Paper or plastic? The phrase immediately sparks images of grocery store checkout lines. Just like consumers choose paper or plastic for their practical needs or preference, your business may consider looking into the two specialty products when making a packaging decision for your food products.
Plastic Packaging
Let’s face it, plastic is everywhere in the food industry. The universal material plays a significant part in getting goods to consumers and keeping the freshness of the product locked in. Plastic packaging gives food manufacturers the ability to modify the atmosphere in the package which in turn, helps preserve food freshness by capturing a reduced-oxygen air mixture in the package. This modified air prolongs the shelf life of the product, which makes it easier for businesses to keep in stock.
In addition to prolonging the shelf life of a product, plastic serves as a great barrier when protecting against moisture and leakage. This is crucial to keeping time-sensitive products such as meats, cheeses, and produce fresh. Plastic also tends to be more durable. With a strong plastic, your goods can withstand the conditions of transportation and will stay more intact when handled several times. Since all shoppers inspect their items before purchasing, ensuring the products are delivered undamaged is important to maintaining great site not only the appearance of your merchandise, but your sales as well.
Paper Packaging
As versatile as plastic packaging is, paper packaging is also a practical alternative. Specialty packaging papers tend to be more compostable and recyclable, therefore making it more sustainable for the environment. By choosing paper, you can limit your waste as well as reduce your company’s environmental footprint. If your company wants to uphold their corporate commitments to sustainability, utilizing paper packaging could be a determining factor. In general, environmental impact is something consumers care about these days, and shifting to more sustainable packaging options can help improve a company’s overall corporate image. For brands that already center their marketing around being organic, locally owned, made in small batches, or sustainably produced, unbleached paper packaging tends to align with those concepts better than plastic alternatives and connects with a specific type of environmentally and socially conscious consumer.
Additionally, paper solutions tend to be more affordable and can be cost-efficient for your company. Since paper comes in various types, sizes, and colors, you have a wide range of options to choose from to facilitate your cost-savings. This versatile material is also suitable for several kinds of applications. Take our specialty paperfor instance; it is coated with a wax-like material that makes it ideal for the food industry. The wax-like material creates a barrier to keep moisture and oils inside the packaging to keep food fresh. Paper applications can even extend to other industries such as pharmaceuticals, and health and beauty.
As companies in the food industry utilize both methods of specialty products for packaging, the material chosen depends on what the needs of your company are. For more information or if you need help determining the material best suited for your products, contact us at Norkol.