NICHROME: PROVEN EXPERTS IN FOOD PACKAGING

 

The global food packaging market is vast, mature and growing at an exciting pace. Packaging companies serving the sectors of food, beverages, personal care and pharmaceutical are expected to do well in the present pandemic situation, with changing demand patterns, government measures, and stockpiling pushing up demand for packaged food products.

The food packaging market is broadly segmented into 3 categories based on product: rigid, semi-rigid and flexible. While rigid packaging has the largest market share, the flexible packaging market is growing exponentially due to technological advancements. Moreover, flexible packaging offers several advantages: it uses less material, needs less energy during formation, produces lesser green house gases during manufacturing. Being lightweight & unbreakable, it is economical to pack, store and transport.

In India, few can match Nichrome’s expertise in flexible packaging for food products. Nichrome is a leading food packaging machine manufacturer and integrated packaging solutions. Nichrome’s packaging technology is well accepted around the world too.

Whether you want to package food grains, powders, liquids, viscous products or ready-to-eat foods, Nichrome offers a reliable, high-speed, cost-effective solution.

Nichrome offers a wide range of food packaging machines, besides liquid packaging machines for products such as milk, juice, water. Let’s take a look at some of the different technologies Nichrome offers in food packaging machines:

VFFS
VFFS (vertical form fill seal) machines are automated packaging systems used to package the widest range of liquids and solids. VFFS machines deliver high speeds, accuracy, variable bag lengths and shapes, and are easy to operate and maintain.

Whether it is liquid like milk, juice and water, viscous like ketchup, ghee and edible oil, granular like rice, pulses and sugar, powder like masalas, coffee and dehydrated milk, solid like nuts, namkeen or cookies — Nichrome has a VFFS machine for you.

Nichrome’s VFFS machines are versatile and can be used for diverse applications by changing the filling system. Cleaning and changeovers are easy and fast.

Multilane
These are VFFS machines with multiple lanes or channels, and are generally used for smaller pouch sizes. For small sachets and stickpacks of salt, ketchup, sugar, coffee, dairy whitener, condiments, etc. which are popular in the travel, hospitality and food business, Nichrome’s VFFS multilane machines offer speed, accuracy of filling and reliable sealing.

HFFS
Unlike VFFS machines which are vertical in structure, HFFS packaging machines are horizontal. Nichrome offers a range of HFFS machines based on the latest linear technology from Europe. The series is versatile, and can be used for packing a wide range of powders, grains, snacks, liquids and viscous products using different fillers. HFFS machines also offer a range of pouch formats with superior pouch aesthetics.

PFS
Nichrome’s PFS (Pick-Fill-Seal) is the preferred packaging machine for ready-to-eat foods. Using versatile Rotary technology, the machine conveniently packs a wide variety of ready-to-eat foods in eye-catching innovative shapes while maintaining freshness of the products. The machine is sturdy and compact, easy to clean and maintain.

An advanced variant of packaging technology innovated by Nichrome enables 2 or 3 different fillers to dispense multiple types of ingredients in the same pouch.

For liquid/semi-liquid packaging, Nichrome offers another PFS machine with an automatic cap feeding system for filling liquids in spouted pouches. 

Tray sealing
For small-scale marketers of cut fruits & vegetables, meat & fish, namkeen & sweets and even ready-to-eat meals like biryani, Nichrome offers Athena thermoforming tray sealers from Tecnovac, Italy. Athena is able to seal, pack in a protective atmosphere (vacuum + gas) or with “Skin effect” all types of trays or jars. Due to its strong stainless steel structure and easy maintenance, Athena is ideal for use in small and medium sized companies.

Tin filling line
Nichrome’s tin filling line is a sturdy, low-maintenance system made for accurate and efficient performance. The PLC-controlled line has a digital LCD touch screen displaying settings, and safety enclosures with interlocks for rotary parts.

Machine construction is available in SS3014, SS316 and MS painted material. Various tin sterilisation and cleaning options are available.

By using different filling systems, this system can be used for filling and packaging products such as milk powder, health drink powders, tea powder, sugar, rice, whole spices, dry fruits, candies, pan masala, premixes, etc. in a variety of tin sizes.

If you are looking for a high performance, cost-effective, durable food packaging machine or liquid packaging machine for your business, talk to Nichrome. Nichrome can even customise solutions to suit your specific requirements.

DELICIOUS PROSPECTS IN INSTANT FOOD PACKAGING WITH NICHROME

 

In India, and indeed, across Asia, we witness a transformational growth in the packaged food and instant food industry over the past decade or so.

Populous economies like ours are fuelling this growth owing to changing lifestyles, increasing numbers of working professionals and greater disposable incomes. Ready-to-eat instant foods are preferred as they require minimal time to cook and offer great variety. What is more, instant packaged foods have longer shelf life, so they are easy to stock and enjoy on-the-go.

With the current pandemic sweeping India, the instant food market is expected to grow further. With restaurants closed, people working-from-home, and hygiene more important than ever before, packaged instant foods offer convenience, variety of flavours and contamination-free quality for consumers.

