Solutions for Snack Packaging
“Snackification” is a food industry term that refers to the long-term trend in which consumers choose snacks as meal replacements.
The traditional concept of “3 squares a day” has evolved across North America, Western Europe and Australasia, where people are eating more and more “in-between” what use to be a fixed schedule.
Consumers today want to prepare food quickly, make smaller portions, and eat on the go. And producers are responding – the options available today for healthy, nutritional snacking have exploded.
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Snacking by the Numbers
From a recent Private Label Manufacturer’s Association (PLMA) report:
- 50% of Millennials report that they have no set schedule for meals and 62% say that they snack throughout the day
- 52% of Millennials work and eat at the same time;
- 31% often eat in the car; and
- 17% eat while playing sports or exercising.
From a recent Mintel’s Snacking Motivations and Attitudes report:
- Snacks account for 51% of all food sales today
- 92% of adults in the United States have snacked within the last 24 hours
- 70% do so 2+ times per day
- Number of people who snack 4+ times per day is rising rapidly
Key Considerations for Snack Packaging
A key consideration when producing snacks at scale is aligning throughput needs with the proper piece of equipment.
Another key aspect to bringing a snack package to market at volume is OEE, or Overall Equipment Effectiveness, which is the gold standard for measuring manufacturing productivity.
The importance of OEE is amplified at high volume, and the importance of doing due diligence with regard to OEE capabilities of different sealing equipment prior to purchase cannot be overstated.
Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
Automation
High volume can also lend itself well to automation. Popular snack products such as cheese cubes, nuts, dried fruit, crackers, and dips can be automatically loaded by integrating multihead scales and other types of fillers with a packaging line.
That also applies to the secondary sleeving, case packing, and pallitezation as well, as many successful snack packages offer “club packs, or cases” which contain multiple individual servings.
Why Cheese?
Snack packaging is a big opportunity for brand owners that can offer protein-rich snacks – and cheese fits that bill.
Creating a fresh snack offering from cheese does not necessarily require producers to alter the product manufacturing process itself – it can be achieved primarily as a packaging exercise. Often, this involves simply changing portion configurations of the cheese packaging equipment or combining it with other foods which can dramatically increase perceived consumer value.
For example, packaging cheese and crackers together adds nominal costs but results in premium pricing in the retail case. Some other examples include the popular protein packs featuring an assortment of cheese, meat, and nuts.
Packaged Snack Photos
Multi-compartment tray with crackers, cheese and raisins
Multi-compartment tray with meat, nuts and cheese
Multi-compartment PaperSeal® paperboard tray with olives and tomatoes
Multi-compartment PaperSeal® paperboard tray with cheese and nuts
Popcorn bag in flow pack
Breadsticks in flow wrap packaging
Corn chips in vertical bag packaging
Bread snack in vertical form fill and seal (VFFS) packaging
Dried apple chips in vertical bag packaging
Toasted corn in vertical bag packaging
Cheese stick in thermoform packaging
Create Your Own Trays, Onsite
The G. Mondini Platformer
Snacks are usually produced at high volume – and require investment in high output sealing equipment, as well as industrial molds from tray manufacturers. This initial capital cost, alongside material costs for the trays can be a barrier to entry for some producers.
Enter the Platformer, from G. Mondini, a state of the art thermoformer that produces trays with “pre-formed” characteristics such as turned down flanges, with only 2% scrap.
Snack Packaging Machines
Tray Sealing
Tray sealing machines heat seal a plastic film to the tray's flange. It can be used with MAP technology to extend shelf life.
Tray Sealing
Learn MoreThermoforming
Thermoforming creates a horizontal form, fill, and seal from roll stock, with the ability to do MAP, vacuum and skin applications.
Thermoforming
Learn MoreFlow Wrapping
Flow Wrapping is ideal for both food and non-food products, offering resealable options as well as MAP to prolong shelf life.
Flow Wrapping
Learn MoreVertical Bagging
Vertical bagging machines use a single film coil to create a package with three weldings, ideal for loose or granulated products.
Vertical Bagging
Learn MoreMultihead Weighing, Loading, and Batching
Regardless of your product's shape, size, or complexity, there's a weighing solution that fits your needs.
Multihead Weighing, Loading, and Batching
Learn MoreFull-Line Automation
Primary packaging, secondary packaging, palletizing, stretch wrapping, robotics and centralized line control.
