Food packaging is very critical in determining the quality of food that we eat. Before the food reaches the consumer, it mostly passes through quite a long supply chain. The producer passes it to the processor then to the transporters who then get it to the distributors and probably through the grocers and restaurants before it can finally get to the consumer. Therefore, in order to maintain good quality of the food, including its flavor all through the long supply chain; quality food packaging is very critical. It is because of this that innovative and flexible food packaging methods have been introduced.

Below are some ways in which flexible food packaging is affecting how the food industry is packaging foods:

  1. Perfect For Almost All Types Of Food

Unlike with the traditional way of packing foods that was only limited to some types of food products, flexible packing is adaptable to close to all types of food products. Be they in liquid form, dried or frozen, flexible packaging is able to accommodate all these kinds of food products.

  1. Prolonged Shelf Life

As earlier stated, food products go through a long cycle before the final consumer can finally access them. If the food is not properly packaged, it can shorten its life cycle and thus it will be spoiled along the way. The reason the food industry has adopted the flexible packaging is because it preserves and maintains foods for long and thus extending the food product life cycle.

  1. Preservation Of Food In The Intended State

Making the food reach the final consumer in its natural freshness without being contaminated along the way is the biggest worry that food industries have. Flexible packaging however averts this worry because it is capable of protecting the food from contaminants and any other thing that may make the food to go bad, or be contaminated as it travels through the supply chain.

  1. Saving Costs On The Packaging

Traditional packaging methods resulted in high packaging cost. However, this is not the case with flexible packaging. With flexible packaging, fewer resources are required and they are less compact. The result is a reduction in the packaging expense, which becomes very effective for any food industry.

  1. Eye-Catching Product Packaging

The way a producer packages their products determines its reception by the consumers. An attractively packaged product can lure a consumer to buy it as opposed to the one that is not so pleasing to the eyes. With flexible packaging, producers can be as creative as they want.

They can include graphic designs on the packaging just to make them more appealing to the consumer’s eyes. This goes a long way in advertising the product and it makes marketing easier. In return, this means less expenses for the food industry and of cause more profits.

  1. Tailor-Made Packaging

Flexible packaging gives the manufacturer a chance to be more innovative when it comes to packaging. A manufacturer can be able customize the packing according to the consumers’ needs in terms of the size or shape. This additionally gives marketing a great boost. Today, it is possible for customers to identify their favorite products with the packaging.

Conclusion

Businesses in the food industry are all slowly adopting flexible packaging. Businesses that are operating in large scales are having their own flexible packaging printers. On the other hand, the businesses operating in small scales can simply get their flexible packages supplied from the best food packaging company around.

By Chakraborty

Dr Chakrabarty is the Chief Innovation Officer of IntuiComp TeraScience. Earlier she was Assistant Professor of Delhi University, a QS ranked university in India. Before that she has held research positions in IIT Mumbai, IIT Chennai and IISc Bangalore. She holds 2 patents and over 20 research publications in her name which are highly cited. Her area of research is in smart technologies, integrated devices and communications. She also has a penchant for blogging and is an editor of Business Fundas.