/ By Karan Mudliar / Blog • Uncategorized/ • • • / 0 Comments

Why Co-Packing Services are Necessary for Food Businesses?

Companies that are looking to grow their brand must immediately consider a co-packer. While this approach holds true for every other business, food-specific industries are best served with a co-packer added into the scheme of things. While certain companies prefer outsourcing the manufacturing part, it is important that a contract manufacturer is deployed, in order to speed up assimilation, packing and fulfillment. However, every service provider isn’t functional enough and it takes quite a lot of intuition when it comes to zeroing in on the perfect co-packer for the concerned business. In a nutshell, any food business can easily scale up with a co-packer at the helm as some of the more intricate aspects of packaging are then handled with precision and accuracy.

In the subsequent sections we shall look at the flowchart that helps companies deploy efficient co-packers. Moreover, it is true that every food-specific business needs to work with one, in order to improve scalability and efficiency.

 

When do Companies Usually Deploy Co-Workers?

According to proven surveys, almost one-third of global manufacturers offer outsourced services where they render co-packing benefits to certain esteemed firms. Almost 45 percent of the manufacturers that lack a dedicated unit help other food-specific companies co-pack certain products; thereby assisting producers improve the line extensions. Moreover, a food producer typically hires a co-packer when it moves towards additional certifications, large-scale productions and newer products. Therefore, it can be established that every food producer needs to look up to a co-packer during its business lifecycle.

Understanding the Requirements

The first aspect of hiring a co-packer is to ascertain the industrial requirements, beforehand. Companies that have outgrown their in-house production often need to outsource the packaging and fulfillment services. Majority of food startups start off by producing items in smaller batches. However, upon growing constantly, it becomes hard for them to manage services and the fulfillment requirements, simultaneously. Outsourcing the production, manufacturing and even packaging should therefore be the norm for the constantly growing SMEs.

It must be understood that investing in expansive production techniques and facilities require additional costs and certifications. Moreover, with the ever-expanding clientele expecting improved services, it becomes important to deploy a co-packer that can save a lot of time and effort. This, in turn, allows the business to concentrate more on the kitchen and the concerned production facility while the co-packers take care of the distant metrics.

Learning the Process

One aspect of hiring a co-packer is to gain a better understanding of the recipe, concerned processes and industrial equipment. Being proactive is what separates great businesses from the average ones. However, staying proactive requires the authorities to remain present for the first few lots while making a detailed list of the necessary ingredients. While the co-packing requirements are necessary to cover, food businesses must also check the complexity and availability of the required products before letting the co-packer pick stuffs. Apart from that, businesses must also keep a close eye on the packaging, in order to fulfill the consumer requirements and usability factor.

Ascertaining the Business Volume

Businesses with high production volume should look to deploy the services of a co-parker as the latter thrives when there is a lot to work with. Well-established co-packers need to be convinced about the potential of a food business before they start working with the same. However, validation works both ways as even the concerned SMEs must check the equipment set pertaining to the contract manufacturer and see if it is compatible with the production requirements. In addition to that, the timeline and projection of the business must be matched with the production requirements, well in advance.

Trusting the Gut

Food businesses should trust their gut while hiring co-packers for the job. With the outsourced contract manufacturers specializing in select areas, it becomes hard for the SMEs to select the suitable vendor for shouldering responsibilities. While a proactive and intuitive approach can help, at the end it all boils down to the gut feeling.

Working with co-packers and contract manufacturers can get tricky at times but food companies with a clear vision can easily integrate services as they understand the entire production process and even follow instincts when it comes to preparing food items, selecting ingredients and handling the packaging requirements.

/ By Karan Mudliar / Blog • Uncategorized/ • • • / 1 Comment

Why we need to Learn More about Packaging Perishable Commodities ?

Packaging perishable items is a practice that’s driven by convenience, sustainability and product quality. Therefore, companies dealing with food and beverages need to be careful about their packaging standards, precisely for maintaining the quality of products and customers satisfaction levels. Moreover, with the evolving regulatory practices on-board, it becomes all the more important for the companies to abide by the pressing guidelines and offer packaging options that are sustainable and can improve productivity.

Why Food and Beverage Packaging needs to be prioritized?

The food and beverage industry boasts of perishable products and therefore, the packaging techniques for these entities must be different from the conventional ones. Companies packing food items and beverages must look to contain the products in an adequate manner, without changing the consistency of the same. Apart from that, the packaging options must be immune to any kind of mechanical damage. For aerated drinks and other forms of beverages, air tight containers are preferred; precisely for keeping external gases and contaminations at bay. In addition to all that, food packaging must be carefully selected in order to avoid physical and biological degradation of the sheltered stuff. Lastly, accurate product identification is another criterion for the concerned businesses and customers.

Enlisting the Varied Aspects of Packaging

The technical aspects of food and beverage packaging primarily involves two macro-functions i.e. logistics and marketing. While the former aims at protecting the product from physical damages, the aspect of marketing adds certain value to merchandise by concentrating more on vehicle condition and product preservation.

If we were to further segregate these aspects, containment shows up as the most prior requirement. This industrial prerequisite determines the quality of packaging, pertaining to each and every product. The next determinant involves preservation and protection of the concerned merchandise. Information is yet another aspect of industrial packaging as food products and beverages need to furnish every detail regarding the substances and quality on offer.

The Concept of Environmental Sustainability

Needless to say, the underlining concept of product packaging aims at preserving and protecting the concerned food item. However, unlike other products, food-specific entities need to abide by certain rules and regulations that focus primarily on environmental sustainability. Majority of users throw away the packaging materials shipped alongside food and beverages and therefore companies must focus on the biodegradability quotient. Companies offering similar services must look to abide by the basics of recycling and disposal before sending out shipments with food and beverages in them.

Packaging Metrics Explained

Packaging isn’t a random thing but requires a lot of planning. Before starting off with a plan, companies need to analyze a few factors and proceed with the same.

1.       Companies usually start off with material selection as food and beverages cannot be shipped in usual containers. Depending upon the market, companies should focus on hygiene and quality of the materials used for packaging the concerned commodities.

2.       The packaging design is also important when it comes to shipping out food and beverages. Companies must take into consideration that these commodities have limited shelf life and therefore the designs are bound to get complicated, in order to satiate specific requirements.

3.       Once the material and designing aspects are out of the way, companies must start focusing on the consumer choices i.e. their preferences regarding the packaging options. Certain stores offering food and beverages have options for the customers to choose from. The size of the container, at times, is based on the discretion of the customers.

4.       Transportation is also an important criterion for businesses dealing with food and beverages. Companies must readily pair up with firms that are prudent and can deliver products on time.

5.       Another factor that needs to be taken into account is the end-of-life for the packaging material. Every container that covers up the commodity has a specific shelf life, similar to that of the latter.

Inference

The food and beverage industry is completely dependent on bankable packaging solutions. However, unlike traditional ecommerce items, these commodities need to be packed and shipped with additional care. Moreover, businesses must also understand the fact that these are primarily perishable items and there must be a targeted model for making the most of the packaging strategies.