(July 26) Packaging -- always a crucial component in the fresh-produce
business -- takes on even more importance when the product contained is
fresh-cut, manufacturers and shippers say. It's a simple matter of
shelf life. But, they add, shelf life is not exactly a simple matter.
"Any time you cut fruit and vegetables, you're going to cut into its
shelf life right there," said Todd Somers, vice president of sales and
marketing for Union City, Calif.-based Emerald Packaging. "So there's
always some sort of work going on in developing new packaging ideas."
Packaging often falls into two groups where fresh-cut produce is concerned, he said.
"You have your field-pack items and your salad-cut items."
Field-pack products will continue to be rely on standard polyethylene
packaging materials, with higher-end graphics for greater eye appeal,
Somers noted.
"There will be greater pop on the package,
perhaps finding ways to tie in marketing schemes with other
commodities," he said. "They'll be doing things like using print
technology that are tying in celery sticks to peanut butter and a head
of lettuce to a salad dressing. It's a fairly straightforward kind of
marketing."
And that type of approach will continue to gain popularity, Somers said.
"I think that will continue to grow, in terms of your fresh-cut or
spring mix or chopped salad," he said. "People come home, tear it open
and they have dinner made, that sort of thing. I think closure
technologies will continue to be important and shelf life maximization
will continue to be important."
Packaging manufacturers are
constantly tweaking materials to gain more shelf life for precut
products, said Larry Narwold, vice president of sales for Eden Prairie,
Minn.-based The Sholl Group II, marketer of the Green
Giant Fresh brand.
"The breathability and materials are constantly changing," he said.
The Packer, Produce Merchandising, The Produce Availability &
Merchandising Guide and Fresh Trends are (R) registered with the United
States Patent and Trademark Office.