Cooking a healthy meal from scratch can be a lot of fun. But who wants to go through all that effort after a long day at work, especially after discovering the fresh ingredients you bought have gone bad?
This scenario has driven consumers to the frozen food aisle in droves.
The global frozen food market has seen explosive growth as consumers choose frozen options for meals, snacks, entrees, and more. The convenience, longer shelf life, and easy availability is a winning combination.
There are more opportunities than ever to launch something new and meet consumer demand for convenient and tasty frozen foods. As you create your next product, consider these five must-haves for the ideal frozen food packaging.
Keep it Fresh
A successful frozen foods package needs to keep the product fresh, from the production line to store shelves, and all the way to consumers’ freezers.
Choose high-quality frozen food packaging materials with barrier properties. Your packaging should have the proper films and barriers that can preserve and protect the product inside from dehydration and oxidation, which can cause freezer burn. A report from Grandview Research said that, “material selection for frozen food packaging plays a very important role… the selected material should be durable, moisture resistant, and leakage proof and should also be able to preserve the color, texture, nutritional value, as well as the flavor of the frozen food.”
Make it Flexible
Flexible packaging is one of the most widely used materials for frozen foods, like frozen vegetable bags, and stand-up pouches for chicken nuggets, meatballs, appetizers, and more.
It’s no secret why.
Plastic film has many beneficial features including heat resistance, heat sealing, and excellent barrier properties. They’re also lightweight and shatter-proof. Additionally, flexible bags and pouches offer space-savings on store shelves and in consumers’ homes.
Choose Convenience
According to a Deloitte study, 45% of consumers chose a product primarily because it simplified food prep, and 35% purchased a product because the packaging was more convenient.
Within the frozen foods segment, convenience features include zippers for reseal over multiple uses, tear notches for easy-open, and microwave-in-bag to cook the product without the need to use a separate container. In the frozen foods space, convenience for meal prep is an important driving factor, and the right package really makes a difference.
Make it Sustainable
To address the growing demand for sustainable frozen food packaging, consider using PCR, or post-consumer recycled films.
PCR helps decrease greenhouse gas emissions and removes plastic from the environment by converting discarded materials back into usable resin.
PCR films are used to create pouches of all shapes and sizes, like stand-up, lay flat, and even rollstock. PCR film behaves the same way as non-PCR film, offering the same protection, barrier performance, and strength. That means the film still blocks light, oxygen, and other gases from penetrating the package layer.
Using PCR can help your company reduce its carbon footprint, reduce its impact on landfills, and meet its sustainability goals.
Choose Custom
Whether you’re packaging frozen vegetables, meats, prepared meals, or desserts, remember that the success of your brand lies in the functionality and aesthetics of your package.
With custom printed flexible pouches you can create 360° of branding so that every inch of your packaging becomes a billboard for your frozen product. Plus, if you choose to work with a digital printer, every package will feature high-quality graphics and colors so that your product stands out from the competition.
Frozen Packaging Provider
It’s important to partner with the right packaging supplier that can deliver everything you are looking for when packaging frozen food, including reseal zippers, high-barrier films, photo-like images, and PCR options.
At ePac we offer all of this plus a team of local experts looking to create the best frozen foods package for your brand. Have you considered how custom flexible packaging for frozen foods can help you stand out from the competition? Call us today and learn what ePac can do for you.
