Flexing their strength

Dairy Field, Jun 2003 by Petrak, Lynn

* Dairy manufacturers increasingly convert to flexible packaging to add convenience and cut down on cost, space and environmental waste.

One thing is for sure: You can't call the dairy industry rigid anymore. Some companies may not be as open to change as others, but when it comes to packaging, many manufacturers are going soft. Indeed, flexible packaging for dairy products is a growing trend within the industry, reflective of the overall recognition of the importance of packaging in attracting and retaining consumers' attention.

By definition, flexible packaging encompasses packages and containers that are more bendable or pliant in their appearance. They typically replace other traditional types of packages such as corrugated, paperboard, glass, metal cans and plastic bottles, among other rigid materials. Flexible packages in turn, can be fitted with a variety of other in-demand features, from zippers to reclosable seals to high-quality, colorful labels that act as virtual billboards.

The chief benefits, say proponents of flexible packaging, are practicality, reliability and convenience. While they may sound more elastic than their stiff competition, flexible packages also can be quite strong. And thanks to rapid advancements in materials and equipment in recent years, it is no wonder that food and beverage manufacturers are looking at the most effective ways to showcase both new and existing products.

According to Robert Hogan, director of sales and marketing for Zip-Pak Resealable Packaging, a subsidiary of ITW Co. in Manteno, Ill., this new breed of packages delivers just what it promises: flexibility. "The transition to flexible packaging has been happening for years and continues perhaps because they are so functional. And clearly, ongoing advances in zipper, film and packaging equipment development offer improved performance for longer shelf life, improved graphics and valued-added features like laser scoring for a nearly fail-safe easy open package," he says.

Thomas Winter, Fresh-Lock product manager for Presto Products Co., a division of Alcoa Consumer Products in Appleton, Wis., also cites several factors in a customer's decision to opt for flexible over rigid. "Retailers like products that sell well and recloseable flexible products do that," he says. "Consumers like recloseable flexible packaging because it provides a convenient package that keeps the product fresh until it is all used up. Flexible packaging also is desirable from an environmental perspective, in the volume and weight of material that needs to be disposed on when it is empty."

The Flexible Packaging Association (FPA), Linthicum, Md., works with both its packaging supplier members and manufacturers to inform, educate and promote flexible alternatives. According to association president Maria Donahue, such packages address several issues faced by manufacturers, including dairies. "Not only is flexible packaging an economical choice, but it also offers extended freshness and convenience," she says. "The dairy industry is using flexible packaging more to differentiate their brands and innovate new products. New materials also are extending shelf life."

Stretching the Facts

The use of non-traditional materials such as stand-up pouches, squeeze tubes, resealable bags and wraps are catching on throughout the grocery sector, with items ranging from raisins to heat-and-serve meats to fresh pasta sold in new and different formats. According to FPA, flexible packaging is a $20 billion annual industry in the United States, representing the second largest packaging type. Of the $120 billion packaging market, flexible packages account for 17 percent of the overall total.

In its dealings with members, FPA found that flexible packaging is being used by large corporations as well as smaller, family-owned businesses. Many of the nation's flexible packaging material and equipment suppliers count food and beverage companies as clients: the largest market for flexible packaging, in fact, is for retail and institutional food. More than 50 percent of product shipments are for food or beverage products, followed by retail-non-food products at 10 percent, industrial applications at 10 percent, consumer products at 10 percent, institutional non-food products at 8 percent and medical and pharmaceutical products at 8 percent, according to FPA research.

The evolution has been a gradual but steady one, and Donahue anticipates further growth. "Flexible packaging could provide advantages over other packaging formats in almost every consumer product area," she says. "For example, U.S. consumers have been slow to adopt pouches for cereals and detergents, but flexible is used widely for both products in Europe and I expect that we will see these products in flexible stand-up pouches with reclosures dominating U.S. grocery store shelves soon."

The advent of new technology comes at a prime time for processors seeking more profitable ways to distribute and market their goods, Donahue notes: "New technology enables flexible packaging to withstand retorting. So flexible very nicely replaces cans for many foods and hot filled pouches for glass bottles. New materials are standing up beautifully in frozen food cases, and the printing on these frozen food packages is winning awards from printing organizations as well as from FPA."