Category Archives: packaging

Creating Food Packaging Design That Complies With Food Processing Methods

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While food packaging certainly needs to play its role in the promotion of product and brand, you need to ensure the safety of foods as first thing while designing the food packaging. Therefore, it is very important to design a package in such a way that the food safety and effective branding are ensured.

In this article, we are going to discuss about food packaging that complies with the food processing methods.

Retort sterilization

An effective food processing method to talk about is the retort sterilization or retorting. This process mainly involves vacuum sealing of the food inside a pouch or metal can and then heating of it at higher temperature. This way, the foo gets sterilized. With the help of retorting, you can make sure that the food retains its freshness and natural flavor for months, or even years. This food processing method was originally developed by NASA. Since food is packaged before it is retorted, the packaging must be able to resist extreme temperature changes and mild pressure.

Aseptic food processing

This kind of food processes involves brief exposure of foods to very high temperature and then cooling down to ambient temperature instantly. The food is then placed in a sterilized packaging which is sealed in a sterile environment. And since this type of packaging needs to be sterilized on-site right before the packaging of foods, it usually comes in the form of rectangular cartons instead of bottles because these cartons take less space.

Microwave-assisted thermal sterilization

Microwave-assisted thermal sterilization is the new approach and it resembles retort sterilization. This food processing method involves immersing of food packaging in hot water which is heated by microwave. The food is then quickly cooled down. This type of food processing is even more effective as compared to retorting because it preserves flavor, texture, color and nutrients in much better way. The materials used for this packaging of foods to be processed this way include high-barrier plastic pouches and trays that are microwave-resistant.

Ultra-high-pressure processing

This kind of food processing involves application of pressure on the food. The food is placed in a high-pressure container which applies a pressure of 145,023 pounds per square inch for about five minutes. As a result of this pressure, the foods, which contain moisture, shrink up to 20%. And so, the packaging materials used for the packaging of such foods have to accommodate this pressurized food. In this case, the flexible packaging is a must.

Winning the War against Food Waste with Flexible Packaging

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According to an estimate, about 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted in the world. In USA, the amount of food thrown away is 36 million tons. If this food is, somehow, preserved, it would be enough for every starving person in the world to get food and still get the food left over.

Here, you may wonder why this bigger amount of food goes wasted. The main reason is the food expiration which usually takes us by surprise. In this scenario, it would be great to double the shelf life of all the food products which get expired sooner than other foods. Good news is that we now have flexible packaging which promises to ensure a drastic reduction in the generation of food wastes.

Flexible packaging is the best friend of foods

The concept of flexible packaging extending the shelf life of foods is not new. For instance, grapes are expected to last 70 days instead of 7 when they are packed in the flexible packaging. Steak can last up to 20 days instead of 3 days. And cheese can be preserved for as long as 90 days. Mitsubishi Gas Chemical America has come up with the new method which involves addition of a film layer within flexible packaging to ensure freshness of foods for extended period of time.

Reducing food wastes without the use of additives

The best thing about Mitsubishi’s flexible packaging technology is that it removes all of the air and oxygen from the food packaging. The benefit of this removal of air and oxygen is that the food taste, aroma, and texture can be preserved without the use of additives. This packaging is safe for all kinds of foods including processed fruits, liquids, protein bars, and even organic foods which are naturally prone to early spoilage.

The worst thing about food wastes is that it can contribute to severe contamination of the overall environment. And so, it is quite important to make sure that you follow every measure to ensure reduced generation of food wastes. By far, flexible packaging seems to be the best option to increase the shelf life of foods and, therefore, decreasing the amount of food wastes.

Packaging Design That Plays with Consumer Psychology

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No matter what product you are selling, you will want it to stand out in the shelf. Everyone tried to beat the competition in this regard but it is a no-brainer that not everyone succeeds. So, you may wonder about the factors which can help you in making your product better than others in terms of popularity and reputation. Surely you will have to focus on branding in this regard but branding itself is a wider domain.

In this article, we will talk about packaging design and, more specifically, about the role of consumer psychology in packaging design.

Color is the key

The role of color is huge in manipulating the consumer psychology in order to increase sales. This is the reason that color psychology has been found to have a huge influence over consumer behavior. For instance, blue packaging of any product tends to instill the sense of safety, reliability and trust in the minds of the customers. However, it is also to be remembered that color connection can differ based of the consumers’ demographics. A huge role in this regard is played by the culture in this regard.

A bit of texture can be helpful

While color psychology plays an important role in the branding, many people underestimate the power of sensory marketing which is the next big thing after color psychology. This is the reason that most of the marketers, who are pretty much aware of the importance of color psychology, usually forget about adding texture in the package design. Nevertheless, this important factor surely makes a package design successful.

The shapes on the package

When it comes to designing a package for your product, you have to make sure that you are picking the right shapes to make your product stand out on the shelf. The shapes you need to take into consideration in this regard mainly involve the forms and fonts. Generally, the curvy and circular lines are associated with the friendliness. On the other hand, straight and angular lines create a feeling of power, strength and masculinity. It means that you need to study the role of shapes in branding if you want to reap the benefits of consumer psychology.