How Flexible Is Your Flexible Snack Packaging Machine?

Snacks Machine Manufacturer

Snacks Packaging Machine

The snack market worldwide is growing and evolving every day. The number of consumers and varieties of snacks keeps increasing, as snacks are now a staple of modern lifestyles. Quite frankly, people love to munch on snacks. Anytime, anywhere. From crisp potato chips and nuts to cereals, kurkures, corn chips, a wide range of namkeen and many more, snacks are here to stay.

Packaging snacks can be challenging. Retail, both on store shelves and online, is changing how producers target their consumers. Besides shelf-ready packaging in bulk and medium quantities, the trend of single-serve packs keeps growing as these smaller packs offer economy, convenience and easy-to-carry mobility to the modern consumer.

Flexible packaging is the preferred packaging worldwide for many snacks - from salty-snack bags to pouches of candy or biscuits. According to the 2018 “Snack Foods – Packaging and Processing Market Assessment and Trends” report from PMMI, the top consumer snacking trends are better-for-you snacks, single-serve portions, resealability, flavor variety and combination snacks. The top retail packaging trends are shelf-ready packaging, stand-up pouches and lower case counts.

Flexibility Is Vital For Snack Packaging

Snack producers are making variety packs ranging from two to seven flavors. They also request different types of bags from pillow to stand-up pouches to vertical zip bags. Producers also demand many sizes of bags and pouches, from single-serve to stock-up size. Different products and product blends, bag sizes, pouch formats and weights mean many changeovers and adjustments must be made between runs.

So when it comes to snack packaging, the No. 1 demand from consumer packaged goods companies is flexibility. Getting the most variety out of the least amount of equipment is often the key to success in snack packaging.

The most popular snack packaging machines come in the vertical form fill seal (VFFS) format. These automated VFFS machines are preferred for their smaller footprint, which saves valuable floor space, and selection is based on the machine’s flexibility to handle different package lengths, bag styles and fillers for varied products.

Snack producers also consider the level of automation and ease of operation. Modern electronics enable VFFS machines to open the scales in the correct sequence also confer product-handling flexibility, because they can be programmed to accept a great variety of product. Whether they are handling snack foods whose pieces are alike except for their size and weight, like potato chips, or completely different, like mixed nuts, it usually takes just a few touches of a screen or keypad to alter the program that governs the in feed volume and scales’ opening and closing.

Flexibility in snack packaging often extends to changes in the type of film used. For instance, metallized vs. plain or different sealant-layer strength (which can be necessitated by differences in product weight and density). Modern VFFS machines have features like nip rollers and power unwinds that can accommodate these variations by changing the speed and tension with which the film is handled.

Reclosable zippers is another growing trend in large flexible snack bags, with multiple servings intended to last for days or weeks. These can either come with the original machine or be retrofitted into existing equipment.

However, while flexibility in applications and pouch formats is vital, ease and speed of changeover is equally important. Producing the same product continuously or switching from one to another in succession should be easy, tool-less and happen with minimum time loss.

Selecting Flexible Equipment for Snack Packaging

As stated earlier, flexible snack packaging is challenging, but with the right partner and intelligently chosen equipment, the demands can be met.

Nichrome, India’s leading integrated packaging solutions provider, with over 4 decades of industry experience, can help. Nichome has a range of VFFS, HFFS and Multilane packaging machines for flexible snack packaging. Nichrome has even innovated a unique entry-level snack packaging machine designed for startups and SMEs - Wing 200 E-Line Snack Pack.

Whether you are contemplating pouch packaging for your snacks, seek to improve efficiency of your existing packaging line or wish to expand your product and pouch range, Nichrome’s integrated packaging solutions can ensure desired outcomes. Talk to Nichrome to discover the most appropriate, flexible and cost-effective solution for your snack production unit.

5 Reasons to Choose Stand-Up Pouches for Snack Packaging

Today’s consumers, especially in urban areas, lead a busy life. They are always on-the-go, spending a lot of time at work, in commuting, etc. As a result, snacking is on the rise.

VFFS SERIES Sprint 250 Snack Pack

Increasing disposable incomes, a need for convenience from fast-paced lifestyles and a cultural tradition of snacking between meals have fuelled explosive growth in this sector. What’s more, children are having more say in buying decisions. As a result, the market has witnessed a high growth trajectory.

Fuelling this growth is the ever-increasing varieties of snacks penetrating the market. There was a time when branded salty snacks were mostly potato chips. However, players now offer new products like extruded snacks, besides expanding their traditional snacks offerings, e.g. Murukku, Chakali, Mathri, Gathiya, Samosas, Daal, Farsan Mixtures, etc. which has seen several consumers upgrade from the unbranded market to branded products. Also, given the increasing concerns surrounding ‘unhealthy’ snacking, players have positioned brands and products around ‘health’, e.g. baked, roasted, multigrain, low fat, etc. to reach out to the health-conscious segments.

