Supermarket Perimeter - August 2019 - 16

Anchor Packaging's Crisp
Food Technologies line
was a response to retailers
needing a way to keep food
crisp during delivery.

Active and intelligent packaging solutions
that respond to changes in the surrounding
environment can help preserve freshness,
quality and taste, according to the report. Gas
scavengers, widely used in meal kits, react with
gases to prevent degradative reactions.
They exist in sachets, ﬁlm and enzymes,
and can be used in a variety of ways.
Other active packaging solutions include
antimicrobials, biosensors and smart labels.
The report also said advances in ﬁlm
technology are driving a shift away from heavy,
rigid materials like glass to more ﬂexible options like
recyclable polyethylene or biodegradable polylactic acid.
These materials not only improve efficiency but also
boost sustainability.
Products with opportunities for growth include
lightweight products, fully recyclable packaging, labels
that better communicate product quality information,
child-resistant and regulation-complicit packaging for
edible cannabis and CBD products and resealable closers
for multiple-serving packages, according to the report.

Sustainable excess?
Two growing consumer demands seemingly butt heads.
Shoppers are increasingly concerned about sustainability and the way their shopping decisions impact
the environment, while at the same time craving the
convenience and single-serve items that demand more
packaging.
"The constant dilemma that the customers are giving
us is about packaging," says Carrie Walters, corporate
chef for Dayton, Ohio-based retailer Dorothy Lane
Market. "They want all the convenience of getting all the
stuff and everything not touching each other and keeping it sterile and safe. But then you have to worry about
how much plastic and packaging you're using."
That's another piece of work that falls mainly onto the
shoulders of packaging suppliers.
"The supply chain continues to look to optimize packaging," Dyer says. "It may not be reducing packaging -
because often it's truly needed - but how can you make
the packaging more sustainable?"
She says that may mean considering the materials from which the packaging is made - think using

Many retailers are investing in technology to enable
delivery of center store items
through third-party vendors. However, few appear
to be embracing the hot
food delivery opportunities.
Meanwhile, the restaurant
industry is focusing their
resources on hot food
delivery. Both Cowan and
Morgan Stanley project that
restaurant hot food delivery
will reach approximately $80
billion within the next four
years. That's an opportunity
that the supermarket industry can't afford to ignore.
As consumers change
the way they spend their
food dollars, retailers that
adapt with new ways to get
their prepared foods to the

16 - AUGUST 2019

consumer will ensure dollars
stay in the store. Grocery
stores need to evolve to
compete with the wide array
of restaurants available with
a single tap of the mobile
phone. Just as warehouse
clubs and mega-grocers
displaced smaller chains in
the past, FMI notes that
large chains are at risk as
consumers adopt the digital
platforms built for innovation, speed and customer
experience. Restaurants are
experimenting with methods
to remove friction in the
consumer's journey for a
good food experience, and
retailers need to remove
obstacles to provide more
convenience.
The Crisp Food

Technologies Containers by
Anchor Packaging of Ballwin,
Missouri, use patented
technology and are currently in use at over 10,000
stores. Originally developed
to keep fried chicken hot
and crisp in supermarket
displays for up to four hours,
these containers have been
adapted for the restaurant
industry to address the
challenges associated with
home delivery. Chains using
this product have reported
results that surpass any other
packaging alternative. The
most important feature of a
package is to maintain food
quality for the 30+ minutes
in transit, with that challenge
being especially critical with
French fries, wings and other

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fried foods where the texture
is essential to the taste
proﬁle.
Consumers want great
tasting food delivered -
regardless of where it's from.
No one is more prepared
to deliver that experience
than the local supermarket.
No other segment offers
the variety of foods that
consumers clamor for, not to
mention foods in all different
stages of preparation, from
raw ingredients, to chopped
and diced, to chilled and
ready-to microwave, to hot
ready to eat. Supermarkets
can no longer afford to miss
the opportunity to expand
the center of the store home
delivery to include a hot and
crispy meal on demand.

ANCHOR PACKAGING

Keeping food crisp with packaging technology

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Supermarket Perimeter - August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Supermarket Perimeter - August 2019