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A recent article in Packaging World highlights the role of suppliers in bringing innovation to consumer product goods (CPG) companies.  At Zip-Pak, we couldn’t agree more.  The industry is changing, and suppliers must be engaged as collaborators early in the development of new products and packaging.  Consider a couple of reasons why these industry partnerships should continue to become the norm:
1. Going Green – The materials and package styles play one of the most critical roles in determining the sustainability of a package.  With increasing pressure by retailers to develop material solutions that meet the evolving sustainability standards, countless companies are introducing material solutions that contribute to lower energy consumption, solid waste generation, and greenhouse gas emissions.  Maintaining close relationships with these innovators can give your brand a competitive advantage in green push.
2. Package Functionality – Consumers are a fickle bunch, and if a new package doesn’t perform as promised, they don’t hesitate to find a different brand.  Materials, machinery and package design all contribute to functionality, necessitating early involvement from all suppliers.  A common example we see here is perforation – if it isn’t executed correctly, consumers may accidentally tear off the zipper profile.    When we are brought into the package design process upfront, however, we are able to make recommendations about how the resealable solution should be applied for easy open, easy close functionality.
The relationship between CPGs, retailers and packaging suppliers is rapidly changing, and we’re excited to see what innovations are on the horizon for our industry.

According the American Pet Products Association, spending on pets continues to rise – topping $47 billion in 2010.   From organic meals to mini rain boots, “pet parents” only want the best for their little companions and they are willing to pay a premium for quality.
Packaging is no exception to this rule.  Any dog owner can attest to the fact that their pet can discern between fresh food and stale treats.  Resealable closures can help “pet parents” ensure the food they feed their pets remains  fresh and tasty.
Another benefit?  Quality packaging  helps  owners  prevent spills, making pet care easier and reducing product waste.  The good news for pet parents and brand owners alike is that resealable closures can be applied to virtually any flexible package- from bird seed to organic filet mignon.

Despite recent indicators that the economy is in recovery, a study from the Private Label Manufacturers Association says private label has staying power.  Over 57 percent of shoppers said they buy store brands frequently, and that number has been on the rise for over a year.
Retailers have been commended since the onset of the economic downturn for being leaders in packaging innovation, a trend that is likely to continue.  Let’s take a look at what private label brands have done successfully in their packaging.
Elegant Design
When it comes to package design, the old adage “less is more” certainly rings true.  Take Safeway’sWaterfront Bistro line of frozen seafood.  A simple white background allows the product images to engage consumers at the point-of-purchase.  As BRANDPACKAGING notes, “The design sells the brand positioning of restaurant-quality seafood prepared easily and economically at home.”  Giving consumers the feel of luxury in the package is important when appealing to shrinking budgets.
Value-Added Features
Both national and private label brands understand the importance of convenience when it comes to packaging.  From steam-in-bag pouches to resealable functionality, consumers want products that fit into their lifestyles.  They often consume products on the go and look at them as accessories to their everyday lives. A favorite among our colleagues here at Zip-Pak is the Archer Farms (Target) resealable potato chip bag.  It eliminates the need for a “chip clip” and encourages brand loyalty by giving the consumer a positive experience with the package.
Private label brands are certainly on the forefront of packaging innovation, and the lesson our industry can learn is that elegance and functionality are the key to winning and maintaining the loyalty of consumers.

