Ovenable packaging is an area of particularly progressive and consumer led innovation. Refreshingly new concepts are being introduced to the market which challenge conventional ways of cooking, whilst injecting flavour, convenience and quality to the process.
Five innovative companies shared with Libby White the ovenable solutions they have introduced to the marketplace, exemplifying how they have addressed consumer demands and are leading the way in driving this packaging format forward.
Multiple trends
Arnaud Brunet, Sealed Air Food Care’s EMEA convenience foods & fluids business director, says there are multiple trends currently impacting the convenience food sector and highlights eat in vs eat out, individualism, health, and convenience as the main talking points.
He comments, “When I talk about individualism, I mean segmentation with the industry developing more specialised ready meals: for children, for seniors, halal. We are seeing a growing number of meals created for groups within society. For example the trend towards ready meals for children, driven by convenience, but requirement of being beyond healthy and instead being natural or having positive nutritional benefits. This presents its own challenges for ovenable and microwavable solutions.”
Cryovac Sealappeal® OSF33ZP is currently being used for pasteurised children’s meals in the UK that require perfect hermeticity and easy peel. He also notes rising interest from the industry for ready meals designed to cater to the needs of the older consumer, this fits with a trend highlighted by datamonitor that the older generation are showing a preference across Europe for eating at home. The replication of complex recipes, with repeatable consistency of results, the need for extended shelf life and a requirement to lock in flavour and nutritional benefits are critical. All of which can be achieved by using innovative packaging such as Cryovac SimpleSteps®.
Health and wellness is a big trend and, as a result, more manufacturers are emphasising the added nutritional benefits of their products. Processors are launching additive free ready meal ranges using Cryovac LID39ZAP and its unique anti-fog performance to make the product the hero. This is a break through in the pasteurised ready meal market allowing lower temperatures to be used which protects the nutritional quality of the product.
Quality and convenience
Mark Lingard, marketing manager at Sirane comments, “I think it is fair to say two things are driving the ovenable packaging market at present. Quality and convenience.”
According to Mr Lingard, due to the competitive nature of the market, and the rise of the discount retailers, the amount of ovenable packaging on the market has increased, so the question has become how to differentiate. Ultimately consumers are looking for two things: a quality product that tastes fantastic, and a product which is easy to use. Processors and retailers want the same, but with the price of the packaging an additional consideration.
Convenience is also an important factor. “At Sirane we are seeing increased interest in two ways of delivering ovenable packaging solutions,” says Mr Lingard. He continues, “There is a lot of interest in ovenable bags incorporated as part of a meal kit, so the consumer buys the food, throws all the ingredients in the bag themselves, and cooks it. We have seen a lot of interest in what we call FPS – a folded, individually packed and sealed cooking bag which is perfect for this kind of product, of which the cooking bag and a suitable tie are provided in a sealed pouch.”
Bemis, a European market leader in flexible packaging for meat and cheese, shares that solutions developed for convenience have also led to other benefits.
A recent consumer study commissioned by Bemis, found that the majority of consumers in the UK region are open to in-pack cooking with Bemis OvenRite®. Bemis OvenRite® dual-ovenable films aim to reduce food contamination while providing delicious, convenient meal options for a variety of markets.
Markku Rommi, director of marketing, Bemis, comments, “We have seen that OvenRite® often kick-starts customers’ new product development projects, inspiring teams to grow and expand product portfolios with added-value products. Convenience is a key driver for consumer purchase and today’s time poor consumers see the advantages of less preparation, reduced cooking, and clean up times as being an aid to their lifestyle. Our customers have told us that this is the best way of cooking meat, improving the succulence, texture and flavour while not having to fear for spoiling the meal due to lack of cooking skills.
“Additionally, many love slow cooked meats. However, this is time consuming and inconvenient when done by consumers at home. OvenRite® allows for the packers to slow cook the meat after packaging and present the product to consumers in the same package. Consumers then heat up the pack quickly at home; convenient and easy further to being ecologically sound as only one packaging is used. Maximum convenience and minimal packaging.”
Arnaud Brunet comments, “There is still high percentage of shoppers who have not adopted ready meal solutions for certain categories: chilled soups, prepared salads, on the go ready meal. We see that there are many applications with Cryovac Sealappeal OSF & PSF delighting end users with its outstanding easy peel and sharding free performance – delivering Frustration Free Packaging. One such example is the introduction of dual-ovenable (Microwave and traditional oven) packaging for vegetables – simplifying preparation and always delivering a consistent quality eating experience.”
Reaching new heights
TCL Packaging can justifiably claim to be a pioneer in this area; the first company in the UK to receive high temperature certification for its printed ovenable films. In 2014, the films were successfully tested to 220°C, 450°F with Smithers Pira.
At this time, these film types were in their infancy. There was strong demand emerging for pre-printed films for cook-in-the bag roast meats and ready meal lidding film. But there was also buyer concern about unpredictable molecular behaviour of these films at high temperatures and evidence that some printed ovenable films were not being rigorously tested.
At TCL’s technical laboratory in Telford, the development, trial and testing process was extensive and represented a significant financial investment. Through the company’s work, the original surface-printed ovenable films on the market made way for more sophisticated laminate products with print contained within multiple layers and the performance of the laminate adhesive a crucial factor in the certification process.
The early certification first was followed in 2016 by another; the launch of a printed stand-up ovenable pouch in Asda. The printed Doypack took over a year to develop in conjunction with pouch maker B&G Products in Stafford. It is fully certified for microwave and conventional oven cooking to 200°C and can be stored as frozen.