Given this exciting potential in the snack market, manufacturers need to find the best packaging solution for their products. Worldwide, and increasingly in India too, stand-up pouches are the way to go. Here are 5 reasons why stand-up pouches are your best choice.

1. Stand out on the retail shelf

Packaging is not just a container to hold and carry your product. It’s an important branding and sales tool, a crucial part of the consumer experience. Packages that lie flat on retail shelves provide minimum visibility while a stand-up pouch attracts attention and builds better brand awareness. Standup pouches stand upright on the shelf, acting like its own poster or hoarding. They also offer more space for high-resolution graphics to entice consumers, and for other important product information, that earns consumer trust.

2. Freshness improved

Studies show that a large percentage of foods get thrown away by consumers due to lack of freshness and fast approaching expiration dates. Increasing shelf life for dry snack products is therefore extremely important.

High-barrier materials and resealable zipper closures used on standup pouches protect snacks against moisture, odor, punctures and spills which help to keep food fresher for longer.

3. Convenience and portability

Flexible stand-up pouches for snacks are smaller and more compact so they occupy less space on the shelf — both in the retail store and the kitchen shelf at home. In office or at home, stand-up pouches take up less space than boxed products or flat pouches. Stand-ups are lightweight, no-nonsense packs that can be easily carried by people on-the-go. If they feature a recloseable zipper, convenience is doubled as consumers can re-seal the pack if they have not consumed all the contents.

4. Flexibility and functionality

Stand-up pouches come in a variety of formats across numerous market segments, with different barrier technologies to provide protection, and stiffness requirements for performance. Snack manufacturers can choose from a growing number of formats (sizes, shapes), material aspects (clear, white and metallised) and production methods (pre-made, horizontal and VFFS) depending on their product and desire for differentiation in the market.

Stand-up pouches also offer innovative user-friendly features such as the press-to-close zipper or slider to make usage even more convenient. This increases value, freshness and convenience; it also decreases the need for additional storage items and reduces waste. Resealability also helps consumers access their snack easily, wherever they may be.

5. Savings and sustainability

Stand-up pouches, like all flexible packaging, require less material to make. Rigid packaging costs three to six times more per unit than flexible packaging. So choosing stand up pouches mean reduced cost and better profit margins for your business.

In distribution too, stand-up pouches offer cost savings. More units fit in a single truck and being lightweight, fuel costs are lower too. Warehousing is easier — you can store more in the same space, and they are lighter and cheaper to move around.

What’s more, stand- up pouches are better for the environment. This packaging uses fewer materials and less energy and water to make, and takes up less space in landfills. Ongoing R&D for innovative biodegradable or recyclable materials is adding to the futuristic application and advantages of this packaging format.

Conclusion

No wonder stand-up pouches are one of the fastest growing pack formats.

In India, Nichrome has innovated the first stand-up pouch packaging machine: Vertipack 320. This sturdy, high-speed machine offers unmatched versatility in stand-up packaging. It produces stand-up pouches with or without zipper, and can pack products in a variety of pouch formats with short changeover. The applications too are diverse: Dry Fruits, Pasta, Snacks, Confectionaries, Indian Namkeens, Grains, Pulses, Sugar, Powdery Products, etc. A range of compatible fillers increases versatility of this automated snack packaging machine.

As India’s leading packaging solutions company, Nichrome offers extensive domain knowledge, industry experience and pro-active R&D to innovate integrated packaging solutions for a broad gamut of applications and customer challenges. Packaging machines, packaging systems, filling systems — Nichrome offers them all, partnering with customers through the complete life cycle, to enhance productivity and return on investment.

For stand-up packaging and all other flexible packaging needs, connect with Nichrome.

Special snack packaging solution for startups & SMEs

Over four decades in the business, Nichrome has proved itself as a leading packaging machine manufacturer of India. The company’s growth has been built on the pillars of innovation and in depth industry knowledge of diverse verticals. Nichrome studies and understands the needs and challenges of different customers to develop and deliver the optimal solution.

The snack market in India is a fast growing one, and Indian snacks and namkeens present unique challenges for packaging. Shape, crispness, delicate form, and flavor – all these aspects have to be carefully considered when designing the ideal packaging solution.

Today, as more and more consumers prefer packaged food products for their hygiene, quality and accuracy of content amounts, there are a growing number of businessmen entering the field. Home industry or small shop, or even a medium-size snack manufacturing plant – they all need the world-class snack packaging technology that Nichrome offers.

However, they need it to fit their needs, space and budget. Nichrome understands and has launched an exclusive line of packaging machines under the new ‘E-LINE’ banner. This series of machines are tailored for startups and small-medium scale enterprises. With their smaller footprint, modest speed and affordable price, the E-LINE range caters specifically to enterprises who think big but want to start small.

