Packaging meals-on-the go

RISING employment of women, increase in disposable income, and increasing westernisation of food habits across major countries are leading factors driving demand for convenient meal options. Ready meals refer to completely pre-cooked meals readily available through retail outlets, which only need to be heated for consuming, but also refer to takeaways, carryouts, takeouts, and fast food. Ready meals include vegetable, pasta, fish, poultry, meat and seafood dishes that are also classified as continental, traditional, vegetarian and ethnic dishes. The world market for ready meals is projected to exceed $81 billion in terms of value by the year 2015, according to Global Industry Analysts Inc. Developing markets, including those in Asia, will see the greatest growth, GIA noted. Whilst 'convenience' and 'microwavable' have been popular claims in the market, 'health' and 'natural/organic' are new claims that are now being widely used to draw consumer appeal. In fact, 'Health' and 'Organic' have emerged as the most popular claims over the past couple of years. Ready meals manufacturers also continue to embark on novel approaches in their offerings to attract customers. Children's meals segment, despite being smaller in size, is one of the fastest growing segments. Apart from ready meals, time-poor consumers are welcoming other on-the-go foods such as liquid breakfasts, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, and snacks such as pretzels and nuts - even sushi. These developments require packaging suppliers to innovate materials and equipment that extend the shelf life of these foods and keep them hygienic, whilst adhering to demands for cost effectiveness, sustainability and reduced packaging. According to a Times & Trends report by Symphony IRI Group (formerly Information Resources, Inc.), nearly 40 per cent of consumers say they look for products that offer eco-friendly or reduced packaging. A Flexible Packaging Association survey meanwhile reports that 62 per cent of respondents intend to make their packaging more sustainable within a year. Renewable plant-based packaging Pretzels in renewable bags created from 90% plant-based materials were launched just in time to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day (22 April). The renewable raw material used to make the new packaging Snyder's of Hanover 'Organic Pretzel Sticks' is produced with as little as half the energy compared to traditional petroleum-based packaging. "It has always been extremely important to Snyder's to create products that are both delicious and 'better for you,' " explains Claude O'Connor, vice president of Marketing at Snyder's of Hanover. "Now after a year of development, we're thrilled to take that even further and introduce a renewable packaging solution that is 'better for the earth' as well." The package was created from an innovative renewable material called Earth Clear?developed by Clear Lam Packaging, Inc. from Ingeo, a plant-based bioplastic. This enables the bag to function without the dependency on petroleum-based products. A bright yellow graphic on the upper right of the package helps differentiate the bag on the shelf and directs the consumer to the back panel for more information on the benefits of the renewable packaging. Boosting sushi shelf life Sushi producers and marketers continually seek ways to increase sushi freshness. As one of the fastest growing light- meal and snack trends, fresh sushi's main challenge to producers and retailers is increasing its shelf life with the goal of fewer returns and discards of expired products, and significant profit increases. Hefestus (Israel) says it has successfully cracked the code for extending the shelf life of fresh sushi with its breakthrough technology. HefestAdidas