ProAmpac’s Pellingra Invites Sector to Promote Benefits of Flexible Packaging

According to Sal Pellingra, forecasting the future of packaging isn’t hard.
 
“That future is flexible packaging,” Pellingra, ProAmpac’s VP of innovation and technology, told manufacturers, suppliers and consumer brand representatives attending the Global Pouch Forum conference in Miami today.
 
“Although the move away from metal, glass and other rigid formats is a well-established trend, our industry needs to work even harder to promote the benefits of pouches and other flexible packaging formats,” he said. “We need to dispel consumer myths that flexible packages are less environmentally sound and sustainable than rigid packaging.”
 
Flexible packaging uses less material, enables more product to be shipped, and consumes less energy during transport than rigid packaging,” and we need to make this better known,” he added.
 
“Food waste is a much bigger issue than packaging waste.” Food waste represents more than 20% of the material in U.S. landfills, but flexible packaging is below 4%. Flexible packages allow users to squeeze all the product out of a container. Rigid packages can retain up to 20% of the contents in a package when the consumer is done.
 
In a talk that outlined trends shaping the packaging industry, Pellingra presented an animated video contrasting rigid and flexible packaging and illustrating the portability and functionality as well as sustainability benefits of flexible packaging.
 
“This industry is opening up new categories, helping products stand out differently, providing better functionality, unique shapes, and compelling graphics, and we need to promote that even more,” he pointed out.
 
For example, ProAmpac’s PRO-DURA Premium is a pet food package solution that combines the strength and durability of a woven material with the in-store appeal of a premium, film-like exterior finish.
 
Our “spouted stand up hour-glass shaped pouch for Duke’s Mayonnaise is a category disruptor,” Pellingra said. The package uses less packaging, is ergonomically designed to fit in your hand and the reclosable one-piece, flip-top spout “makes opening and dispensing far better than from a glass or PET container,” he added.
 
ProAmpac’s container for Germany’s JANS Marinade, helped this new company launch a fresh concept: consumers slide their protein into the marinade pouch, zip it tight, and let the food assimilate the flavors.
 
Overall, Pellingra states, “The benefits of flexible packaging over rigid provide improvements in consumer convenience, ship more product and less packaging and utilize less space and shipping and storage. These and other benefits will continue to provide high industry growth.”