Meat&Poultry - October 2011 - 24

WRIGHT BRAND BACON

Recloseable challenges
Wright Brand’s stack-pack and recloseable bacon packaging uses innovative technology to deliver what its consumers want

he challenge in developing Wright Brand bacon’s press-to-close packaging included ensuring the package sealed completely while ensuring accessibility to the bacon, which means “we’re not applying too much heat to the seal area to allow them to still break the seal and gain access to the product,” says Brian Chrisman, Wright Brand bacon complex manager. When working with stack-pack bacon, product temperature is critical. The temperature of the pressed belly can’t be so cold so as not to allow for the slices to easily separate when preparing for the packaging, yet still cold enough to allow the product to stand up on edge without falling over into a shingled formation as it goes to the packaging machine. The same slicing equipment can be used, with some slight mechanical and speed modifications. When the decision was made to implement resealable packaging, significant in-plant adjustments were made to accommodate the change, including installing new equipment and incorporating it into the production line. “It was mainly a process of reinstalling the style of line that would do an easy-open style of package,” without sacrificing volume, Chrisman says.

Inventing identity
In other consumer research conducted after the Tyson acquisition, marketers asked consumers how they stored their bacon after it was opened. They discovered that most utilized some type of resealable container. “We wanted to offer that benefit to our consumer and that breakthrough led to our investment in a new packaging innovation for the category,” says Kristina Lambert, Tyson’s senior director of marketing for bacon.
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The recloseable container, along with the thickcut, stack-pack configuration is what resonates with consumers, Lambert says, and it has grown to be a prominent part of its identity and how Wright Brand has evolved as a sales leader in the stack-pack category. Reaching current and prospective Wright Brand consumers is an ongoing effort of Tyson’s marketing team. The company has found that social networking is a valuable tool for gauging consumer preference. Wright Brand’s presence on Facebook, for example, has provided the company with useful input from consumers that wasn’t available during the days when the Wrights and Egglestons were at the helm. Other campaigns include a national grill tour to reach racing fans and a bacon giveaway sweepstakes based on text messaging-based entries from customers. Word-ofmouth marketing has changed considerably since 1922. Reaching those consumers during the activities they participate in most often is the logic behind these recent marketing campaigns. This past February, a partnership with FLW Outdoors was forged as Wright Brand Bacon announced its sponsorship of the FLW Outdoors Expo and fishing tournaments, including many promotional events being hosted in the parking lots of Walmart stores across the country. Wright Brand bacon is also promoted at FLW Outdoors bass and walleye fishing events, FLW Outdoors’ websites; in the pages of FLW Outdoors Magazine and during the broadcasts of the “FLW Outdoors” TV show. “These are the vehicles that line up well with the consumers who are buying our bacon,” Lambert says. ■
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Meat&Poultry - October 2011

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