From design to the line, an introduction to secondary packaging

When it comes to merchandising, every second counts. More often than not, there are no second chances when it gets down to impulse purchases. It’s either one and done, or none at all.

That’s why so many forms of attention-grabbing graphics dominate in the world of secondary packaging. It doesn’t matter if it’s a creatively designed caddy of single-serve cookies for convenience stores or a family-sized carton of individually wrapped cupcakes for the wholesale club channel.

“A company wants its products to be visually appealing in the marketplace,” said Anthony Del Viscio, vice-president of sales, Eagle Packaging Machinery. “It is important that its secondary packaging print contains branding and merchandising information that is interesting and enticing while also being consistent with the company’s main goals and missions.”

Secondary packaging comes in all shapes and sizes — and serves multiple functions. In the energy bar category, for instance, it allows start-up businesses to gain instant access to individually wrapped products in nooks, crannies and other “white spaces” throughout the store.

“We are always challenged by the amount of retail space allotted to products,” observed Bill Kehrli, vice-president of sales and marketing, Cavanna Packaging. “You see small companies try to get premium space on a countertop with different types of standup cartons to differentiate themselves.”

In the bread aisle, it can be as simple as overwrapping a loaf to provide primary product protection and inserting it in a second bag to add another layer to ensure freshness and extend shelf life.

“When consumers see that sort of packaging, they also perceive the loaf of bread as premium, having better quality and a better look because the wrap holds the loaf nice and straight — whether you set it flat with the end out or whether you stand it up,” said Dennis Gunnell, vice-president of sales and marketing, Formost Fuji. “It costs more, but it also drives more sales at a higher price point because it gives consumers what they want, which is a premium, better product.”

On the store level, labor-savings have transformed the landscape with the rapid rise in retail-ready displays, said Jim Campbell, north central regional sales manager, BluePrint Automation (BPA).

“The ability to take a case of goods and place that unit on a shelf is less time-consuming than neatly placing individual goods on a shelf or hanging items on pegs, allowing retailers to reduce cost and increase margins,” he explained. “The onus falls on the brand owners and OEMs to develop solutions that accommodate this request. Secondary packaging development, coupled with equipment capable of automating the process, are opportunities for improvement.”

Coming up with packaging propositions often requires a comprehensive approach by bakers and snack producers.

“When designing secondary packaging, one must ensure that the case or tray is easy to open,” Mr. Del Viscio suggested. “You want to create a quick and hassle-free scenario in which the retail employee simply tears the package open, and the product is visible and ready to be placed on the shelf. If the package is poorly designed in a manner that makes the tearing process difficult, the retail employee may have to use box cutters to open it. Then, you run the risk of product damage, a likely return of the product to the manufacturer, or other unwanted complications.”

Tackling complexity
Building in flexibility for the long run is extremely difficult for co-manufacturers and private label producers that may have dozens of customers and sometimes hundreds of packaging formats. At times, the biggest challenge involves deciding if — or when — to make an investment to avoid buying a system that ends up sitting around the bakery like unused lawn furniture.

Mr. Kehrli recommended asking some tough questions.

“Do they have a contract and how long is that contract before purchasing the equipment?” he queried. “If it’s unknown, maybe don’t buy the equipment until the business becomes more stable. That’s because a lot of companies may be renting line-time from a co-manufacturer that already has the equipment until the product is established and they can determine the time is right to bring production in house.”


To accommodate the proliferation of packaging formats, bakers and snack producers often must choose between the lesser of two evils: versatile systems that allow for multiple changeovers per shift and dedicated lines that drive volume.

“Companies are driven by consumer demand,” Mr. Gunnell said. “To meet their demands, they sometimes need to change midstream, and it makes for reduced efficiencies. That’s the bottom line.”

In Europe and Asia, he noted, many companies are adding dedicated lines to complement slower, more flexible systems.

“Dedicated lines drive efficiencies,” Mr. Gunnell said. “You’re getting higher efficiencies and better-quality packaging in the long run. It’s not uncommon for them to spend more on a dedicated line to be the lowest-cost operation.”

Biggest little challenge
Another major conundrum involves the continued trend toward smaller packs and individually wrapped items and efficiently placing them in caddies, cartons and other forms of secondary packaging. To maintain oven speeds and overall volume, packaging systems need to run at significantly faster rates. Finding additional space to house new equipment, however, poses a spatial strain in many existing plants and landlocked facilities.

 “Often companies have two choices — and both cost money,” Mr. Kehrli said. “They either have to buy new equipment or run existing equipment slower. If bakers are making 20,000 crackers a minute, they’re not going to want to change that number because of smaller packaging sizes, so they have to turn to higher-speed equipment. It needs to fit in a smaller space, run faster and be more flexible. They also need to run different formats to satisfy different smaller packaging requirements as well as multi-dimensional, multi-pack configurations. We’re seeing a lot more interest in that area.”

In confined spaces, Cavanna connects two of its Slim wrapping machines, called Twin Slim, upstream to the loader and downstream to a G41F robot. After exiting the Twin Slim, the robotic unit takes the wrapped packs to fill RSC cases per customers’ requests. In addition to space savings, the integrated packaging line offers greater accessibility for sanitation and maintenance.

To minimize floor space, Bosch Packaging Technology recently rolled out a topload cartoner with carton-forming, product-loading and carton-closing in one machine.

The ergonomically designed Kliklok ITC system offers a low-level carton hopper, swing arm-mounted HMI display, glue tank and product infeed on one side of the machine. Operators can access the forming and closing sections without crossing the production line. Moreover, tool-free jigs and a change-part numbering system allow for changeovers in less than 15 minutes. As a result, one person can efficiently manage the forming, loading and closing packaging process at speeds up to 80 cartons a minute.

Mr. Kehrli stressed that it’s not as easy to make changes on a packaging line where the assets are fixed and not as nimble as newer packaging lines that combine multiple advances in technology in one system.

“We redesigned equipment from the bottom-up platform to make them run faster,” he said. “We’re using new motion controllers and robotics. This is much more about engineering things better than just adding new technology. We’re making the equipment simpler, cleaner and more flexible.”

By relying on innovation through integrating various forms of automation, caddies, cartons and other forms of outer packaging play second fiddle to no one.