The succulent fish on your table wasn’t caught yesterday. It only looks and tastes like it was.
The modern seafood market is undergoing a remarkable transformation, making that unparalleled flavor and freshness more than a lucky catch. The revolutionary impact of case-ready options is making waves in packaging and changing the way consumers seafood for good.
WHAT IS CASE-READY SEAFOOD?
So, what exactly is case-ready seafood? In the simplest terms, it is the freshest seafood you can get – caught, cut to proportion, packaged, and labeled on location, same day, before being packed in ice prior to shipping.
Doubtless, you’ve heard of, seen, or even purchased meat or seafood from the case-ready section at your local market.
How not? According to a case study from the North American Meat Institute, case-ready increased to new heights of popularity in the recent past, representing more than 83% of retail protein packages.
This salmon-like leap in consumer purchasing is due in large part to today’s post-Covid markets – even in the rural south and Midwest – now offering safe, convenient, ready-to-eat seafood options everywhere due to improved processing and distribution. From fresh seafood counters to frozen food aisles and even grab-and-go sections – consumers can find case-ready seafood available fresh where previously the retail menu only offered frozen.
One of the key factors driving the case-ready seafood revolution is packaging innovation. As methods and technology have evolved, producers have invented better ways to process and package seafood in real-time, ensuring maximum freshness, preservation, and product longevity for nationwide shipping.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE PERFECT CASE-READY PACKAGING
Yet, consumer choices for case-ready seafood – and therefore, the choice you must make for your packaging as a producer – may be a bit more than anyone can chew. Case-ready seafood stands out prominently in the market because of the various packaging options available, including formats, films, and system selections across a broad range of products.
Many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) offer complete lines of automatic, highly configurable packing machines for seafood that are more than suitable for varying product types, portion sizes, and product volumes.
For example, fish like salmon and trout are vacuum sealed or placed onto a PVC overwrapped tray. Sides and whole fish filets are done in thermoformed skin packages. Shellfish can be overwrapped and placed on ice for the length of their journey to market. All these formats lend themselves well to the case-ready segment.
Moreover, all case-ready seafood is subsequently preserved in ice once processed and packaged, then slacked out (allowed to thaw over a designated time) to mitigate health concerns like the bacteria that causes botulism.
The question then becomes:
“How do you know which packaging application suits your unique seafood consumer? Your facilities and production line? Your return on investment (ROI)?”
The varying advantages and drawbacks of every case-ready seafood packaging application – seal integrity, moisture retention, reduced material usage, etc. – will compete for packaging supremacy on your line. This competition makes analysis completely customized and overly complex.
You could make a strong case for any of them as your chosen packaging formats and systems – or all of them.
Instead, focus on optimizing three key criteria for your case-ready seafood products and packaging operations, regardless of equipment:
- Product Freshness & Shelf-life (#1 for American consumers)
- Premium Presentation
- Optimal Sustainability
SKIN PACKAGING: A FRESH PERSPECTIVE ON CASE-READY SEAFOOD
Among the varied available packaging applications, one choice has emerged over the past decade as a consummate favorite with both consumers and producers in the U.S. and Europe for its ideal balance of freshness, high-end visual appeal, and sustainability:
Vacuum skin packaging (VSP) or skin packs
Executed on thermoformers (Americans’ top choice) or tray sealing equipment, case-ready skin packs form a second, almost invisible skin around fresh products, locking in air, moisture, liquid, and texture. This skin allows consumers to see the product clearly in 360 degrees, firsthand, ensuring maximum transparency, unmatched visual appeal, and often impulse retail purchases.
For producers, skin packs deliver the versatility of convenient, attractive packaging (containing premier ingredients like those prepared on American cooking shows) and extend shelf life of up to 10 days (compared to the standard FOUR in the fresh case), more than doubling potential sale time.
