< Previous20 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING SPOTLIGHT main drawback here is that compostable packaging products require specific conditions in order to break down fully. Biodegradable and compostable materials also share a weakness of barrier strength and can’t be vacuum sealed, making them susceptible both to damage and infiltration by contaminants. Packaging correctly is half the battle when it comes to design and working towards sustainability adds further challenges and stages of consideration to the process. But on the bright side, putting in a little extra thought with your raw materials can inspire the process of creating your brand’s image. You might expand on the approach to the understated beauty of sustainable packaging by incorporating the subtlety of image that’s also set to trend this year. Instead of using flashy gimmicks that irritate customers with their appearance of style over substance, allow your product to speak for itself. Ditching the clutter of competing patterns and complex logos, instead embracing soft and neutral colours, will give your product an unexpected edge in standing out from its neighbours on shelves. If you’re working with produce that’s pleasing to the eye in its colours or shapes, daring to go transparent could make even more of a statement, from your ethical standpoint as well as your faith in what you’ve crafted as a brand. Morally and aesthetically, transparency is always in fashion. To take it a step further with allowing the consumer to see your product, and how it will improve their lives, make your overall design as minimalistic as possible. No matter the varying sizes of items in your range, the modest approach will give you space to convey what your brand offers clearly, cleanly and simply. Use all that space you’ve gained from scrapping loud branding and complicated imagery to start a conversation with your customer from the moment they first engage with your product. Share the origin of your company or explain why you do what you do. When a potential customer feels like they know the people behind a brand, the seeds of trust are planted. That closeness of business- consumer relationship can’t be manipulated or fabricated through aggressive marketing. Showing that you care, for your customer, the product and the planet, goes a long way towards building long-term loyalty in both directions. Labelling Systems HERMA Labelling Systems, The Hollands Centre, Hollands Road, Haverhill, Suffolk CB9 8PR Tel. 01440 763366 Email. sales@herma.co.uk Web: www.herma.co.uk With over 100 years of experience, HERMA have a wealth of knowledge in providing labelling solutions that meet customer needs, contact HERMA to find out how they can assist you with your product labelling requirements. 16-21.qxp_Layout 1 30/01/2023 10:59 Page 5Food & Drink International 21 www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING SPOTLIGHT New Ishida bagmaker provides maximum versatility for snacks Ishida Europe has further consolidated its position as the leading manufacturer of complete snacks packaging solutions with the launch of a new vertical form fill seal (VFFS) bagmaker. With 30% increase in speed compared to previous models, the INSPIRA Boxmotion is particularly effective for food manufacturers that want to reduce costs and ensure an error- free production. Capable of operating in both continuous and intermittent motion modes, it can handle the widest variety of both product and pack formats, including the introduction of recyclable film and paper packs, while maintaining excellent seal quality and integrity. With an energy saving design INSPIRA Box Motion uses 17% less energy when in operation and 25% less energy on standby than previous models. “The snacks market is being driven by ongoing product and packaging developments, and remains fiercely competitive,” said Andrew Green, Snacks Business Unit Manager, Ishida Europe. “Our new INSPIRA Box Motion has been designed to allow manufacturers to continually adapt to the latest market trends while offering a new level of automation and efficiency.” For more information visit www.ishida.com © stock.adobe.com/Seventyfour 16-21.qxp_Layout 1 30/01/2023 10:59 Page 622 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net READY MEALS F ood on the go has become a staple of our diets in an increasingly busy world. Ready meals have gone from being TV Dinners served when no one is available to cook, to microwaved meals cooked in long queues in the office, so it’s no big surprise the market has boomed and expanded, be it in terms of value, variety or method. The ready meals market is expected to be worth $225 billion by 2030, experiencing a 6.8% annual growth over a decade. That’s not to say there aren’t challenges, however. Ready meals, while convenient, are notoriously unhealthy, often packed with preservatives, salt and carbs, and increased transparency on labelling has left many balking at the high % of rda in each meal. This has led some brands to diversify into healthier options, led in no small part by entrepreneurs selling meal packs online and making quite the profit doing so. Despite that, selling online comes with its own problems as well. Research suggests that consumers prefer to shop for food from stores rather than online portals, due to the ability to physically choose based upon individual item appearance. This is important for manufacturers looking to diversify their suppliers – do not overlook stores. Feeding into this is the international outlook of the market. Europe currently leads in demand for ready meals, accounting for approximately one third share in 2021. Key players including Lincolnshire- based Bakkavor Foods Ltd are aiming to increase their share of the European market via launching a specific range of products there. Beyond Europe, the Asia-Pacific is expected to achieve the highest growth by 2030. Of that market, China will occupy more than 50% of that growth. Not to be overlooked, India is also expected to grow by 12.6% in that same period. This highlights the continued importance of packaging in terms of catching the eye and drawing attention, and stands in stark contrast to consumer claims that “packaging has no effect” on them, and that it’s the quality of the food that counts. Typically speaking, ready meals make Ready meals have become the go-to choice for young professionals in busy working conditions, but an inability – or a refusal – of big brands to cut down on unhealthy ingredients may open up room for fresh competition. The convenient choice The convenient choice 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 30/01/2023 11:03 Page 1Food & Drink International 23 www.fdiforum.net READY MEALS Apply Now… 0044 (0) 20 8446 7127 info@halalfoodauthority.com www.halalfoodauthority.com London - Ireland - Belgium EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES Get Halal Certified Halal Food Authority is an industry leading Halal Food Certification Company. We specialise in Halal Certification of Food and Non-Food items including cosmetics, logistics, chemicals, additives & aromas, cleaning substances, packaging, pharmaceutical, ingredients and much more. Our certification is globally recognised including GCC countries and other developing markets such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Turkiye, Pakistan and rest of the world. use of cartooning and sleeving for their packaging, usually with the cooking instructions and labelling on the sleeve itself while the food is served in a carton with a film topping – important for allowing the consumer to see the meal itself. Visual confirmation remains key but this method of packaging is not particularly conscientious on the environmental front, leading to questions on how to both satisfy consumer demands to see the product but also have a lower impact on the environment. The environment angle is key, too, because it’s a major concern of younger 24 Á © stock.adobe.com/Prostock-studio 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 30/01/2023 11:03 Page 224 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net READY MEALS audiences in particular, and the figures show that young consumers dominate the ready meal market, which has increased demand for canned and dried product ranges. This continues the trend of ready meals moving away from emergency family meals when no one is available to cook, and toward meals for convenience in the office, at university, or on the go. From 2020 – 2027, canned meals are expected to expand the fastest. This is due to the convenience and longevity of the product, whilst having the ability to retain healthy protein, carbohydrates, and fat that other ready meal types do not have. A traditional favourite of students, instant pasta and noodles are the biggest offering from the dried foods segment. The U.S., China, India, and the UK provide the largest demand for these products. In the UK and US, a rise in demand for Korean and Chinese dried products such as ramen has been seen amongst teens and young adults. Important to this trend is the notion of authenticity, so those looking to expand © stock.adobe.com/Monkey Business 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 30/01/2023 11:03 Page 3Food & Drink International 25 www.fdiforum.net READY MEALS As a family-owned processor of healthy ready-to-eat snacks and meals, Safeway Fresh Foods goes to market under their Sunnyside Farms brand and customers’ private labels. Behind their motto, “Your brand integrity is safe with us,” is an unwavering commitment to exceptionally high quality product and food safety at every step of their operation. They rely on equipment from the Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection Group on all nine of their production lines with eight Safeline metal detectors, a Safeline* x-ray inspection system and three Hi-Speed* checkweighers. Safeway installed a Certus* x-ray system from Mettler-Toledo Safeline to inspect 5 lb. bulk packages of protein based salads such as chicken salad, tuna salad, egg salad and more. “We chose Mettler-Toledo’s x-ray system for our bulk salad line instead of a metal detector because we wanted to find bone and gristle in the chicken salad in addition to metal contamination in all products,” explained Sal Tedesco, co-owner of Safeway Fresh Foods. “The x-ray identifies unexpected differences in the product’s density and kicks those packages out. We adjust the detection sensitivity to perfectly suit each of the products that run on that line.” “During my 40-year career, I’ve had the opportunity to use metal detectors and checkweighers from many different suppliers. When I landed with Mettler-Toledo, I decided to stay with them,” said Tedesco. “On a scale of 1 to 10, ease of use is a 10 on all our equipment from Mettler-Toledo. They clearly did their homework. It’s easy to install, easy to set up, easy to use and easy to sanitize.” *Machine names vary depending on location To find out more, visit www.mt.com/pi-pr, or call +44(0) 116 235 7070. their ranges must source and manufacture these products similarly to the country of origin in order to truly take advantage. The ready meals sector is also expanding beyond the home cooking market. Many schools rely heavily on pre-cooked meals to cut costs and the time for cooking a meal from scratch. For instance, in September 2020, FiveStar Gourmet Foods ltd launched the Simply Fresh2GO ready meals product line to deliver both in retail and school food services channels. The meals are designed to meet strict national school lunch dietary standards. It maintains that each item in the line has a balanced complete meal including protein, grains, fresh vegetables, and fruits. With the market continuing to expand, the main focus – especially in the UK with the cost of living – will be on affordability combining with health benefits. Healthier options, a reduction in salt, and changing up recipes to offer healthier alternatives will put brands in a better position to corner the market. A failure to do this not only risks turning off potential customers, but also opening a niche for a competitor to start targeting your own. After all, ready meals are already accepted to be less tasty than freshly cooked meals, so how much of a difference is there between one ready meal and the next, if the price is the same but one has half the carbs, fat, salt and sugar? Convenience meals eaten in a rush in a busy work environment won’t be savoured as they might be in a restaurant, so the reduction in taste is unlikely to be noticed, if perceived at all. © stock.adobe.com/DAVID 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 30/01/2023 11:03 Page 426 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net LOADING BAYS AND DOORS L oading bays are busy areas where multiple workers may be loading, unloading or moving goods at any given time, often operating