How To Select Good Food Packaging Solutions For Your Business

Hey everyone. Are you a food entrepreneur or restaurant owner trying to choose packaging for your products? Food packaging is hugely important – it protects your items, displays your brand, and impacts customer experience. With so many options like plastics, paper, cans, cartons, and more, how do you select the right food packaging solution?

In this article, we’ll overview different types of food packaging solutions by experts like PAC Food and key factors to consider when picking options to represent your brand and products. We’ll go through durability, food preservation, branding, sustainability and cost to help you determine the best packaging for achieving your business goals. Let’s dive in.

Key Packaging Characteristics

Food packaging has three core functions – containing products, preserving freshness, and marketing your brand. When evaluating options, keep these priorities in mind:

Durability

Packaging must protect foods during transport and shelf life. Sturdy materials prevent damage.

Food Preservation

Packaging maintains product freshness, integrity, and safety. The right materials lock in quality.

Branding

Packaging represents your brand through shapes, colors, fonts, and other elements. It drives customer perception.

Factors to Consider

Here are top considerations when selecting food packaging:

Food Type

Does the item need 100% air tight and moisture-proof containment? Does it require lightweight or fragile protection? Match the packaging properties carefully to the product.

Shelf Life

How long should the packaging extend freshness and preserve taste? Short-use or long-term? Durability and barrier requirements differ.

Customer Experience

How easy is the packaging to open, dispense from, and reclose? Is it resealable? Are serving sizes clear? The experience matters.

Brand Messaging

Assess shapes, label space, and visual elements to ensure packaging aligns to brand identity and positioning. It’s a key brand billboard.

Sustainability

Consider recyclability, reduced materials, recycled content, and other factors to minimize environmental impact.

Cost

Compare not just unit costs but total costs accounting for durability, shelf life, and versatility. Value matters more than just price.

Key Food Packaging Types

With those factors in mind, let’s overview popular options:

Plastic

Durable, affordable, lightweight plastic packaging comes in many forms like clamshells, bags, bottles, and wraps. It provides excellent containment and barrier properties. But not as eco-friendly.

Paper

Paper-based packaging like boxes, cartons, wraps, and trays are recyclable and sustainable. But they lack durability and barrier ability in moist environments.

Metal

Metal cans and tins offer supreme durability and excellent air/moisture barriers. But more expensive and heavier. Better for shelf-stable foods.

Glass

Glass jars and bottles have first-rate barrier ability plus a premium, transparent appearance. But heavy and fragile. Better for artisanal products.

Flexible

Pouches and bags made of multilayer plastics/foils provide lightweight, economic packaging with barriers tailored to the product. But less branding space.

Bio-Based

Innovative packaging made from plants offers sustainability benefits alongside typical functions like PLA plastics from corn starch. But niche availability.

Conclusion

Consider all dimensions from technical properties to branding to find the optimal food packaging solutions for your needs. Aim for durable, effective and brand-enhancing packaging at a reasonable cost. With sound evaluation of options, your products can shine.