Borden's mac and cheese takes a `fresh' approach

Food & Drug Packaging, Feb, 2002 by Christopher Barry

Looking for ways to answer consumer demand for packaging that combines freshness and convenience, American Dairy Brands is using flexible packaging to market Borden's new macaroni and cheese dinner product as an alternative to the usual boxed mac and cheese.

Found in your local grocer's refrigerated dairy case, the shredded cheese & macaroni dinner is packaged in a clear film bag displayed shoulder to shoulder with other shredded cheese products.

Explains Bob Bachtel, director of new products at American Dairy Brands, "By combining two products--shredded cheese and macaroni--in one package, we've extended the cheese market by giving consumers their favorite meal with a fresh homemade approach."

The key was compartmentalizing the package into two sections, keeping the two products separated. To do so, a cellophane and polyethylene coated bag is heat-sealed at the top and in the center. The shredded cheese resides in the top section of the bag while elbow macaroni is found in the bottom. The package is created and filled using a horizontal pouching machine.

To access the cheese, a tear strip is provided below the bag's top seal. And, to remove the pasta, another tear strip is located directly below the bag's center seal.

To highlight the Borden brand, American Dairy Brands used Harbauer Bruce Nelson Design Ltd. to design the package's distinctive look.

The bag is flexo printed by Curwood in eight colors with a bold red background including an updated Borden logo with an Elsie the Cow icon.

A blue-black product name banner above a graphic of the prepared product is also showcased. Clear "windows" on the top and bottom of the bag allow consumers to see the shredded cheese and the pasta. "Because freshness is important to consumers, we wanted a package that would highlight the product inside," says Bachtel.

The package yields four servings and the product comes in two flavors: Original and 4-Cheese. Currently Borden Shredded Cheese & Macaroni Dinners are available in seven southern states.

Curwood
920-303-7300, www.curwood.com

Harbauer Bruce Nelson Design Ltd.
312-787-6789: www.hbndesign.com