At the recent compack exhibition in Chennai, Nichrome launched the Wing 200 E-LINE, a machine that offers all the superior technology and reliability of Nichrome, in a compact, affordable format.  Made for snack packagingapplications, the Wing 200 E-LINE is a servo driven automatic packaging machine with a bagger speed of 80 bags per minute, using heat sealable laminate.

Ideal for Namkeen packaging and for kurkure and wafers, the Wing 200 E-LINE is a versatile chips packaging machine which is equally suited to packing grains & pulses, dry fruits, pasta, low-count biscuits, candies and even sugar packaging. 

To know more about how the Wing 200 E-LINE can benefit your business and partner in your success story, contact Nichrome.

www.nichrome.com

Quality snack packaging makes the difference.

Preference for packaged snacks is on the rise! While travelling, rather than buy a samosa at the station, people are opting for a sealed pack of savouries. In urban homes, with mothers short of time, it’s not always possible to prepare fresh, home-made snacks for children to carry to school. Packaged wafers or Namkeen offer a convenient solution.

#Snackspack

Taste, variety, hygiene, convenience and increasing market penetration complemented by changing lifestyles and growing disposable incomes have taken the Indian snack industry places. People are shifting from local shop products like samosa, kachori, handmade Namkeen, etc. to packaged products made in a controlled environment and packed hygienically.

As per Agro & Food Processing, some 300 types of savories are sold in this country and overall snack product market (inclusive of sweetmeats) is estimated at Rs.25,000 crore. The Indian Food Industry is one of the fastest growing segments in Indian economy, and within the food sector, the RTE including Namkeen & Mithai hold the biggest share. The branded segment is increasing at the rate of 25 per cent/annum, and has the maximum value addition, not just in monetary terms but also at adding shelf life to the product or ensuring that there is reach from Farm to Fork.

When it comes to quality and hygiene, packaging plays a crucial role. Nichrome, India’s leading automatic packaging machines manufacturer, offers the Vertical Form Fill Seal (VFFS) Snackpack Sprint 250 Continuous, a speedy snacks & Namkeen packing machine that takes the inherent fragility and odd shapes of snack foods into account while ensuring minimized costs and a highly efficient packaging process.

#Namkeenpack

Nichrome’s Snackpack potato chips packaging machine delivers speed of up to 150 packs per minute. Whether it is a traditional snack like bakarwadi, Namkeen, bhujjia, gathiya, chevda & kachori, or a Western style snack such as crisps, corn puffs, nachos & extruded sticks, the gas-filled pouches provide protection and keep flavours intact, while the vertical concept of the packaging solution helps to speed up the process. Snackpack machines allow easy format changes to produce CSPP and gusseted pouches of different sizes besides perforated chains of pouches.

As a snacks packaging machine manufacturer, Nichrome continuously innovates and adapts technology to cater to the growing and diverse needs of the snacks industry. Snackpack Series is designed to ease operational and maintenance challenges. Operations are simplified and to facilitate maintenance, the machines are also equipped with servo-technology that helps to reduce and eliminate technical errors.

Besides snacks, Nichrome’s Snackpack is also suited for dry fruit pouch packaging, biscuit packaging and for other products like Wrapped Candies, Macaroni, Biscuits, Pasta, Seeds, Breakfast Cereals, etc.

For more details to improve your snacks business with a customized solution for your individual needs, contact Nichrome. www.nichrome.com

Right Packaging makes your snacks more enjoyable

Snacks and namkeens are best enjoyed when they are fresh and crispy with their original taste well preserved.  They should stay intact without getting crushed to bits. For this, the packaging must be of excellent quality which means the chips packing machine must take care when packing the chips into the pouches to make sure; that they remain crunchy fresh just like they are manufactured.

Nichrome is a leading snackspackaging machine manufacturer who takes all the necessary precautions  while packing snacks and namkeens like Chips, Puffed Snacks, Dry Fruits, Wrapped Candies, Macaroni, Biscuits, Pasta, Breakfast Cereals, Potato Chips, Kurkure, Macroni, Indian Namkeen, Nuts, Soya Chunks and High Counts Biscuits with accuracy, consistency and minimal wastage.

Here are reasons for the Nichrome’s packaging solutions edge

Preserves – A good potato chips packing machine preserves vital factors like taste, crunchiness, aroma and its physical form which makes the chips and namkeens even more desirable. Nichrome’s snacks packaging machines are capable of maintaining the freshness of the chips for a very long time. Speaking of packaging machines, the pouches are also of significant importance. The pouches are designed to be attractive; keeping in mind environmental factors do not affect the snacks and namkeens while making them easy to carry, especially when in bulk quantities.

Read more about Right Packaging makes your snacks more enjoyable