FDA-registered packaging facility to demonstrate production of innovative resealable carton for faster market entry
Zipbox^®, a joint venture between T.H.E.M. and Zip-Pak, announces the delivery of the first proof-of-principal cartoner to facilitate short-run production of the Zipbox^® package.  The capability will enable consumer product goods companies (CPGs) to source filled Zipbox^® packages from T.H.E.M.’s FDA-registered facility in Marlton, NJ for consumer insights, product shelf-life and other testing.  Zipbox^® is an innovative package format that combines the stability of a carton with the convenience of a resealable flexible package.
“Bringing a brand new package format to market can be challenging for brand managers,” said Neil Kozarsky, President of T.H.E.M.  “As we learned with our stick pack business, by enabling short-run production, we can provide guidance to companies who want to implement the Zipbox, allowing them to conduct necessary research and bring it to market faster.”
Zipbox^® is a poly-coated paperboard carton incorporating an attached flexible film header containing a DoubleZip™ zipper profile.  The proof-of-principal cartoner, from Yeaman Machine Technologies, erects the container, fills product through the bottom and seals the carton.
Zipbox^® is designed to facilitate direct-filling of products without the need for an inner liner.  By removing the liner, the package style can hold up to 40 percent more contents, maximizing the product-to-package ratio and cube utilization to reduce transportation costs.
“The Zipbox concept has generated considerable excitement from CPGs and consumers as an intuitive, easy-to-use carton unlike any package style on store shelves today,” adds Frank Kelly, Business Manager of Zipbox.  “Demonstrating the ability to produce Zipbox on a broad scale is the next step in revolutionizing the way products are brought to market.”
Zipbox is ideal for a variety of consumer applications, including cereals, snacks, cookies, frozen foods, pet foods, and powdered laundry detergents.

ZIP360^® Offers Consumer Convenience and Shelf-Impact for Wide Range of Markets
Zip-Pak introduces ZIP360^® at PACK EXPO International 2010.  The new flexible pouch format features a wide opening and pour-spout functionality to enhance consumer convenience across multiple applications.  ZIP360^® also enables graphics around the entire surface area of the pouch to maximize shelf impact at the point of purchase.
Developed in conjunction with Triangle Package Machinery Co. and Printpack, Inc., ZIP360^® will be running on a Triangle vertical form fill seal machine in Zip-Pak’s booth, #S-1902, during PACK EXPO International 2010.
“Consumers are more outspoken than ever about their packaging,” said Elizabeth Sheaffer, Marketing Manager at Zip-Pak.  “Our goal is to enable brand owners to deliver forward-looking packaging, and ZIP360 is an innovative pouch format that addresses consumer desire for convenience through functionality and resealability.”
The new pouch format’s wide-mouth opening allows consumers of snack mixes, frozen chicken, cookies and crackers, and pet food and treats to easily access and scoop contents.  ZIP360^® also enables pour-spout functionality, an ideal benefit for cereal, frozen food and vegetable applications.
The resealable closure eliminates the need to transfer contents into a separate container, keeping marketing messages in front of the consumer from initial purchase to last use.
Compared to traditional bag-in-box formats, ZIP360^® reduces the amount of materials needed to manufacture a package.  Zip-Pak recently commissioned a life cycle analysis, conducted by independent research firm Franklin Associates, Inc., comparing 20-ounce bag-in-box formats to 21-ounce resealable flexible pouches.  The study confirmed that resealable flexible packages offer superior product-to-package ratio, lower energy footprint, lower solid waste footprint and lower greenhouse gas emissions throughout their life-cycle.

The new smaller slider solution is designed with less material to reduce manufacturing costs and decrease a package’s environmental footprint.
Las Vegas, NV – Zip-Pak, the global leader in brand-enhancing resealable packaging, introduces the new ZIP-PAK^® SLIDER™ Advantage, a smaller slider solution designed with less material to reduce manufacturing costs and decrease a package’s environmental footprint.
As one of the smallest slider clips in the ZIP-PAK^® SLIDER™ family of solutions, the new Slider Advantage requires less plastic for both clip and flange. The visibly smaller clip also allows brand owners to meet consumer demand for convenient resealable pouches while providing a visual cue that the package was manufactured using less material.
In addition to meeting consumer demand for convenient and sustainable packaging, the ZIP-PAK^® SLIDER™ Advantage eliminates the need to transfer a package’s contents into a separate container for storage to preserve product freshness. For brand managers, this means brand messages stay in front of the consumer to the last use, maximizing marketing investments.
“Today’s consumers are more aware of product packaging than ever before, and the introduction of the smaller slider clip enables brands to deliver more sustainable packages while maintaining maximum shelf impact,” says Elizabeth Sheaffer, Marketing Manager at Zip-Pak. “Seeing the consumer-preferred slider at the point-of-purchase assures shoppers that the packaging is easy-to-use and the product will stay fresh.”
Like the entire ZIP-PAK^® SLIDER™ family of products, Slider Advantage is ergonomically designed, making packages easy to open and close for consumers of all ages. Ideal for sliced deli meats, cheese, snacks and dry goods, frozen foods and pet treats, the new slider can be applied to pre-made pouches and form/fill/seal applications. The solution can also run on virtually all packaging formats and machinery configurations, eliminating the need to invest in new packaging lines.