POPULAR PACKAGED INSTANT FOODS

Packaged instant foods covers a wide gamut of products. Some of the most popular ones include:

Instant noodles
These have become extremely popular across India. Convenience and economic value have made instant noodlesa household favourite in cities, towns and villages.

Instant breakfasts
From ready-to-cook savoury oats and porridge to muesli and cornflakes; from instant idli/dosa batter to instant upma and poha - Indian retail shelves offer the consumer a range of foods to pick from.

RTE/RTC/RTS foods
Ready-to-eat and ready-to-serve foods include processed meats, chicken products, curries, parathas, chapatis,and cooked foods like palak-paneer, dal makhani, chana masala, rice dishes, etc. that consumers just heat and eat.Ready-to-cook includes cake mixes, pudding mix, gulab-jamun mix, dhokla mix, soup powders, gravy masalas, etc.

Sweet/Savoury snacks
India loves to snack! And products such as namkeen, mithai, kachori, etc. are to be found in every Indian home. When packaged well, they become attractive on-the-go food options.

NICHROME'S INSTANT FOOD PACKAGING SOLUTIONS

Nichrome is India's leading food packaging machine manufacturer, with expertise built up over four decades in the industry.

Nichrome's efficient R&D and understanding of Indian food products is matched by their cutting-edge technology and manufacturing capabilities.

Whether you want to pack mithai or biryani in airtight, thermoformed trays using MAP technology, vacuum-pack breakfast cereals, noodlesor dry snacks in flexible pouches, or package RTE/RTC foods in eye-catching stand-up packs - Nichrome has a solution for you.

Nichrome's automatic packaging machines for instant foods are all built sturdy and compact. Theyare easy to clean and maintain, and provide fast, accurate and hygienic packaging of the highest global standards. Besides its own Pick-Fill-Seal machine that uses versatile Rotary technology, to conveniently pack a wide variety of ready-to-eat foods, Nichrome offers Athena, thermoformingtray sealing machines from Tecnovac, Italy. Athena is able to seal, pack in a protective atmosphere (vacuum + gas) or with “Skin effect” all types of trays or jars.

The modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) machine extracts oxygen & carbon dioxide from the air of the trays, synchronously filling them with nitrogen or mixed air, to ensure that food does not deteriorate. Then the tray is well sealed. Ready to eat meals packed in modified atmosphere packages are guaranteed to stay fresh for at least 72 hours.

Nichrome also offers a range of HFFS machines for different food products.  With their new-gen linear technology, these horizontal form fill seal machines will bring a unique versatility and efficiency to your food packaging operations.

Discuss your instant food packaging requirements with Nichrome. For enterprises big and small, in India and abroad, Nichrome partners to add value through the entire lifecycle. Nichrome studies the customer’s requirements, goals and application challenges to deliver innovative food packaging solutions that will protect the purity of the product, improve time-to-market, and enhance the retail value of the brand.

GRAIN PACKAGING WITH NICHROME

Food grains are a rich source of life-sustaining nutrients. Excellent carbohydrate sources, they also provide protein, fats, vitamins and minerals. In India, rice is the predominant dietary staple, followed by wheat, maize, millet and sorghum.

Although grains/cereals are annual crops, their consumption is throughout the year. This means that storage methods and packaging play an important role in storage stability. Qualitative and quantitative losses due to insects & rodents, pilferage, microbial spoilage, high humidity, heat - all these factors adversely affect food grains.

While appropriate bulk packaging is critical for storage, retail packaging is key to successful marketing. It goes beyond visual appeal, convenience and accuracy in unit quantity, and ease of opening. The contents of the bag have to be protected against contamination, infestation, moisture and oxygen. Moreover, as bulk density of these products is high, packaging material needs to have good impact strength, tensile strength and puncture resistance for working on FFS machines.

For up to 10Kg unit packs, LDPE and LLDPE are the most commonly used materials. To protect special varieties like basmati rice and flours from flavour loss and rancidity, flavour barrier materials such as reverse printed polyester laminated to LDPE, and oxygen barrier film are used. Technologies such as CO₂ flush packaging and vacuum packaging also help to extend shelf life.

Nichrome Grain Packaging Solutions
Nichrome offers a wide range of automated packaging machines, filling systems and integrated packaging solutions for your grain and seed packaging needs. Food Packaging Machines like those in Nichrome’s Excel Plus series, equipped with modern technology offer innovative packaging solutions that follow stringent packaging quality standards for a wide range of products.

Excel 400 Plus Intelligent Electronic Weigh Filler/Cup Filler: A VFFS packaging machine for grains, pulses, sugar, seeds, whole spices and tea, Excel 400 packs pouches of up to 10 kgs at 80 packs per minute. Pouch formats include the Pentaseal & Pentaseal with D cut, Gusset Pouch, CSPP and 4 Line Seal Pouch.

Key features include print mark scanners, servo motor driven bag length control system, and adjustable stroke of cross sealing jaws for optimum performance. It is designed as per stringent quality standards, and can be easily integrated to upstream or downstream machines/systems.

