Fresh Cut Magazine

A PMA Experience

My feet hurt. My bags are heavy. I have no idea what day it is. This must be Post-PMA Syndrome. This year’s show in Atlanta marked my first PMA ever. And what an experience it was. I have never worked a trade show as hard as I worked this one. Hours upon hours on my feet, meeting and greeting produce industry members by the dozens. I shook so many hands that I’m not sure if I’m a politician or a magazine editor. Between meetings, walking the show floor and working the Fresh Cut booth, I can’t remember meeting so many people in one location. It was amazing. As I sit here in the airport waiting for my flight to arrive, I can’t help but think about my last four days in Atlanta. I remember them well – and I’ll remember them for a long time.…  » Read more

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Waterproof Paperweights

What are waterproof paperweights, and what do they have in common with fresh-cut product development? Allow me to explain. I was recently helping my great-aunt (88 years old) with a garage sale. A younger cousin and I were doing the transactions for her when we came across a box with black flexible plastic squares with sand heat-sealed in them to add weight to ankle and wrist bracelets when power-walking. However, the bracelets were missing. My cousin told me to just throw them away. I told her I could sell them. She bet me a dollar I couldn’t. Being the creative product developer that I am, I couldn’t resist a challenge, so I took her bet. As I surveyed the tables in my aunt’s garage sale, I noticed some rolled up posters. I placed a couple of black plastic squares on a poster print and noticed that they…  » Read more

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Stay on Top of Trends to Grab Consumers’ Attention

The customer is king/queen. We have all heard this mantra. It’s up to you, the supplier of packaging and packaging materials, to prove it so. With these 10 tips, you will be a lot closer to proving that you are on top of industry trends and technologies. 1. Understand your customer. One package may not satisfy the needs and requirements of all buyers. Niche markets require specialized packaging. So, if you are targeting one of those, do your research first. What works for one market may not work for another. Example: Child resistant closures on medicines are almost impossible for older people to open. 2. Find out what package attributes appeal to the customer you are targeting. If it’s a harried housewife shopping for your product, convenience better be at the top of the list. Older people are seeking convenience, too, but issues like the size of…  » Read more

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River Ranch Fresh Foods Works With Retailers on Store Brands

River Ranch Fresh Foods is the largest producer of private label fresh-cut salads in North America. It works closely with about 15 retailers and several foodservice distributors to provide store-brand labels to the end user. River Ranch will work with retailer customers from the beginning stages of product development until the product goes on the shelves. “The level of sophistication and needs of a customer are going to fluctuate,” said Jim Lucas, CEO and president of River Ranch Fresh Foods. And what each of the private-label customers wants from River Ranch varies depending on the end user. “Some will have an ultra-premium private label offering, and others may be focusing on a price point – more of a garden variety product,” Lucas said. Some customers, for example, will have a strong infrastructure to set up product development and will want to augment their existing offerings into something…  » Read more

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Showcase: Packaging Equipment and Supplies

Axon Axon Corporation, manufacturer of heat shrinkable sleeve label, tamper evident band and stretch sleeve applicators, has introduced heat-shrinkable tamper-evident band applicators to the fresh-cut produce industry. The EZ-400 and EZ-650 apply a tamper-evident seal around clamshell and large tray type packages. “The increase in demand for product safety for all markets led us to look at areas to expand into,” said Ed Farley, director of sales, Axon Corporation. “The EZ-Seal line has been successful in creating safe packaging for many different markets, and the produce industry will benefit just as well.” Tamper-evident banding assures packagers and processors that their product remains uncontaminated and undamaged. Applying a tamper-evident seal to the lip of a clamshell or tray eliminates the opportunity for the package to pop open during the transportation cycle. This diminishes safety concerns and assures packagers and processors that the product arrives on the shelves in pristine…  » Read more

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