Wellpak, a leading supplier of fresh produce from around the world, has launched a new product line: snack-pots. In a diversification from the traditional fruit punnet, these small pots with peel off lids will begin by containing single servings of blueberries, cherries or cherry tomatoes.
The snack-pots are expected to appeal to consumers who are conscious of the five-a-day mantra that, since its adoption by the UK Government in 2003, is one of the most memorable public health campaigns of all time. Recent surveys point to an increasing trend to switch to healthier snacks, particularly in the 18-24 age range.
‘We’re all aware that we should be eating five portions of fruit or vegetables a day but we’re all so busy that it’s hard to find time to prepare it, or to grab a healthy snack when you’re on the move,’ says Wellpak’s Sales Director, Simon Lane. ‘We’re hoping our snack-pots, which each contain one of your five-a-day, will change that.’
The snack-pots have peel off lids for easy eating whatever the occasion: breakfast, lunch, in the car, on the train or straight from the fridge whenever.
The pots are expected to be particularly appealing to the UK’s 10 million plus commuters wanting to grab a healthy snack while on the move. Busy parents will no longer have to waste time dividing punnets into portions for lunch boxes, either. And when we throw away 7 million tonnes of food a year in the UK, potentially wasting leftovers – which will perish faster in an open packet – will be a thing of the past.
Wellpak is uniquely positioned to deliver the product since its service partner Ackio – a specialist, highly automated fruit packer – has developed and invested in specialized packing technology that, in combination with Wellpak, gives a unique array of services.
As part of its continual investment in leading edge technology, Ackio’s new device allows the relatively small opening of the pots – compared to the traditional fruit punnet – to be filled to an exact weight. The packing lines have also been adapted to allow the upright, unstable snack-pots to be packed efficiently, accurately and at high speed, before being sealed with a pre-printed film. The machine uses some of Ackio’s existing high tech, quality systems, such as vision-based checking of individual berries for internal and external defects, and air pressure tests for softness.
Wellpak’s diversification into snack-pots is not by chance. With market data now suggesting a move away from traditional punnets towards either much bigger containers or smaller, single-portion pots, Wellpak is riding a wave.
‘Wellpak is a proactive company that prides itself in having a great deal of foresight, so we’ve been planning the snack-pots for some time,’ says Simon. ‘Fortunately for us though, market data suggests our diversification into snack-pots now goes hand in hand with a trend everyone in the fresh produce industry is talking about: single-portion packaging. It’s good to be ahead of the curve.’
Wellpak’s snack-pots are available to retailers now.
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