Food Packaging – Adapting To Consumer Needs with Single Serve Packs
While eye catching and appealing food packaging is important, its most critical function is to provide protection – ensuring the product maintains freshness, taste, texture, flavour and nutrients. The emergence of single serve plastic packaging means consumers can simply use what they need and food is not wasted and thrown in the bin. Single-serve food packaging means suitable portion sizes for single individuals. The popularity of on the go snacks, travel portions and sport packs provides the convenience which nowadays is vital for time scarce consumers. Our use of flexible plastic packaging has enabled this significant change in how we consume food, and it has allowed a more convenient lifestyle with products guaranteed to have a longer shelf life.
Single Serve Food Packaging – Fighting the War on Food Wastage
Single serve packaging is more popular than ever thanks to the consumers changing lifestyle, which has seen a significant rise in snacking between meals and the rising number of single person households. Even though the demand for single serve plastic packaging is growing each day, many businesses within the food production industry are slow to adapt their packaging sizes to these changing demographics.
Year on year over 100 million tonnes of food are thrown away throughout Europe. 40 per cent of all food loss was caused by the consumer.*
The production of packages requires far less energy compared with the manufacturing and distribution of the actual food itself if it ends up spoiled or thrown out. Moreover, if the packaging material is suitable, it can be recycled, so that it helps to improve the sustainability balance even further.*
Food Packaging Film Specifications
Advanced film specifications for Stand Up Pouches and Form Fill and Seal packaging are fuelling this trend towards single serve packs. With barriers for Light, Oxygen, Water, C02 and Modified Atmosphere Packaging and options of EVOH, PVOH, UV Barriers and PVDC. There is also a variety of functional seals including, high bond seal integrity, peel and reclose and peel seal options which ensures the product remains protected.
