2026 marks 85 years since the trademark was filed for the CRYOVAC® brand – a historic moment that transformed food packaging and led the way for many technologies and methods, which have become standard practice throughout the food value chain.
In our latest Spotlight, Neil Dunn, Vice President of the EMEA Food Division at Sealed Air, takes a look at the legacy of CRYOVAC® and what the future holds for a brand best known for blending material science, durable and reliable equipment, technical expertise and end-to-end service.
Solving critical challenges
The 1941 filing of the CRYOVAC® brand trademark is important because it heralded a completely new way of packaging meat. When we look back, vacuum-sealing food, before using cold air to shrink the packaging, was almost unheard of at the time. In many ways, the trademark filing was the official arrival of food packaging technology and processes that were revolutionary and, I don’t say this lightly, the very definition of innovation.
CRYOVAC® takes its name from the cryogenic vacuum process, which removes oxygen from a package to improve the protection and preservation of food. From our perspective, this was a major breakthrough, which significantly extended shelf life. We realized the impact this could have as it meant businesses could transport food over greater distances, while safeguarding quality, improving inventory management and tackling waste. We can say that CRYOVAC® helped create new opportunities for exporting perishable foods, meaning regional produce and delicacies could be appreciated around the world.
When I think about it, solving critical food industry challenges and creating new possibilities for efficiencies, resourcefulness and sustainability have defined the CRYOVAC® brand legacy for more than eight decades. And it is something we continue to build on to shape innovation throughout the range.
Industry knowledge and collaboration
What stands out to me is how CRYOVAC® brand has evolved beyond packaging materials into complete packaging system solutions, combining high-performance materials with proprietary world-class equipment. We have built a complete portfolio for every customer need, ranging from shrink bags and vacuum skin to flow wrap, tray lidding and vertical pouches. This includes widely recognized systems such as Darfresh® - a unique process under vacuum forming a tight second skin around food. More recently, we have developed solutions like AutoWrap Lite, a proprietary soft vacuum system that combines ultra-thin recycle-ready films with vacuum sealing to deliver cost-effective, premium quality cheese packaging. We have also introduced VPP MonoPro, which are recycle-ready pouches specifically designed for fluid and pumpable food.
But what really matters to me is how these innovations come to life. They are made possible by teams of experts who take the time to truly understand the problems facing the food value chain. We work very closely with our customers and we actively collaborate through
long-term partnerships with leading industry organisations including, among others, Flexible Packaging Europe, the Advanced Packaging Association, the European Dairy Association and AVEC, the voice of Europe’s poultry meat sector.
Future-ready innovation
Previous generations of CRYOVAC® materials and systems are helping guide the next generation of solutions. Historic breakthroughs provide a strong benchmark for continuous improvement and the development of practical, future-ready solutions.
We are operating in a context where Europe is rapidly shifting to a circular economy, transforming the food value chain. Regulations and policies, such as the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and varying forms of plastic packaging taxes, are reshaping what’s required of packaging performance.
CRYOVAC® is evolving to stay ahead of change. Guided by the positioning platform Where Performance Meets Responsibility, we believe food packaging should never force a choice between protecting products and supporting circular economy ambitions. For us, performance means delivering the food safety, shelf life extension, operational efficiency, and product protection that food producers depend on every day.
Responsibility means designing packaging solutions that use resources more efficiently, are developed with recyclability in mind, align with evolving regulations, and help reduce both packaging and food waste.
By combining advanced material science, automation expertise, and close collaboration with customers and industry partners, CRYOVAC® continues to tackle what matters most to food businesses and lays the way for the next 85 years of solving critical food industry challenges.
This content was sponsored by Sealed Air.