Honeytop Speciality Foods has introduced convenient new resealable packaging for its range of tortilla wraps, sold under the brand of a leading UK retailer.
Manteno, IL (September 19, 2008) — Honeytop Speciality Foods has introduced a convenient new resealable packaging for its range of tortilla wraps, sold under the brand of a leading UK retailer. To this end, Honeytop bought the Fuji FW3410B Alpha horizontal flow wrapper featuring a Zip-Pak RESEAL 360XM resealable closure applicator unit from Paramount Packaging, distributor of Fuji Packaging Machinery.
Honeytop, a market leader in the supply of ethnic breads, tortillas, and pancakes throughout the UK and Europe, is the first to adopt the new technology from Paramount Packaging. This enables the company to achieve higher brand differentiation and greater opening convenience, while maintaining product freshness and helping consumers reduce food waste.
“This new machine and the reclosable packaging style help us to differentiate our products on retail shelves,” says David Laurence, Joint Managing Director of Honeytop Speciality Foods. “Reclosable packaging offers consumers the added flexibility and convenience they demand.”
The RESEAL 360XM applicator uses the ZIP-PAK^® Press-to-Close™ ZE70 (7mm) resealable closure, an easy-to-use secure seal that locks in the freshness and aroma of Honeytop’s tortillas. This technology allows the product to be opened and reclosed at the consumer’s convenience, maintaining quality until the entire contents are consumed. In addition, the new resealable package allows brand owners to keep valuable marketing messages in front of the consumer up to the last use of the pack. The hybrid machine is ideal for a wide range of industries including bakery, frozen and chilled food, as well as hardware and pharmaceuticals.
“Private label brands in the UK retail for up to 50 per cent less on average than their brand name counterparts,” says Lloyd Dicks, Area Sales Manager at Zip-Pak. “The state of the global economy gives food retailers an opportunity to grow market share of their own product lines. Coupling the price difference with a resealable closure that offers convenience and reduces the risk of premature food spoilage can help private label brands compete on store shelves.”

Wyke Farms, the UK’s largest independent cheese producer and milk processor, today unveiled a

new line of re-designed, re-sealable packaging for the company’s range of award-winning farmhouse cheddar.

Plumrose Updates Packaging with ZIP-PAK ^® DoubleZip™

East Brunswick, NJ (November 9, 2008) – Plumrose, one of the largest U.S. producers of sliced meats, upgraded its line of premium packaged deli meats with a ZIP-PAK^® DoubleZip™ resealable closure to help consumers protect the freshness of their packaged foods, which reduces food waste and enhances sustainability.

Food waste due to spoilage can be an unnecessary strain on consumer budgets, especially during an economic downturn. DoubleZip features two sets of interlocking profiles that are ergonomically designed to guide consumers’ fingers along a path when closing a package, ensuring complete closure after each use. The sealed package reduces product exposure to oxygen and other environmental contaminants that lead to food spoilage, so products retain maximum freshness throughout the final use.

