"Filltech Machinery,stepping with the market trends,aims to provide quality shrink sleeve labeling machines to the worldwide packing professionals.‘’
Nowadays,beverage packing professionals must innovate their shrink sleeve labeling machines to make the lables stank out according to the trends. Clean labeling is affecting nearly half of food processing operations, according to PMMI’s 2017 Trends in Food Operations Report. As consumer shopping habits are increasingly affected by the perceived healthiness of foods, brands must do more to display the health benefits of their products. Advances in smart packing, visual graphics and even package recyclability can help draw in today’s health conscious buyers.
As consumers demand cleaner food and more transparency from brands, companies must find ways to help their products stand out among the hundreds of other healthy options.
In 2016 alone, 4,591 new products carrying a USDA-approved “no additives or preservatives” label were introduced to the market. The number of new, GMO-free products amounted to 3,732; 3,011 were organic; 6,552 were low- to-no allergen; 6,123 were gluten-free and 5,056 claimed an environmentally friendly package. Each of these categories has grown year-by-year since at least 2009.
The proliferation of products with health claims creates a challenge for food manufacturers. Brands can look to special features like matte varnishes, clear panels and eye-catching visuals to help their products stand out on the shelf.
Justin Slarks, director of marketing at Sleeve Seal (Booth #C-5406), says he has noticed brands gravitating toward using photographic elements in their packaging.
Whether it’s an actual picture of the food inside the package or a bottle of pomegranate juice with a photo of a pomegranate on the front, including photographs of fresh foods offers shoppers a sense of trust in the healthiness of their food.
“It all boils down to customers wanting more transparency,” Slarks says. “We offer many solutions to help enhance the look and feel of labels, including matte varnishes in up to 10 colors and ultra-high-resolution printing for photographic elements. Our machines run thinner films, so there are less consumables in each label, but the same visual impact.”
When calling out benefits on the package, brands should include not just the nutritional value of the food but the environmentally friendly assets of the package itself, Slarks explains. Innovations in product labeling show higher levels of recyclability, including de-steaming technology that helps separate labels from containers in the recycling process.
Sleeve Seal will be showcasing its solutions at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, including the SSL-800i, a vertical-sleeve labeler that is lubrication-free and belt-only for simple operation and easy reformatting.