Grocery retail is a steadily growing space for packaged raw proteins, said Jason Angel, vice president of sales and business development – tray packaging for ProMach.

Two of ProMach’s top packaging machines for retail are the Ossid NextGen 500E tray overwrap machine and the Reepack ReeForm T55 Thermoformer, which Angel said is capable of producing saddlepack flex-flex packages.

The Ossid NextGen 500E gives customers the most flexibility for end seal types of packages, Angel said.

Fresh, barrier and MAP packaging can all be run on the same machine, with minimal changeover, in multiple sizes.

The Reepack ReeForm T55 Thermoformer, with its flex-flex and other capabilities, helps ProMach handle some of that increasingly diversified demand for different styles of packaging.

For accurate and versatile label placement, the T55 thermoformer is outfitted with an Ossid Weigh Price Labeler. Ideal for weighing, pricing and labeling packages from 12” to 20” in length, it can run flat packages (trays) to contoured packages (i.e., whole bagged birds, turkey, deli chub, melons, etc.), and at a rate of up to 100 packages per minute.

The added flexibility of the T55 enables the machine to create different package styles as applications change. While Hudson Valley is using it to run both semi-rigid and rigid packaging, it can also run flexible packaging with a fast, easy changeover — a cost-saving design that allows one machine to effectively do the work of two.

“What I think processors are looking for is partners that can provide all forms of package types, vs. those that can supply just one or two,” Angel said.

Some of the biggest changes in the packaging of raw proteins sold at retail are occurring in ground products, Angel said.

“Historically, grounds have been tray overwraps, but today we’re seeing more in tray lids and flex-flex. You look across all proteins, and the biggest change in packaging is in grounds.”

Steak and pork products are also being packaged more in flex-flex and tray overwraps, Angel said. In poultry, meanwhile, the trend is away from foam and toward more bio-based trays, as more and more states are banning foam packaging.

This article is an excerpt from the July 2024 issue of Supermarket Perimeter. You can read the entire Meat Packaging Equipment feature and more in the digital edition here.