A range of fillers makes the EXCEL PLUS series a truly versatile packaging solution for powders, granules, grains, snacks, etc.

Sprint 250 Plus Intelligent Electronic Weigh Filler: For pouch quantities up to 2 Kgs, Nichrome’s Sprint 250 Plus series offers speed, accuracy and efficiency for flexible packaging of a wide variety of grains, powders, snacks, etc.

Sprint 250 Plus is an automated machine with CE marked PLC and touch screen HMI. Its servo motor driven sealing system can effectively seal with pressure levels maintained. It is programmed to pull the exact length of film required for packaging, and offers a perforation system to deliver a chain of small pouches.

Sprint 250 Plus packs up to 2 Kg pouches at speed of 120 packs per minute. Pouch formats include the CSPP and Gusset Pouch.

Wing 200 E-Line Snack Pack: This automated packaging machine is a Nichrome innovation for startups and small-medium enterprises. It offers all the technology and expertise in a compact, affordable format. It packs at a maximum speed of 80 CSPP pouches per minute. Besides grains, pulses and sugar, Wing 200 E-Line is ideal for SMEs in snacks, biscuits, pasta, dry fruits, etc.

Nichrome also offers integration of primary packaging machines into existing lines and secondary packaging solutions such as stacking & wrapping, bulk packing, HDPE bag filling, etc. For end-to-end integrated systems, Nichrome partners with customers to design, install and commission solutions tailored for specific needs.

Conclusion
Packaging for grains, cereals and sugar is vital for storage, handling, display and preservation of the product. As these are essential commodities and staples of our daily diet, packaging must fulfill all its functions at the lowest possible cost to minimize losses and curtail retail price.

Nichrome is your go-to partner for a wide range of automated packaging solutions for grain packaging that promises safety, speed, accuracy and efficiency for best business outcomes.

Choosing the Right Packaging for Your Product

Packaging plays a crucial role in marketing. It determines whether you attract customers or not, and therefore, has a direct impact on your sales. When choosing the right packaging for your product, consider the types of packaging materials available in the market.

Types of packaging material

The options include:

Flexible materials

Flexible plastic comes in many forms, shapes and variations, allowing for multiple types of customisation. It is sustainable, tough and lightweight compared to other packaging. Flexible plastic packaging are classified by the type of treatment, process or product requirement and come in different versions such as high barrier with aluminum, special material for heat treatment, modified atmosphere packaging and for hot-fill, etc.

Semi-rigid materials for vacuum-packing

This type provides a high degree of transparency and excellent preservation properties. It consists of coextrusions with a PA, PE or PP base, which can also incorporate a high barrier and peelability.

 Rigid materials

On the basis of raw material, rigid materials can be segmented into metal, glass, paper and plastic. They offer a tough and resistant option that is highly transparent and recyclable.

Given the plethora of packaging materials available in the market, how do you know which one is right for your product and business. There are some basic criteria to evaluate and decide:

Budget

Materials like glass look great but are expensive to manufacture and transport. It is also breakable. However, sometimes, for certain products, consumers are willing to pay for greater perceived value. Keeping such considerations in mind, you need to define your budget and then search the market for available options in your set price range.

Transportation

Every product requires a high level of protection to get from point A to point B. The journey from factory to consumer can be harmful, so you need a clear understanding of how your product travels. The distance and time taken, modes of transportation used, storage conditions at each step – knowing all this will help you choose a strong and durable packaging that ensures your product remains undamaged and un-contaminated in transit.

Branding

Often times, manufacturers choose packaging that is an extension of their branding. For instance, if your USP is the organic or vegan aspect, you may consider packaging made from recycled, eco-friendly material. Also, packaging should look attractive and appeal to consumers. Flexible packaging offers some advantages in this regard, as it offers excellent printing possibilities and larger space for branding which helps your product stand out on crowded retail shelves.

Package size & shape

Single sale, single-serve, multipack, bulk – your product probably comes in different sizes. You need a packaging material that can adapt to each size with consistency and versatility. Size and shape are important when it comes to shipping and distribution. You should try and find the most ergonomic, convenient and cost-effective shape and size – and select material that helps you achieve these goals.

Sustainability

It’s important that you choose materials that comply with industry regulations, minimize environmental pollution and offer long term sustainability. Flexible packaging and shrink films are lightweight so they are cheaper to ship than bulkier, heavier packaging. If you’re into e-commerce, you need to consider packaging options that protect your product in transit while being easy and safe to dispose of.

Further, automated packaging systems offer speed, minimize wastage and cost-efficiency that makes food packaging or pharma packaging more sustainable. It makes smart business sense to evaluate all the various materials available, and pick the most sustainable one.

Touching Million Lives

Touching Million Lives

Whether it is the nutraceutical powder prescribed by the doctor or the sugar or coffee mix at your favourite cafe, Nichrome’s Multilane Stickpack packs it with foolproof accuracy and consistency in hygienic, single-serve stickpacks.

Touching Million Lives