The challenge to creating a compelling package for potatoes is complex, because bags must protect product integrity while attracting a shopper’s attention, says Jeff Watkin, marketing director with Collinsville, Ill.-based packaging manufacturer Sev-Rend Inc. told The Packer magazine in a recent interview.,
One challenge Sev-Rend has met involves a bag that prevents greening and preserves the potatoes’ shelf life, he said. “Sev-Rend created the Clearview Pouch directly for this reason,” Watkin said. “The Clearview Pouch is designed with special barrier properties on the walls of the pouch to cut down on the light exposure of the product.”
“We have several of our clients utilize this pouch style mainly for their mini potato category,” he said.
“There is a waste-reduction decision that comes into play when utilizing the mesh-poly packaging type — and on top of that, recyclable options exist for it, as well,” he said.
More focus is going to sustainable forms for packaging, said Eric Beck, marketing director at Idaho Falls, Idaho-based Wada Farms Marketing Group LLC. “Whether that is with the packaging itself or the manufacturing process of the medium …the core goal is a reduction in carbon footprint by integrating sustainable practices throughout the entire supply chain.”
Sustainability in packaging has become a business necessity, said Rachel Atkinson-Leach, category and brand manager at Bancroft, Wis.-based Russet Potato Exchange (RPE) Inc.
Read the full report in The Packer here
Photo courtesy MountainKing Potatoes
