Innovative solutions for the pet supplies industry

Download: Innovative solutions for the pet supplies industry (PDF file)The Pactiv Corporation is a leading manufacturer of packaging solutions for consumer goods and food. The American company has global sales amounting to $ 3.3 bn with brands and technologies that are intended to make packaging safer, better and simpler. Over 80 per cent of its sales derive from markets in which it occupies the number one or two slot.The Slide-Rite slide closure products developed by Pactiv have enjoyed a strong market position in the USA for around ten years. The slider opens and closes the bag by moving backwards and forwards over slide rails. Typical applications for slide closures of this kind are all products that have to be removed repeatedly from the packaging: pet food, fruit and vegetables, dried fruits and nuts, frozen products and breakfast cereals, to name just a few examples.Added value for allEight years ago, Pactiv introduced the Slide-Rite technology into Europe too, choosing the pet food market as the first business sector to target. "With great success," declares Josef Honert, the European marketing manager for Slide-Rite products. "Packaging with our closure is easy and convenient to use. Consumers can open it very easily and close it securely again and again. The bags remain sealed." For pet food products in particular, which have to retain their freshness and aroma, this is very important.But it isn't just the consumer that benefits from the innovative packaging, according to Honert. "The Slide-Rite bags are visually appealing and have a high recognition value." The incentive to buy them is considerably higher at the point of sale than for conventional packaging solutions. In addition, "consumers develop a strong brand loyalty above all if the products communicate a greater individual benefit for the consumer," stresses Honert. And the visually attractive Slide-Rite system enhances the brand image of a product - an argument that is extremely important for suppliers of premium products in particular.Consumer survey on closure systemsResults from consumer surveys support this view. When asked which bag closure system they preferred, 87 per cent of consumers named the Slide-Rite. Only 8 per cent cited the press-to-close closure system. When it came to reliability, 73 per cent of those questioned preferred the sliding closure system.Since Pactiv is also able on the basis of its extensive experience to develop highly individual packaging concepts for its…