Dairy processors expect an awful lot from the packaging surrounding the foods they manufacture. Primary packaging must protect the product; show product benefits, ingredient statements and nutritional information; fit on retailers' shelves and inside consumers' refrigerators; be attractive and eye-catching; and be recyclable. That's a tall order, but one that processors do not shy away from. They can't, actually.
Anthony Caliendo is trying to build a consumer brand of cheese, and he's counting on the packaging to help."If you are not innovating in packaging you aren't in the game," he says.Health campaigns, such as the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, have cheesemakers making claims about reduced sodium levels on the package. Consumers' interest in what's in the foods they eat has ice cream makers touting their clean labels. Brand competition has dairy processors updating their packages to stand out in the dairy case. Sustainability initiatives have all food manufacturers looking for recyclable package materials."We wanted to stand out," says Brandie Genibrel, sales and marketing director.Rather than storing individual packages of string cheese in a refrigerator's cheese drawer, the box makes the cheese more visible as family members look for snacks, Price says. She adds that retailers are sellin more SKUs because of the package. A regional roll-out began in the fourth quarter of 2010 in the Southeast and moved to the Northeast and Midwest in January."The containers are made from impact-resistant polypropylene," says Mike Corrigan, who works for the packaging supplier based in Omaha, Neb. "The container and lid are in-mold labeled. Also noteworthy is the built-in tamper-deterring feature," he says.The old packaging was very brown and plain and looked like everyone else's, she says. The dairy processor has been making gelato since 1976. It makes six flavors of gelato and three flavors of sorbets. It is also a co-packer of ice cream for another brand.Gelato Classico changed to a cube-shaped pint package (actual dimensions 3 1/2 inches tall by 3% inches wide and 3% deep). The processor needed to buy a new filler for the shape.Philadelphia has as many as 50 SKUs. The redesigned package helps consumers find the product easily on a retailer's shelf and in their own refrigerators. A strawberry image, for example, is a visual identifier of the flavor. Inevitably, the fronts of packages are rotated away once the product is on a retailer's shelf. By printing a strawberry image on both sides of the package, Kraft helps a shopper find the flavor he/she wants. (See photos on page 40.)On the retail shelf, the containers stack three high. The cube shape fills the space and fits better, Genibrel says. A lip on the lid allows for better stacking.Caliendo is the vice president of sales for JVM Sales, Linden, N.J., which is developing Milano into a consumer brand. JVM has been making cheese for private-label customers and for institutional customers. The company developed a 1-pound bag of Parmesan to respond to consumers seeking value. The pillow-type packaging offers more cheese for the money, he says. The company's next step is to roll out a recloseable package with a zipper seal. That product will retail at a higher price point. JVM bought high-speed fillers for its bags and cups.In response to comments from customers, the cheesemaker recently developed a stand-up box for its four flavors of string cheeses. The 18-count box contains and organizes the individual servings inside a consumer's refrigerator. The box stands upright and is an alternative to 12-count flexible film pouches.The decision to redesign can be triggered by competitive activity, brand performance, internal goals and consumer behaviors, says Len Martinez, director of design and innovation for the cheese division at Kraft Foods, Northfield, Ill. Business was fine with the Philadelphia brand, but Kraft redesigned the package in part to address how the container was functioning on the shelf, Martinez says. Consumers were having trouble finding the flavors they wanted, he says, and Kraft wanted to increase the shelf impact.In the high-end ice cream category, two processors recently updated their packages for slightly different reasons. Santa Barbara, Calif.-based McConnell's expanded beyond its home base to Southern California and needed a package design that quickly communicated its benefits. Gelato Classico, Concord, Calif., changed the color and shape of its gelato pints to stand out on grocers' shelves.After the new packages were printed, Burns thought of what he'd do differently. After a shopper told him she couldn't see the names of the flavors when the product is on a high shelf, he realized he should have printed the flavor names on the banding around the lids. The company makes 37 flavors of 17% butterfat ice cream.As silver is a signature color for the Philadelphia brand, burgundy is the signature of Sargento, Plymouth, Wis. The color conveys quality, a premium feel and other "positive emotions," says Erin Price, director of marketing.After designing and printing the new packages, McConnell's received kosher certification. That logo will be added later. The package includes the Real California seal from the California Milk Marketing Board, South San Francisco, Calif, and that has paid dividends, Burns says. The seal shows that McConnell's is a local company, Burns says. Santa Barbara accounts for 33% of sales and Southern California for 60%. (The remainder is mostly in Northern California and Arizona.) The CMMB funnels leads to McConnell's. "If a retailer says 'We want a California ice cream company,' they refer them to us," Burns says. "I wasn't expecting that."By working with its vendors, WhiteWave says its research and development team developed a more "earth-friendly packaging solution" without affecting the product's shelf-life. (Read more about the company's sustainability efforts in this month's "Inside Perspective" on page 86.)WhiteWave Foods, Broomfield, Colo., removed polyvinylidene chloride, or PVdC, from the packaging for its single-portion creamer products found in restaurants and grocery stores.Processors of fluid milk and cultured products also are turning to sustainable materials for their packaging.Kraft changed its printing method from dry offset printing to the more expensive in-mold labeling printing process. The new process yields better rendition of photos and colors and allows for softer vignettes, more subtleties in the graphics and a more refined silver color (Philadelphia's signature). With the in-mold labeling process, a label is applied to the cup and becomes embedded into the plastic, Martinez says.McConnell's general manager Scott Burns says a marketing study revealed that its customers did not know that the company does not use additives in the ice cream, only pure ingredients. A redesign of the graphics removed the image of the Mission Santa Barbara and replaced it with one of ice cream on a spoon. The imagery is intended to entice customers to pick up a pint, Burns said. Some local Santa Barbarans missed the picture of the mission, which had been on the packaging for 40 years. But that was the only negative feedback, Burns says.Sargento is also using packaging to support the launch of its Blends product that combines two natural cheeses. On-pack words and graphics convey the idea, and a package window shows the cheese (sold in slices and snacks) and the blend of colors. Sargento reduced sodium levels by 25%, a benefit displayed prominently on the package.The processor also redesigned because it wanted a recyclable package, something the previous version was not.
By working with its vendors, WhiteWave says its research and development team developed a more "earth-friendly packaging solution" without affecting the product's shelf-life. (Read more about the company's sustainability efforts in this month's "Inside Perspective" on page 86.)
