Flow packs have long been a popular form of packaging for a huge range of products. They can also be an attractive solution for fresh foods such as cheese or meat: though light and compact, they still ensure a good shelf life. However, it can sometimes take consumers a while to get used to seeing products such as minced meat in a flow pack.
The flow pack is a classic form of packaging, used for a huge range of products, from confectionery bars and biscuits through to medical equipment and electronics. It’s light, requires little material and can be produced quickly and easily. The product is protected by an airtight seal, and gases can be added to improve shelf life.
Avoid multilayer packaging
Flow packs can also be effective as packaging for fresh food such as cheese or charcuterie. ‘For fresh food products, though, it’s best to choose recyclable materials such as polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE), and to avoid the multilayer variants,’ says Annemarie Abbeel, Senior Expert Design for Recycling.
A good example is Delhaize, which in 2024 introduced flow packs made of mono-materials for 21 lines in its private label sliced cheese range. The new packaging replaced two other packaging types: the traditional rigid tray with plastic sealing film and the multilayer pack in which the cheese slices lay on a thin layer of laminated paper-board with plastic film over them. Delhaize expects to save 86 tonnes of plastic per year with this change.
For fresh meat too
Carrefour also made a striking switch to flow packs for four lines in its pork and beef mince range in 2024. It may still take a while for Belgian shoppers to get used to seeing their fresh meat on the shelves in this new packaging, but it’s already becoming more familiar in neighbouring countries such as the Netherlands and France. The new packaging replaces plastic trays with sealing film, using far less material: Carrefour expects to reduce its use of plastic by up to 75% with the new packaging, equivalent to 16 tonnes per year.
It may still take a while for Belgian shoppers to get used to seeing their fresh meat on the shelves in this new packaging, but it’s already becoming more familiar in neighbouring countries such as the Netherlands and France.