“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 96 million pounds of food are discarded annually,” explains Dave Forte, Vice President of Sales at Plumrose USA. “The package upgrade for our premium line of sliced deli

meats helps prevent food waste, and the unnecessary spending that goes along with it.”

Reducing food waste also has significant sustainability benefits. Throughout decomposition in landfills, food waste releases methane, which the EPA says is 20 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide. Plumrose also chose to incorporate DoubleZip on its deli meat packagesto eliminate the need for consumers to transfer contents into a separate container for resealable storage. This benefit reduces additional packaging waste, and keeps marketing messages in front of the consumer throughout product use.

“Zip-Pak is consistently innovating to provide benefits that resonate with consumers,” says Elizabeth Sheaffer, Marketing Manager at Zip-Pak. “DoubleZip helps consumer product companies provide the cost saving and sustainability benefits consumers desire by ensuring easy package closure to maximize food freshness.”

New System Enables the Transition to Brand-Differentiating Resealable Packaging without a Significant Capital Investment.
Manteno, IL (September 19, 2008) — Zip-Pak, a global leader in helping consumer product companies build their brands with resealable technology, will launch a new resealable zipper applicator at PACK EXPO International 2008, November 9-13, 2008 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL. The system provides an economical solution for companies interested in incorporating a convenient, brand-differentiating resealable feature on their packaging, and will be running live at Zip-Pak’s booth S-1910.
As a retrofit solution, the new system allows customers to utilize existing form/fill/seal equipment to provide resealable packaging without the capital investment of new, zipper-ready technology. The resealable closure is applied in the transverse or cross-web direction across the top of the package, and is ideal for products such as dried fruits and nuts, cereal, cookies as well as powdered drinks and soups.
During the show, the new retrofit system will be running the newest member of the Zip-Pak Press-to-Close™ family of resealable packaging technologies, the ZIP-PAK^® DoubleZip.  Designed with two sets of interlocking profiles, the DoubleZip provides added seal security to keep foods fresh and is ergonomically designed to glide consumers’ fingers along a path for easy closure.
“The new retrofit system was developed as a baseline solution that can be upgraded to run at higher speeds and with a wide variety of pouch formats and zipper profiles,” says Ken McCracken, Business Unit Manager at Zip-Pak.  “This enables Zip-Pak to provide customers of all sizes in  various global markets the tools they need to provide consumers with convenient, appealing, freshness-retaining packaging.”
Zip-Pak will also showcase resealable innovations from a variety of industries around the world at PACK EXPO.  The new product applications featured at Zip-Pak’s booth will showcase the benefits of resealable technology to a number of industries in markets around the world.
Resealable technologies on display will include the ZIP-PAK^® SLIDER™ for Large Format Bags, which is the first of its kind to be applied without the need for package alteration or modification to equipment and is ideal for pet food and wild bird seed applications as well as lawn and garden packages.  Designed to withstand the rigors of the distribution channel, the newest slider will be featured in drop tests at Zip-Pak’s booth throughout the show to demonstrate its significant durability.
Zip-Pak has always been committed to bringing the latest technology and innovation to our customers.” says Elizabeth Sheaffer, Marketing Manager for Zip-Pak, “We are confident this system, along with our newest zipper closures, will be a welcome addition for consumer product companies across the globe that are looking to go resealable.”

Company provides consumer convenience with resealable packaging technology from Zip-Pak.

Zip-Pak, introduces ZIP-PAK^® Double Zipper, the newest member of the ZIP-PAK^® Press-to-CloseTM family of resealable packaging technologies.
Zip-Pak, introduces ZIP-PAK^® Double Zipper, the newest member of the ZIP-PAK^® Press-to-CloseTM family of resealable packaging technologies. The Double Zipper ensures complete bag closure and provides added seal security to lock out air and keep foods fresh.
The Double Zipper is ergonomically designed; featuring two sets of interlocking profiles strategically spaced to guide consumers’ fingers along a path when closing a package