Evolutionary strides

Dairy Field, Apr 1999 by Sivak, Cathy

Cheese Packages To Please

The cheese category continues to build on the value-added packaging trend. Who would have believed the industry would offer natural cheese in an aerosol can? The success of resealable packages for shredded products has cheese processors including major player Kraft Foods, Northfield, Ill., introducing brick cheese products with resealable capabilities. Here, too, graphics are building brand awareness for processors. For instance, the redesign of the Cabot Creamery cheese line was lauded by an Achieving Excellence award.

Reworking a product image can be a two-edged sword, Cabot's Davis notes. "As someone is going through the supermarket and is used to seeing a red package, third shelf up, fourth over from the left, and that's what they grab each time . . . if you make too big of a graphic change, you may throw them out of their cycle," Davis says.

While Cabot didn't want to alienate core customers with its new look, the company did want to reach consumers who weren't buying the product. Cabot worked to make sure products were noticeable in the dairy case and that product attributes were clear via a quick look at the package.

"What we've turned more focus on is the graphics side of packaging. We want to make sure that we've got a consistent look throughout all of our lines, but also to make sure that we have a look that emphasizes the right types of things," Davis says. "Our sales seem to show that the changes were appreciated by our consumers."

Changes included increased colors, an enhanced logo and a larger cheese type descriptor. Cabot worked to keep some threads of continuity throughout its entire line.

Cabot is offering new packaging in the form of shingle-packaged cheese products. The slices, packaged in a resealable, zipper pouch, address the convenience factor today's consumers are seeking. "This is an area where we aren't straying too far from what we do best, and yet we can essentially offer our cheeses in a slightly different format with some flexibility," Davis says.

The package also offers retailers convenience for pegboard or self-service deli display. A 2-pound package foodservice shingle package is also available. Specialty cheeses are offered in an array of attractive packaging. For instance, Beatrice Cheese, Waukesha, Wis., a division of ConAgra, is offering crumbled cheese products in 4-ounce resealable containers though its Treasure Cave and NIKOS brands.

Saputo Foods USA, Lincolnshire, Ill., began offering pre-sliced Deli Solutions in 6-, 8- and 10-ounce packages under the Stella brand last spring. The package is resealable with a pegboard hole for deli display. It also features the brand's award-winning graphics - vibrant greens, reds, blues and yellows are the background for icons of fruits, vegetables and pastas that offer usage ideas.

MD Foods USA Inc., Union, N.J., rolled out its five-item Dofino line of domestic Havarti cheeses packaged in ready-to-sell, UPC-coded, &ounce rigid plastic tubs. The products feature bright colors and a product viewing area.