Supermarket Perimeter - July 2020 - 60

TAMPER-EVIDENT
by Andy Nelson

NOW MORE THAN EVER,
tamper-evident packaging is
at the top of grocery retailers'
minds. And many are leaning
more on commissaries, central
kitchens and other off-site
facilities to supply tamperevident sandwiches, wraps,
salads and other foods.
When the coronavirus hit,
St. Paul, Minn.-based Nextera
Packaging saw an initial drop
in demand from commissaries
and central kitchens for the
company's tamper-evident
packaging, but it's been steadily
climbing back up since then, said
Scott VanderWerf, vice president
of sales and marketing.
That continues an overall
trend of stronger demand from
commissaries and other off-site
facilities that supply retail, and
for tamper-evident grocery retail
packaging in general.
"Stores have pivoted from open

air self-serve to pre-packaged,
pre-portioned product,"
VanderWerf said. "That is a trend
that we do not see changing for
the foreseeable future."
Retail stores, he added,
are acutely aware that they
cannot achieve the same food
safety standards that off-site
commissaries and co-packers
achieve. As a result, Nextera
anticipates increased demand
for retailers outsourcing the
food packing to processors and
co-packers.
"Given the current
environment, the demand for
tamper evident packaging
has increased substantially at
virtually all operations serving
packaged foods," said Cindy
Blish, associated brand and
communications manager for
Shelton, Conn.-based Inline
Plastics. "Sales were substantially
higher overall than prior months

when stay-at-home orders went
into effect, and that was across
all of the Safe-T-Fresh tamperevident product lines."
Consumers are especially
wary of purchasing bulk food
items, with how many hands
have touched the food across
the supply chain, Blish said. And
when it comes to fresh-cut fruit
and vegetables, consumers will
choose food packaged in tamperevident containers.

Trending in the
"new normal"
Even after the pandemic passes,
the trend toward more and more
tamper-evident packaging will
continue to be strong, Blish said,
and commissaries and other
third-party suppliers of prepared
and other foods to grocery retail
will play a vital role.
"In some cities, restaurants are
starting to open up commissary

Inline has seen demand for tamper-evident packaging surge because of the coronavirus.
60 - JULY 2020

supermarketperimeter.com

kitchens to speciﬁcally deal with
servicing online delivery orders,"
she said. "This is another way
to streamline the process and
gives restaurants an alternative
means to service their customers.
Commissaries in general will
become a continued resource to
deliver safe, secure food options.
As bulk food merchandising
and serve-yourself buffets have
been shut down at grocery stores
and at colleges and universities,
the desire for pre-packaged foods
has changed how food will be
sold, both short and long term,
Blish said.
"The concern for the health
and wellness of consumers
is being addressed through
packaging, with pre-packaged
meals as an example. The fewer
hands that touch the food,
the more assurance that the
consumer will have in the safety
of the product."
Inline makes tamper-evident
packaging speciﬁcally for
individual wraps, sandwiches
and hoagies. The company
also offers a host of options for
fresh salads and cut fruit with
its Rectangles, PagodaWare
and SnackWare lines - all of
which are Safe-T-Fresh brand
tamper-evident.
Nextera offers a wide variety
of tamper-evident containers for
sandwiches, salads, wraps, salads,
and other prepared foods. The
company is a leading supplier
of recyclable fresh-cut produce
packaging and fruit packaging as
well as deli bakery packaging.
Nextera is tapping into a clear
trend toward smooth sidewalls,
clean lines and the elimination
of ribbing in the design of
packaging, VanderWerf said.
"The consumer wants to
see an undistorted view of the
product," he said. "There's also
a trend to move from black
to clear containers to give a

INLINE, NEXTERA

PACKAGING
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