FFP Packaging Solutions

News: FFP hit the barbeque big time

For the first time in many years, a completely new packaging format has been developed, allowing food manufacturers to extend their reach into the home barbeque market. Qbag consists of an Aluminium foil pouch with an easy peel and self-venting polyester window that works perfectly either in the oven or directly on a barbeque.

Barbeque in the bag packaging provides new options for outdoor cooks and food manufacturers. During cooking, the product is visible to the chef, the pack expands to provide a “chamber” for cooking, then self-vents to allow pressure and steam to escape safely. The window may be peeled off during cooking to allow stirring or following cooking to create a serving vessel. The pack allows foods with small pieces, such as prawns, or sauced product to be cooked directly on the barbeque, increasing market potential and extending the selling season for many food manufacturers. The pack can be used to segregate meat and vegetarian dishes, and the barbeque is left perfectly clean after cooking. For fresh produce the Oxygen permeability of the window can also be modified to extend shelf life.

The Qbag also works perfectly as an oven-cook pack, so rainy days, are no problem, and sales can continue throughout the year.

When Marks and Spencer were shown the concept, they immediately saw the potential and created the “pockets” range, designed to cook either on the barbeque or in the oven. As a new idea, M&S tested the range in 100 stores, rapidly rolling it out to a further 100 as the packs flew off the shelves. The M&S project was recognised in this year’s Starpack competition this year, picking up three awards. Apart from a silver Starpack, the pack also won the only “technical innovation” award presented, and also won one of the sponsored awards, the award for Consumer Convenience sponsored by Packaging News Magazine. The pack also went on to win a prestigious DuPont packaging innovation award presented in the USA.

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