Scott Williams
Northwest Sales Manager
BluePrint Automation (BPA)
What are some key trends in Retail-Ready Packaging specifically for the bakery/snack food market?
To look for industry trends in the US market, its best to look towards what is happening in Europe as they have always led in packaging innovation. One key trend is moving more towards sustainable packaging. Using compostable materials and recycled plastics or papers are some things we will see coming to retail ready packaging in the US.
Please describe your company’s equipment that is used to create retail/shelf-ready packaging. What are your company’s latest equipment introductions and upgrades?
BluePrint Automation offers several options for retail ready packaging. Our dependable Gantry 300 pick and place machine we have been building for many years can handle both horizontal and vertical shelf ready patterns. It has a quick changeover between product recipes and comes with a simple to use interface. Also offered is our Spider 300v utilizing delta robots for pattern forming and integrated with a simple gantry pick and place for loading the pattern into the case. The Spider 300v is a new way of handling retail ready cases and utilizes the latest technologies.
We have also designed our own retail ready case, the Easy-D. This innovative design is a wraparound style retail-ready case that allows for easy loading and ensures a good-looking product appearance on the shelf. As this case is side-loaded, product handling is much smoother. It also eliminates the need to tear the front, as it has a pre-cut front flap. The case includes a back wall for increased product support. This case can be loaded using a number of our secondary packaging solutions.
Can bakery/snack producers integrate the equipment into a fully automated packaging line? Do various footprint options exist for bakery/snack producers that are tight on space?
BluePrint Automation can provide a turnkey line for your packaging needs. If the space is tight, we may lean more towards one type of case packer vs another style depending on space allotted. We have many options to help customers in tight layouts and would welcome an opportunity to walk through some creative options.
What are the benefits of shelf-ready packaging to the retailer? To the bakery/snack producer?
Retail ready packaging makes it easy on retailers to quickly restock shelves and reduce injury among its employees. It also builds an additional layer of branding to help snack producers and bakery companies deliver a strong message.
What types of packaging materials/styles common to bakery/snack foods are well-suited to shelf-ready packaging?
Common styles include stand up pouches, cartons, and trays to name just a few.
What advances in Retail-Ready Packaging do you see happening in the near future?
We will continue to see advances in recyclable materials for retail ready packaging. Along side of new materials, source reduction, or using less material in the first place, has a greater net impact on the environment than recycling, composting and other energy recovery strategies will be key drivers for sustainable packaging.
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