We're Keeping an Eye on These Food Packaging Trends

When you come to Rocket Industrial with questions about how to create better food packaging, we’ll refer you to our resident expert, Andrew Olund. We asked Andrew what he’s keeping an eye on for food and food packaging trends, and here’s what he told us.

Natural Products

Consumers are looking closer than ever at ingredient labels. They have started looking for products labeled as “natural”, “GMO free”, etc. Most importantly, they are looking for clean labels with ingredients they can pronounce.

Protein is King

Take a look around the grocery aisles next time you are there. You’ll notice companies are starting to display the protein content on the front of the packaging in a larger font. Whether the protein comes from meat or plant-based ingredients (such as tofu, lentils, peanuts, and chickpeas), it’s a prominent part of a product’s marketing.

Sustainability

This relates to both the packaging and the products. A lot of consumers are looking for fresh, local products. They are also keeping an eye out for eco-friendly packaging, such as PLA (polylactic acid), which breaks down much faster in nature but still provides some barrier properties.

Optimized Pack Sizes

More companies are looking to package with less. Crystal Farms shredded cheese is a great example. In 2012, they reduced the size of their shredded cheese bags by 20%. Initially, they were met with angry consumers thinking they were selling less cheese for the same price. Crystal Farms started printing on the package that it still contains the same amount of cheese, just in a smaller package. There are other products that have reduced their package size and the amount of product in the package to remain at the same price point. Various beverage and condiment companies have done this in the past years. However, these packaging changes were done at the same time as a retail package re-designs so that customers don’t catch on as easily.

3rd Party Auditing Services

This is something that will go largely unnoticed by the typical consumer, but there has been a huge push by the government to get direct food contact packaging from 3rd party certified manufacturers. BRC (British Retail Consortium) certification is the global standard for food safety, and food companies will soon need to work with BRC-certified packaging manufacturers, like Rocket Industrial’s Wausau facility, to be compliant with the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

Deliver your products safely every time.

Rocket Industrial has a lot of experience when it comes to food packaging. With designated food packaging specialists, engineers and a testing lab on your side, we can provide you the best solutions for your products. Contact our packaging specialists for more information.