In today's economic environment, brand managers face increasingly severe challenges. They must continue to attract consumers' attention in order to win consumers' loyalty to the brand. The pace of consumer life is accelerating and it is increasingly focused on convenience. Therefore, brand managers must go beyond traditional packaging technology concepts and find innovative and easy-to-use solutions for their brands.
Zip-Pak's SliderTM zipper makes it easy to re-seal and take products
How can convenience be improved in a fast pace of life? At present, one of the ways to achieve ease of use is re-seal packaging. Whether selling pet foods, meat slices, cereals or disposable personal care products, resealing technology can bring great advantages to flexible packaging.
The latest development in the field of resealable packaging is pasteurization. During the sterilizing process, the food is heated for a long time. In this way, foods can be cooked to facilitate long-term storage. The retort retort pouch is favored by end users and is replacing the previously popular sterilizing packaging, namely canned packaging.
In foreign countries, tuna and wet cat foods have been widely used in soft bag packaging, but only a one-time use for each bag. So far, the above-mentioned packaging has not used the re-sealing process, because this type of products and soups, stews and seasonings require a high temperature of 121° C. during the retort sterilization process, and ordinary zippers cannot withstand this high temperature.
Recently, major breakthroughs have been made in this area, resulting in the "high temperature sterilization" zipper into the field of flexible packaging. In fact, Zip-Pak's high-temperature zippers have been extensively tested to demonstrate stability and functionality throughout the high-temperature sterilization process, providing the strength required for repeated opening and closing of the package, and the zipper attachment to the packaging film. The material can remain in good condition permanently.
With the ZIP-PAK(r) RETORTTM zipper, high-temperature sterilizing bags can be converted into resealable packages, so consumers can store unused portions of the product in their original packaging containers. Brands adopting this process can offer consumers the full advantage of re-sealing flexible packaging.
High barrier property, longer shelf life
A particularly thorny challenge for manufacturers who manufacture convenient packaging is the need for high moisture and oxygen barrier packaging to ensure that the contents are kept fresh. In the past, zippers that could not enhance the moisture-tight and oxygen-impermeable properties of the main package were used, thus increasing the chance of product contamination. Now that new zipper technology has been introduced, Zip-Pak uses Hudson Sharp's INNO-LOK(r) pre-assembled zipper film technology, combined with its newly developed patented zipper, to successfully solve this problem. With this pre-mounted zipper film, reliable resealability can be achieved, making it suitable for high barrier packaging of sensitive products such as nuts, agricultural products, cheese, meat, and coffee that require moisture-proof and oxygen-barrier properties.
With high barrier packaging, brand owners still need to be careful. They must work closely with the zipper supplier to ensure that the re-seal solution used meets the barrier specifications of the entire package. However, there are a variety of sealants and zipper technologies on the market today, so branded products can provide consumers with better convenience and can extend the shelf life of their products.
Anti-"powder" storage
One category where manufacturers fail to respond to their packaging needs in a timely manner is powdered products, including flour and powdered sugar. In the past, many zippers could not easily and firmly re-seal powdered or granular foods such as flour and dry mix. This type of food is often stuck on the outside of the package, causing “stuffing†to the zipper and making it difficult to re-seal. Therefore, after the consumer generally opens the powdery product packaging bag, the remaining portion is stored in other packaging bags or containers. For consumers, discarding the original packaging can cause inconvenience. For brand owners, they lose the opportunity to reflect their image and value.
To solve this problem, manufacturers have been working on redesigning the zipper profile for many years. In the end, consumers and distributors jointly chose a reseal packaging design that is more effective for packaging powdered products. For example, Zip-Pak's re-seal products have a patented “drain†on the outside, allowing the remaining powder and particles in the zipper area to fall back into the bag when resealing, thus ensuring a fast, strong seal.
Easy to "slide"
Consumers have always loved high-end products with zippers, and dealers can now use the latest slide technology to make their products more distinctive. This new technology uses a sliding "clip" to slide along the outside of the bag, making the bag easy to open and seal. The slide zipper makes it easy for consumers to pick up the interior products and re-seal the bags. No matter who can do it easily. At the same time, some sliding packages also have a tear-proof mark under the zipper to ensure that the product is not opened. Many packages also have a top cover on top of the zipper, designed to further ensure the safety of the package.
Market surveys have shown that consumers are particularly fond of using sliders on products such as snacks, cheese, cereals, and confectionery. In fact, among those interviewed, consumers have shown a special preference for a slider that can provide a higher "security".
Meat slice products have long been used in resealable packaging, and now consumers also want this product to use a slide-type packaging. This type of food has always been packaged on a thermoforming/filling/sealing device using a “press-fit†zipper. The use of existing technology to increase the sliding zipper in the above-mentioned thermoforming applications allows brand owners to provide consumers with a higher degree of convenience, thereby gaining additional advantages. The addition of sliding zips to the product enhances the positioning of the brand and does not affect the flavor, taste and appearance of products filled with thermoformed air.
The integration of innovative packaging functionality can be used as a strategic approach to meet the growing market demand for convenient and convenient packaging. With the recent advances in resealable packaging technology, manufacturers can provide consumer-friendly packaging to make products unique.
Zippers made using new technologies are suitable for all kinds of bags used in all walks of life. For example, with the latest developments in horizontal technology, zippers can be used on the short sides and top of a bag to make the package more natural and intuitive. The use of zippers for various parts of the packaging not only enhances consumer convenience but also provides brand new and distinctive features.