Packaging affects the state of the product throughout the supply chain. Identifying the best packaging process and materials ensures all types of baked goods make it from plant to table, exactly as intended. A thorough checklist is necessary to back these choices.
On their journey from the processing plant to shops and homes, breads and biscuits must remain intact, but also look, feel and taste fresh. At the same time, they must remain inviting with easily shared information about the product properties, from nutritional features to added-value ingredients, or allergens. Packaging must answer all these needs, and more.
MULTIVAC’s Stefan Scheibel, Vice President of Training, Innovation and Partner Products, Corporate Sales and Marketing, shared with us the main aspects that determine the functionalities required for a dedicated packaging solution. Determining the technology to meet the packaging needs of a bakery starts with the product and its presentation, as well as the needs of the consumer. Asking all the right questions is instrumental. These include, “Does the product need mechanical protection or is it sufficiently robust? Does it need a modified atmosphere to extend its shelf life (vacuum, MAP), or is simply sealing the pack sufficient (no shelf life extension, just grip protection)? When the pack is presented at the point of sale, should it be lying flat, standing up or hanging? Which convenience features does the customer want, i.e. is a reclosure facility or a dispensing function desired? Which aspects of sustainability should be taken into consideration regarding shelf life and packaging materials?”
At the same time, the requirements of the product itself also determine the type of technical solution, as they will be reflected in the product handling. For example, the way the products are loaded into the pack depends on their characteristics, and it determines the line concept. MULTIVAC develops a suitable solution by having its team of packaging experts work directly with the baker, to answer these questions, and more, and then translate them into the required packaging line.
Stefan Scheibel, Vice President of Training, Innovation and Partner Products, Corporate Sales and Marketing, MULTIVAC
Four types of packaging technology are suitable for bakery products: thermoforming packaging, packing in trays, packing in film pouches, or flowpacking. The spectrum of materials used ranges from thin flexible films up to rigid films – for stable packs. Sustainable material options are available, such as recyclable, fiber-based packaging (PaperBoard) and materials made from mono plastics (mono PE, PP or APET).
MULTIVAC also adds that a special feature should be noted: thermoformed packs and film pouches made from aluminum multi-layer film are best used for long-life products, such as biscuits with a very long shelf life.
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Different product needs
When ready for packaging, biscuits are typically fully baked and very delicate, likely to easily break, become distorted or crumble. The pack, therefore, needs to offer a high level of protection against external mechanical stress. It must also prevent the products from rubbing against each other in the pack. The requirements for this kind of packaging are usually the highest, concerning both the presentation of the products and the point of sale and the convenience features it should have. “In the case of biscuits, it is recommended that the packs have a reclosure facility, so that the biscuits can be removed individually, and also that they have compartments shaped to the biscuits for secure transport. Another option would be for the pack to have several compartments, each of which can be opened one after the other, when the content has been consumed,” Scheibel illustrates.
A different set of issues is encountered when packaging bread and other baked goods. Here, the pack must allow fermentation gases to escape. Integrated valves are a way to achieve that, Scheibel illustrates. Packaging for chilled and frozen products has extra tasks: in addition to keeping the product fresh over a significant shelf-life time, it must also be suitable for presentation and storage in a refrigeration cabinet.
Another interesting – and trendy – category is made of products for bake-off, either pre-baked dough products or fully-baked bread, which are all fairly robust mechanically and have a relatively long shelf life. “The pack has essentially the function of creating a retail item, and it offers primarily grip protection (no vacuum, often also no MAP), as well as maintaining the required moisture in the product. A high level of flexibility is required for the different product lengths and pack size,” Scheibel explains.
For bread, packs with a reclosure feature may also be considered, to allow individual slices to be removed, he adds. Alternatively, multiple packs are also an option which will help with product freshness once the pack has been opened. Such examples can be packs of five tortillas or three naan breads.
Enter production: new process improvements, new product ranges
Another aspect to be considered when looking at the features of packaging solutions is always the future. How will a packaging line support an expanding product portfolio? Modified atmosphere packaging provides opportunities to cover the needs of products with requirements not yet known. A hermetically sealed pack with modified atmosphere influences the state of the product along the entire supply chain, from the manufacturer through to the retail outlet and, finally, to the consumer. “By ensuring that certain parameters such as oxygen content, CO2 content, product moisture, etc. are maintained, completely new products, such as gluten-free specialties, or bakery products with new recipes and ingredients can be safely launched,” MULTIVAC’s specialist highlights.
The future can also hold exciting opportunities for communicating with the consumer. Printing special markings on the packaging can bring the conversation online or even into the realm of Artificial Reality, where more information about the product or the brand can be shared. Moreover, the company can connect and engage with consumers in this way.
In addition to future production plans, MULTIVAC lines will also accommodate future technology upgrades, without having to replace the equipment. New functions can be installed at any time by retrofitting parts for various functions, such as automatic loading, inline printing or labeling, visual inspection of products and packs, foreign object detection, automatic box packing, and more.
Product variation is a design feature for MULTIVAC, with solutions typically built out of independently-defined modules. This applies to standalone machines as well as to entire, automated lines: “Thanks to rapid conversion by means of die dividers or new format sets, the packaging machines can be converted – even several times a day – to different pack sizes or different products,” Scheibel says. Switches can be made in this way so that the same
machine can handle anything from packing two baguettes to four, or moving to other products entirely (changing from bread to packaging biscuits on the same machine, for example). “And a wide variety of packaging materials, labels and printed designs can create a diverse range of packs,“ he points out.
With recent process improvements, all processes can be tightly controlled with MULTIVAC’s new flowpacker, which means consistent, higher-quality packaging. Thermoforming packaging is also seeing new developments, in perfecting die designs. The result: less film trimming is required during the process. Material savings have also been perfected; film-forming was improved so now even thinner films can be safely used.
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Process efficiency
MULTIVAC provides packaging equipment for any production volume, from small, semi-automatic machines to fully automatic, high-speed lines. Automation offers the best tools to optimize processes, either complete or even partial sequences in operation.
The company also offers digital services, the so-called MULTIVAC Smart Services, which increase efficiency. They help achieve faster product and format changes, as well as lower downtimes in the event of malfunctions, as they include online support or remote assistance. Moreover, “The MULTIVAC Pack Pilot means that the packaging machine can be set automatically to the desired application,” explains Scheibel.
MULTIVAC’s PaperBoard is one new development counting toward packaging sustainability; but, several equipment options also play a role: “Power consumption is reduced through the use of energy-efficient servo drives. Automatic flow control reduces the consumption of cooling water. MULTIVAC Line Control, an overarching system of control throughout the line, ensures that there are fewer time and material losses during line start, line stop and product change. MULTIVAC Pack Pilot, a cloud-based piece of software, provides the perfect parameter setting and less wastage. And last but not least, the MULTIVAC Hygienic Design reduces the use of cleansers,” the specialist illustrates. Packaging concepts are designed to enable sustainable packaging materials to be run, while still reducing their usage and maintaining the same pack functions.
