Packaging
Wish Farms, Plant City, Fla., is gearing up for the domestic blackberry season, anticipating a positive shift in demand and pricing as production ramps up.
Chelan, Wash.-based Chelan Fresh Marketing is entering its first full season with new cherry packaging, said Tim Evans, general sales manager.
Sustainability is more than a buzzword in packaging these days; it’s common sense, manufacturers say.
Fox Packaging, McAllen, Texas, has four days of scheduled events planned at its United Fresh LIVE! virtual booth, from June 15-18.
While package makers focus on minimizing waste that ends up in landfills, they’re also mindful to minimize biodegradable waste by developing bags, clamshells and boxes that protect product shelf life, marketers say.
Online grocery purchasing and delivery will continue to spread, long after the current COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has dissipated, and the packaging industry likely will grow with it, marketers say.
Many unanswered questions still hang over the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, but the health crisis, which froze some food sales outlets and forced major alterations in others, also changed consumer buying habits.
Using fewer materials in packaging for fresh produce costs less in dollars as well as environmental impact, marketers say.
Flexible equipment is an important component in a packaging industry that continues to work with new materials, pack styles and formats, marketers say.
Increasing automation, using bio-based materials and stepping up recycling education efforts are a few ways suppliers have responded to sustainable packaging demands during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A successful package-recycling program is a numbers game, according to Jeff Brandenburg, president and primary consultant for the Greenfield, Mass.-based JSB Group LLC and QFresh Lab in Salinas, Calif.
The trend in packaging for the produce industry early this year was toward eliminating single-use plastic or even doing away with packaging altogether, merchandising fruits and vegetables loose in bulk displays.
Phillips Mushroom Farms, Kennett Square, Pa., has updated the packaging for its popular Gourmet Blend, which contains baby bella, oyster and shiitake mushrooms, said Sean Steller, director of business development.
The packaging issue has turned into a dilemma for the produce industry in general and the organic segment in particular.
Smurfit Kappa executive Juan Pablo Perez has been appointed as the president of the Corrugators Association of the Caribbean and Central and South America.
Leamington, Ontario-based Nature Fresh Farms will plant one tree for every social media post featuring the firm’s sustainability messaging.
Amado, Ariz.-based Wholesum is introducing top-seal packaging for its organic tomatoes-on-the-vine.
D’Arrigo Bros. of California, which has donated more than $2 million to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, is again featuring its pink-themed packaging for the Andy Boy brand during October..
Traverse City, Mich.-based North Bay Produce highlighted new branding and updated graphics on its packaging at the Produce Marketing Association’s virtual Fresh Summit.
Packaging supplier Sev-Rend, Collinsville, Ill., highlighted its new Bio-Able Solutions line of products at the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit Expo.
Spring Valley Fruits, Pharr, Texas, highlighted a new eco-friendly clamshell for guava at the Produce Marketing Association’s virtual Fresh Summit.
The Oppenheimer Group teased new apple packaging at the PMA’s Fresh Summit. The packaging pictured at the virtual booth is a pyramid-shaped paper-based graphic container and holds four Jazz apples.
Kenneth Ruud has joined Summit Packaging Inc., Auburn, Wash., as a regional sales representative in Wenatchee, Wash.
Smurfit Kappa announced new targets to further reduce its fossil CO2 emissions, including its ambition to reach at least net zero emissions by 2050.
New package options are on tap for McFarland, Calif.-based Pretty Lady Vineyards.
Naturipe Farms, Salinas, Calif., which has undertaken a commitment to sustainable packaging, plans to remove 48 metric tons of plastic from its packaging in 2020.
Terphane has films that use a process that avoid chemical solvent coatings to provide antifogging of produce containers, allowing a heat-sealed package that shows the product clearly even when there’s condensation.
ProSeal America, Richmond, Va., has a new tray positioning system that eliminates the trial and error usually associated with establishing the spacing of trays in the sealing process.
Tops Friendly Markets has moved away from foam produce trays and has switched to a local supplier of greenhouse-grown tomatoes as part of ongoing efforts to reduce the company’s environmental impact.
Fruit World Co., Reedley, Calif., plans to be shipping organic Thomcord grapes the first week of August.