With these retail and production advantages combined, skin packs allow packagers and retailers to access virtually untapped, profitable avenues for seafood, making their freshest products – pre-cooked options, ready meals, entrees, etc. – available to a broader range of customers THOUSANDS of miles from the sea.
MAKING WAVES: THE IRRESISTIBLE ADVANTAGES OF SKIN PACK CASE-READY SEAFOOD
However, when focusing on case-ready skin pack’s ability to create a strong seafood presence in smaller stores, or larger retail chains’ abilities to offer more seafood-forward dishes, you must hone in on the three key elements of successful seafood in U.S. markets: freshness and shelf-life, premium presentation, and packaging sustainability for the future.
How do innovative skin packs stack up for case-ready when satisfying these criteria and deliver the experience Stateside consumers crave?
Let’s dive deeper.
FRESHNESS & PRODUCT SHELF LIFE
Experts attest that American shoppers seek freshness for seafood over all else, including optimal sustainability. That freshness begins with the perception of freshness in the market aisle.
Skin packs offer unparalleled value in terms of perceived freshness, retaining pristine color and shape throughout the product’s shelf life with no additional food particles or liquid movement. Skin-packed case-ready seafood also allows for the highest levels of preservation, regardless of product, often utilizing specialized films that ensure a pre-determined oxygen transfer rate to dramatically improve their shelf life and freshness.
Better still, skin packs also better protect against harmful bacteria commonly found in seafood.
As all case-ready seafood is processed and packed on location and frozen, skin packaging negates bacterial growth (TWO hours after the temperature reaches above 40 degrees) intrinsically. Skin packaging also boasts minimal, if any, contact or cross-contamination from human interaction, essentially replicating the classic “fishmonger feel” so sought after by consumers without the risk.
PREMIUM PACKAGING & VISUAL APPEAL
In addition to its pristine, 360-degree presentation and longevity in the retail case, skin packs are among the only case-ready seafood formats that easily integrate premium packaging elements. Producers can add dynamic graphics, precise labeling, and even versatile advertising elements, such as a peg hole to vertically hang product, to help seafood items stand out and deliver a high-end experience.
These premium elements also come with a premium price that consumers are willing to pay. Skin packs add prestige to case-ready seafood and demand a higher price for not only guaranteed and accepted freshness but a “butcher-prepared” visual appeal that customers trust.
OPTIMAL SUSTAINABILITY FOR CASE-READY SEAFOOD
Skin packs don’t just make new retail dollars but sense for the planet.
U.S. and European producers are now placing increasing emphasis on overall sustainability and greener packaging solutions across all sectors. They look to more advanced, eco-friendly formats to satisfy culturally conscious consumer sentiment and trends and, in many cases emerging government requirements and regulations (up to .80 Euro per kilogram in taxes and fees for non-recycled plastic packaging waste).
With a focus on reduced packaging materials and recyclable mono films and rollstock, skin packs are quickly gaining recognition as one of the most sustainable options for case-ready seafood.
At the production level, human interaction is minimized when processing and packaging and almost non-existing during shipping, distribution, and retail. Concordantly, consumers are then more mindful of their purchases, buying only what they need.
Both efforts reduce food waste dramatically on the commercial and individual levels – serving as strong benchmarks for any sustainability initiatives.
NEW HORIZONS FOR THE FUTURE OF CASE-READY SEAFOOD
As the seafood industry continues to evolve, case-ready packaging stands ready to revolutionize retail and influence consumer purchasing trends. With the demand for freshness, taste, and sustainability at the forefront worldwide, leading-edge packaging innovations, such as vacuum skin packs, will continue to stand tall, enhance production, and shape the bright future of case-ready seafood.
By understanding the benefits of case-ready seafood packaging and embracing top options for your operations, you can optimize your product quality, unlock new revenue streams in previously untapped markets, and seize the competitive edge to improve the planet and your bottom line.
Contact Harpak-ULMA today and let our case-ready seafood experts help you set a new course for packaging success.
