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What you need to consider for food box packaging?

Admin KYM

In this modern world of food delivery, besides the taste the other most important factor is the food box packaging. The design and shape should be able to protect the packaged food keeping it safe, tasty and fresh in the box.

Besides protection, another key factor would be the perceived value of the item delivered. If the food manufacturer or shop has a nice box packaging, it helps to elevate the brand automatically.

After all there is a saying “We eat with our EYES first.” That is why quality restaurant plates their dishes beautifully, so as to box packaging if it’s nicely design the feel good vibe is already there.

Now let’s take a peek at what to consider when it comes to different types of food packaging choices that you can use to elevate your product & customer experience!

1. Understanding the requirements of food for protection

Firstly physical and chemical composition as well as chemical properties of various type of foods are very different. Therefore different food will need different food box packaging to protect it.

Let’s take for example, tea leaves. The packaging should be able to prevent the active ingredients from oxidation and should be highly resistant to moisture. Tea leaves easily absorbs external odours that’s why it is usually packed in plastic bags and then only inserted into a box packaging.

Another example would be pastry and cake. They are more to the oily, soft and contains a certain amount of water content in it. In brief, the box packaging should be able to prevent the greasy oxidation as well as to prevent losing the moisture which will cause the cake to harden and dry up.

Therefore, food box packaging should be specifically and scientifically design according to the different nature of the food itself.

2. Choosing packaging material appropriately for protection function

Food processing industry selects the packaging material according to food product requirement considering factors like heat sealability, process ability, printability, strength, barrier properties (water, oil and gas barrier), cost-effectiveness, sustainability and legal requirements.

There are many types of traditional packaging materials such as metal can, glass bottle, carton and many more. Some other types of modern food packaging materials mainly include papers, plastics, glass, metal, composite materials and others. Here are some details :

Paper Packaging

Paper and board are versatile materials used to package foods. Paper packaging can e.g. be made of parchment paper or have the shape of bags to package loose foods. Cartonboard is commonly used for e.g. liquid and dry foods, frozen foods and fast food. Corrugated board finds broad application in direct contact with food (e.g. pizza boxes) and as secondary packaging.

Boxes are one of the most common types of food packaging. They can be made with wood, corrugated fiberboard or metal, making them more resistant to damage.

With the proper combination of design look and feel, the box packaging can look very top of the line minus the high-end pricing.
Composite Material

The most widely used flexible packaging material is from composite materials. In current times there are more than 28 types of plastics use for food packaging. In fact, there are hundreds of multi-layer composites containing plastics.

Generally composite materials are about 2-7 layers but if needed it can go above 10 layers. Combine usage of plastic, aluminium foil, tissue and other substrates can easily meet the requirements of many different food packaging requirements.

Plastic

 

As many as 6 kinds of plastics is in use for food packaging. Those various types have different degrees of polymerization, molecular structures, additives and properties. Therefore you have to be smart on choosing which kind will suit your requirements best.

Undoubtedly, a wrong choice may result in food degrading or even loss of value. For example, if apples are pack in corrugated box instead of a PVC plastic corrugated box, the apples might decay faster. This is because the apples cannot maintain a healthy breathing. PVC have a better performance in blocking carbon dioxide, oxygen and moisture.

Glass Bottle

 

 Glass bottle are traditionally more fragile and weights more. For modern packaging, technology has shift it to thin-walled light bottle which is specially treated that can reduce the weight down by almost half. Furthermore the strength is greatly improved. Glass container in food packaging is a very competitive market.

Metal Can

 

 Metal can is mainly made of tinplate, aluminized steel sheet that is made of 3 piece cans. In this modern time, cans made of thin aluminium plates are in use. There are also the 3 piece can, shaped can, spray can and more.
3. Sustainability

Food packaging was identified as an essential element to address the key challenge of sustainable food consumption and is gaining interest among scientists.

Sustainable food packaging which is clearly about minimizing the environmental footprint of packed food. An innovative sustainable packaging aims to address food waste and loss reduction by preserving food quality, as well as food safety issues by preventing food-borne diseases and food chemical contamination.

Moreover, it must address the long-term crucial issue of environmentally persistent plastic waste accumulation as well as the saving of oil and food material resources.

However, packaging is usually wrongly considered as an additional economic and environmental cost rather than an added value for waste reduction. Moreover, primary packaging is, currently, not always well adapted to the food needs and therefore does not efficiently and sufficiently contribute to maintain the shelf life of the food.

4. Packaging Design for Brand Awareness

Designing packaging for products can be a little more complicated. It’s not just slapping a sticker onto the cardboard box. First of all, you need to identify the packaging medium. Different materials will define the printing method and number of colors that could be printed on.

Some other things to consider:

  • The printer’s available printing types & machine
  • Packaging materials best suit your needs
  • Strength & weight of your final box packaging
  • Additional requirements such as embossing, hot stamping, UV finish & etc

Finally, as notice, packaging design is a lot more complicated than a simple plastic bag or cardboard box.

Paper and paperboards encompasses 31% of the global packaging market segment and are most widely used in food packaging for containment and protection of the food products, convenience during storage or consumption and communication of the relevant information to consumers including its marketing aspects.

Our paper for food packaging sourced from local certified paper mills with RoHS Compliance.We are happy to help you create packaging with food grade materials and increase your appetite with quality printing.

For more information about our sustainable box packaging, kindly contact us at +603 8766 8536 or email us at packtalk@kym.com.my.

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