A technically complex product, the new ovenable pouch offers a convenient alternative for sauces, ready meals and soups currently sold in rigid plastic and glass packs. They also reduce packaging waste and cut storage and transport costs.
2016 also saw a significant innovation in print, challenging poor quality print on some ovenable packaging. TCL introduced a high definition printed laminate film suitable for temperatures up to 225°C 435°F. This fully-certified film uses a new generation of print techniques and ovenable inks to achieve superior quality, high-density, 150 print screen whilst preserving stability and full integrity at ultra-high temperatures.
Mike Golding, managing director comments: “Printed ovenable packs are now a rapidly growing sector of convenience packaging. We’re working with many different retailers and food producers on new developments. Cook in-the-bag bakery products are expected to be the next big growth sector but we are also developing films for products such as pizzas, oven chips, roast vegetables and airline on-board hot snacks.
“We are benefitting from a high level of interest in our ovenable films but it takes many years to build sufficient expertise. It is important to be confident about developing and adjusting specifications to suit each application. We would encourage buyers to work directly with ovenable film producers and always request evidence of certification to EU Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004.for every product type.”
Freshness and flavour
There has been a trend towards ‘fresh ready meals’ in ovenable packaging (or microwaveable). Mr Lingard identifies, “From the US we’ve seen significant interest in our self-seal ovenable steam-cooking bags, which can also be microwaved so offer a degree of flexibility, which allow retailers to prepare fresh ‘grab n go’ meals using, for example, fresh fish and butters, along with some veg.
“This fits, I believe, with a general trend towards fresh food rather than the traditional ready meals or frozen meal alternatives. On a similar vein, in this country we’ve been regularly asked for stand-up versions of this kind of ovenable bag, allowing for enhanced product presentation, and developing an ovenable versions has been a significant recent development.”
All of this leaves the question of how to differentiate, which has led to some interesting product developments. Mr Lingard comments, “At Sirane we’ve been working on ways of allowing the cooking bag to flavour the food whilst in the oven, and recently introduced to the market a bag which incorporates wood chips blended with dried herbs and spices. During the cooking process the flavours are gradually transferred to the food, and this has sparked a lot of interest, which brings us back to the original statement, quality & convenience.”
Arnaud Brunet comments, “For customers who want to bring traditional, restaurant quality meals home, packaging allows processors to replicate restaurant quality meals to consumers who don’t have the skills, or more often the time, to produce the full meal themselves. Recent examples of Cryovac OvenEase® in Poland with outstanding Ossobuco or in Italy with a range of slow cook recipes demonstrate how packaging can leverage high quality ingredients and help processor replicating the gourmet eating out experience.”
Opportunities and growth
The opportunities that roast in the bag packaging presents – for new ranges, new flavours and new designs – have reinvigorated many of the basic protein categories.
Roast in the bag packaging manufactured with top quality polyester allows the reassuring browning effect of the Maillard reaction, and moisture retention in the pack means that, arguably, meats cooked in the pack taste better and are more succulently moist than those cooked more traditionally. FFP, a major force in flexible packaging believes that the elevated temperatures experienced by ovenable packaging deserve the highest quality materials available, they need to be fully approved and able to withstand the temperatures of the oven without degradation. FFP have, for some years, worked with DuPont Teijin, leaders in heatseal polyester technology since the 1980’s.
FFP has moved strongly to support this developing technology. To be safe in the oven, specific adhesive and ink systems need to be used, and FFP has worked with its suppliers to create the specific formulations that it uses based on test results. Compliance with the Food Contact Framework Regulation (EC) 1935:2004 is crucial, of course, and roast-in-bag packaging goes through a rigorous three stage testing process before it is approved for use. Craig Jameson, technical director says, “We go beyond the strict requirements of the Regulation, by adding an extra test material, Tenax, that can be analysed to prove that no dangerous migration components are present.”
To give an idea of the scale of growth of this sector, FFP has expanded hot room capacity six-fold, from an already market leading capacity. Manufacturing Estercook is a technically exacting process, requiring a period of ‘curing’ at elevated temperatures around 40ºC. By ensuring that the laminate is fully cured within a computer controlled, purpose designed environment, FFP can guarantee Compliance with UK and EU safety and food contact standards, and keep pace with developing market demand.
Gary Tee, sales director, comments, “The actual numbers are quite amazing. At FFP alone, we have produced more than 300 million packs since the beginning of 2014, and that includes the growth phase. Chicken has been the major market sector, but we have seen projects in pork, fish, duck, beef and turkey. Well over 100 designs are spread among the major UK and European retailers and brand owners, with food manufacturers in North and South America, Africa and Asia. Every major UK grocer now has a substantial offering in roast in bag meats and fish.”
Where next?
In the innovation-led retail packaging arena Gary Tee remarks that they can never stand still:
“New decorative approaches can provide a more rustic, deli-style appearance. For the ultimate in lightweight, convenient packaging, stand-up pouches are now available that reduce pack weight significantly, and they also provide great pack frontage to really enhance shelf impact in all sorts of categories. For foods that may benefit from a dryer cooking environment, or for flavourings to be added.”
FFP have introduced the option of a large removable panel to the pack, protected by a peel-off label, which exposes the product to the hot air in the oven while retaining all the convenience of the ovenable pack.
Sealed Air passionately believes that skin solutions will be the packaging to support the next ready meal generation. Whatever the channel, frozen or chilled or heat treatment pasteurised or HPP. Solutions including Cryovac SimpleSteps® are allowing processors to reduce additives, salt and preserve taste and nutritional benefits.
Ovenable packaging technology is not standing still in any way. New concepts and new inspirations will drive new growth as brands and retailers continue to look for extra differentiation, convenience and new value.
