This aspect indicates that besides ensuring the safety of the food, food manufacturers can use packaging to distinctly showcase the health information on the package.
As a matter of fact, it is legally required of food manufacturers by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control Prevention) to display a thorough list of ingredients and nutritional facts on the package. From the shopper’s viewpoint, the displayed list will enable them to make informed buying decisions – though some shoppers disregard the nutritional facts completely.
The adequate labeling and displaying of nutritional facts is specifically crucial for consumers who have health issues or follow a restricted diet.
What today’s Food Manufacturers Should Know about Packaging
The purpose of packaging has changed over time – today, packaging has made it easier for customers to know what they are buying. Food packaging also allows for the product to compete for customers’ attention in a crowded supermarket.
Food packaging is also facing one of the most significant challenges in the food industry today – there is simply too much of it. Sometimes, our food comes wrapped in unnecessary cardboard and plastic – even the simplest things, like fruits and veggies, come wrapped in plastic – though we don’t leave complicated labels to understand them.
For this very reason, some people believe that food companies should reduce the use of packaging by using it only when needed, such as to keep the food safe and to provide the buyer with essential and relevant information.
