Frozen food packaging is undergoing a transformation from pillow pouches and cartons to stand up bags and steamable packaging. This move away from the industry standards can be confusing and definitely is more of a journey than a destination.In one case,the journey justtook an advantageous turn…
Background
A privately held company was selling a frozen meat item that was packaged in a bottom gusset bag. The product stood up well, displayed the graphics clearly and looked great on the shelf. The product wassuch a successit wasselling over 25million pounds annually.
Challenges
Regardless ofthe strong sales,there were inefficiencies with the bottom gusset bag. The biggest challenge wasthe way the product nested in the shipping case -- causinga truck to cube out versus weighing out.
Opportunity
Using Treasure Valley Packaging Solutions, the privately held company’s packaging issues were evaluated and addressed. One simple solution was identified that impacted the whole supply chain.
Switching froma bottom gusset package to a side gussetthe impact was dramatic:
• Less packaging film was needed per package
• Bags nested together so the case could holdmore
• Fewer cases meant fewer pallets
• Trucks weighted out and transportation costs dropped
• Retailstores had greater pack out on the shelf
Results
$7.8 M of hard dollarsavings and 3.5 M pounds of greenhouse gases were saved on an annualized volume of 25million pounds.