in and around large vehicles. Therefore, meeting strict requirements for suitability are a must on a physical safety level, but this is only the beginning when giving full consideration to a food safe loading bay area. Once the broader protection and security of staff operatives has been put in place, responsibilities then rest on the finer details of food hygiene and area cleanliness. Ideal bay design when it comes to protecting staff means providing ample space, sometimes for multiple vehicles, while allowing for the safe removal and relocation of goods. In a high-output industrial environment such as a large factory, admitting as many vehicles as possible will be part of a loading bay’s design. But freedom of movement must be taken into account for workers all the same. The space around docking areas should be held in high importance, so people can move around any number of vehicles at a safe distance and without getting trapped. While it could be tempting to prioritise the highest shipping volume and output possible, this will cancel itself out if it doesn’t enable a consistent flow of activity for the physical tasks of loading and unloading. Disregarding safety here could also spill over into hygiene concerns later down the line, especially for food or drink ingredients that require prompt storage or specific conditions. In these cases, such as with More than doorways Loading bay areas are integral to many stages of the food supply chain, from factory-bound deliveries of raw ingredients to the final drop-off once products are ready for sale. Food and Drink International takes a closer look. More than doorways 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 30/01/2023 11:05 Page 1Food & Drink International 27 www.fdiforum.net LOADING BAYS AND DOORS © stock.adobe.com/TTstudio frozen items or products of animal origin, it’s always best to prioritise the squaring away of storage and avoid an unmanageable pile-up of containers in the loading bay. Adjustable ramps known as ‘dock levellers’ are the usual go-to solution for closing the gap between a vehicle’s storage and the loading bay platform. To keep the ramp at a safe gradient, these can unfold and extend as far as necessary to meet the height of any vehicle. Levellers are often connected to the vehicle load platform by a hinged lip, so that the two ramps can be securely linked without instability at the joining point. Attention must be given by anyone operating this equipment to keep the area clear of other workers and debris, ensuring the lip does not trap anything that will make the centre connection between ramps uneven or insecure. Here is where each safety and hygiene element of a loading bay begin to interconnect, amplifying the security and user friendliness of the entire area. Looking back to considerations of space in and around loading bays, it is important to think about the maximum amount of room that may be needed for a dock leveller to suitably extend. The edges of loading bays need to be marked clearly to reflect the safe boundaries that may be needed for any given loading or unloading task. After that, when ramps and levellers must be stored, there is thought to be given to how this could be achieved for optimal energy efficiency and food hygiene. Many business operators choose vertical storing dock levellers (VSL) as opposed to the standard pit leveller. A VSL folds away upright inside a building or bay area, which has the immediately evident benefits of saving floor space while ramps are not in use and making the area easier for workers 28 Á 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 30/01/2023 11:05 Page 228 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net LOADING BAYS AND DOORS to move around. But it also means that there is certain to be enough space for bay doors to close fully and makes cleaning around levellers a much easier task. It is surprising how much this single solution can impact the functionality, safety and cleanliness of a loading bay and its deliveries. The simple fact of being able to close dock doors without leaving gaps impacts the hygiene and atmospheric control of the entire area, removing concerns of outside elements such as dirt and heat that may otherwise find their way inside bays while they are not in use. By the same turn, energy and cold cannot escape the area. Ingredients that need a temperature controlled environment may be safely moved through bays, or even kept on hold inside them for short periods while awaiting transportation to their intended © stock.adobe.com/ markobe 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 30/01/2023 11:05 Page 3© stock.adobe.com/ Александр Байдук Food & Drink International 29 www.fdiforum.net LOADING BAYS AND DOORS storage area. Reducing the urgency of moving perishable items contributes to a calmer, and therefore safer and healthier, working environment for all as well. To double down on the efficiency of your loading bays, or to cover for a building in which a VSL isn’t a viable option, dock shelters and dock houses are a worthy consideration. With this external arrangement available, a vehicle can reverse up to an opening in the side of the loading bay area, forming a tight weather seal around the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle, trailer, contents and workers can also be protected from water ingress, preventing leakage and slip hazards while maintaining the cold chain from vehicle unloading to storage. There may be downsides to this solution, including an added potential machinery trapping or injury risk, and reduced visibility and communication between delivery drivers and site staff. But these can be navigated with extra care and ensuring the selected shelter – or having a shelter at all – is the best fit for your site. Whether opting for a canopy, shelter or seal, there is a variety of choices for closing gaps against outside intruding contaminants and weather conditions. Adjustable systems can provide more scope for modifying to different vehicles’ loading or unloading needs, but will require more maintenance, and can be damaged by even minor vehicular accidents. If installing a more static solution, the important thing to keep in mind is weighing up whether food safety and energy efficiency, or worker safety and movement efficiency is going to be more important for your business operations. 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 30/01/2023 11:05 Page 4Next >