It’s plastic fantastic

The French dynasty Guillin Group has been leading the way in packaging for fresh produce since the early 1990s, through its daughter companies, Dynaplast in Burgundy, France, and Nespak, in Italy, according to Dynaplast’s export manager, Christophe Bellouard.

DYNAPLAST

While shape may not always have been a priority for some companies’ marketing strategies, having a good knowledge of fruit and vegetables and the shape of punnets best-suited to transporting them is vital in producing a necessarily diverse product range, says Bellouard.

Since customers are not always sensitive to the quality of the products they are looking at, the appearance of the packaging is fundamental, he says. “There is no difference between a one kilogram punnet of good fruit and a 1kg punnet of normal fruit except the price. The final customer is not sensitive enough to the quality of the fruit and, if the packaging does not make the difference, he will very often take the cheapest.”

While marketing has traditionally been more of a focus for luxury items, such as chocolate, Bellouard says with the rising profile of fresh produce among consumers, its packaging should receive more attention. “There are big opportunities for this market to bring quality and differentiation and to be known as a genuinely marketable food industry,” he says. “Everybody has heard about 5 a day and every day fruit and vegetables are taking a bigger place in the healthy eating debate all over the world.”

Dynaplast focuses on the PET market, extruding its own sheets from virgin raw materials for in-house thermoforming. According to Bellouard PET is the most suitable material for two main reasons: it has the best recycling industry in Europe, and it is the most transparent option, offering the best view of its contents.

Dynaplast produces both punnets with detachable lids and clamshells, which fall into six lines, under the following headings: Jardipack, Agripack, Rubipack, Minipack, Visipack, and Grapipack.

Bellouard says the two product types are complementary, with different markets favouring each one. The US soft-fruit sector uses clamshells exclusively as do most Spanish cherry tomato packers, whereas the Spanish and French soft-fruit market and Dutch cherry tomato producers prefer punnets with detachable lids.

Bellouard says the soft-fruit sector has seen a noticeable trend towards single layer punnets, especially for long-haul deliveries. For this reason, Dynaplast has introduced the square Agripack PAF6 for 500g of strawberries and the rectangular Agripack for 200g of raspberries.

A 250g Agripack punnet has also been designed for cherry tomatoes. “For the cherry market, hygiene and lids which never pop off in the shop are the priorities for packers and retailers. Our Agripack range with a clipping system inside and lateral ventilation brings the best protection, allowing the produce to be sold in the best condition,” says Bellouard.

Since the cherry tomato market is growing year-on-year it is important for packaging to reflect the increasing diversification,” he says. “Our Rubipack, a triangular punnet, brings an image which will be recognised by the final consumer. If he likes the product, he will come back to it via the packaging.” Small 200-250g Rubipacks and Agripacks are proving very popular as snack-sized packs for fruit, such as grapes, he adds, while larger sizes are suitable for a wide range of items.

In accordance with the drive towards ‘ready-to-eat’ and ‘eat me-keep me’ packs, the company has introduced Jardipack FL12 for four fruits. The Jardipack or ‘Garden’ pack was created for different volumes, from half a pound to six and a half pounds, for cash and carry, family packs, prepared mixes of fruit or vegetable for special preparation, fruit salads, and vegetable soup mixes during winter. Bellouard says the marketable qualities of the range include its stackability. “A couple of months ago we developed a new range with alveol included in the punnet. It forms a veritable shell around the fruit and gives longer shelf-life to everything which can bruise, fall off the bunch, be nibbled etc.”

As an extension of the Jardipack line, Dynaplast has introduced the rounder clamshell, Visipack. Bellouard says the FL14 model is particularly suited to the UK market, with eight punnets fitting into the standard UK crate.

Two other lines available are Grapipack designed around the shape of a bunch of grapes and Minipack, a round-shaped punnet designed for vine tomatoes, with either a lid, flow-pack or stretch film. The lid delays dehydration which enables prolonged preservation of the fruits, while the transparent PET flow-lid offers better visibility of the product.

According to Bellouard, as consumers become more discerning about the produce they choose to buy, companies such as Dynaplast have an important role to ensure that fruit and vegetables are available in the best possible condition, to encourage an ongoing rise in consumption.

NESPAK

Nespak began life in the early 20th century as a stone-fruit production company, according to export manager, Massimo Bellotti. The company then introduced an insert to hold the product, and its packaging range evolved from there. In 1993 Nespak became part of Guillon Group and for the last 25 years, it has been represented in the UK by Premier Packaging.

Nespak manufactures a variety of polypropylene inserts to cater for different sizes and colours of stone fruit, as well as kiwifruit, apples and pears, with new solutions being rolled out for exotics and sizes to suit retail crates.

Bellotti says the company’s Nestipack Plus inserts are designed for tilted displays, enabling fruit to be taken from the lower part of the tray while the upper fruit is held on display until selected.

Maxipack is a range of punnets and lids produced in polypropylene (PP), which includes pick-your-own baskets made in various colours. PET punnets, lids and hinge packs have also been added. Of these, the Ravipack range consists of a variety of PP trays in different sizes, shapes, depths and colours to suit a variety of fruit and vegetables.

The company also offers a range of packs called Nexpan, which are made from EPS and available in different sizes, as well as Mini packs, which are shallow PP cavity packs mainly used for apples, citrus and tomatoes.

INFIA AIRS NEW OFFER

Infia has recently expanded its packaging offer with the introduction of its KappaPlus range of punnets and trays.

The new system has been designed to give supreme product conservation by allowing increased airflow inside the packaging.

Its rounded corner design incorporates a unique ‘transpiration’ hole embedded in the edge of the packaging which works consistently to give better all round ventilation and longer product shelf life even when packs are stacked up on supermarket shelves, according to Ian Seamark, sales director of Infia UK.

He says Infia is working towards a common design across its range of punnets, with either separate or hinged lids, to create a standardised appearance for sizes from 125g to one kilogramme.

“Infia punnet lids have always been known to have a consistently easy fit with a strong click on feel,” says Seamark. “In addition, hinged punnets can be filled and automatically closed within fully integrated packaging lines, which results in reduced packing costs and enhanced product presentation.”

He says other benefits of the KappaPlus system include secure handling by both staff and customers, easy to manipulate lids featuring an innovative rib design that also adds to the packs strength and robustness, and practical product stacking properties to optimise transportation and storage costs.

Infia’s products are all manufactured from PET plastic, which makes the containers transparent, strong and 100 per cent recyclable. “The result is superb product protection, enhanced presentation at the point of sale, and the knowledge that Infia products are not contributing to packaging pollution,” says Seamark.

Punnets and trays are available in a wide range of sizes and configurations to suit the characteristics of the product. Tray sizes range from 125g to one kg capacity and are available with or without a hinged lid. They are also suitable for netting, flow wrapping and shrink-wrapping of fruit, vegetables, exotics and salads.

Infia UK is part of the GSH Group and the UK partner of Infia Srl. With a manufacturing base in Italy and a production facility spread over 75,000 square metres, the company currently produces over 1.7 billion punnets, lids, trays and tray liners per year which are exported to over 50 countries worldwide.

The company supplies many areas of the fresh produce industry, including supermarkets, importers, marketing co-operatives, growers and packers amongst its customers and is committed to providing the fresh produce sector with economical and innovative packaging solutions.