One window is worth a thousand words. At least it is to Michelle Weckstein, director of foodservice for the 78 Sun Stop Convenience Stores and Sun Valley Market & Deli stores in Georgia, Florida and Alabama.
Weckstein pointed out that producing attractive, tempting-looking foods for the stores’ Eats Deli is only part of her job. The other part is finding packaging that fully showcases the items inside.
The submarine sandwich bag, for example, shows off the goodness of the product inside using a clear window across three-quarters of the package’s front. Another example is the cardboard window box that she uses for the stores’ signature cinnamon buns and breakfast sandwiches.
While the window communicates the Eats brand’s quality story on its own, Weckstein uses a few well-chosen words to emphasize it. Most packaging carries the Eats logo along with one of two taglines: “Southern Cooking” for made-to-order or grab-and-go foods from the hot delis in over 30 of the stores and “Fresh on the Go” for other foods.
Source: Foodservice Packaging Institute’s “2019 Customer Survey Infographic,” with information from its “The U.S. Consumer Survey, April 2019”
At a recent trade show, “I was pleased to find our box on display as an example of effective packaging,” Weckstein noted.
For hot breakfast and lunch bowls, she chose containers with a black bottom and clear top to display the foods and avoid condensation that can compromise the foods’ textures and flavors. She is also looking at a prototype of a wax-lined, grease-resistant container for fried chicken and fish.
Whenever possible, Weckstein looks for eco-friendly packaging. Currently, she is on the hunt for a recyclable plastic fountain beverage cup. She is also looking for packaging that will be airtight for the cinnamon buns and breakfast sandwiches.
Brainstorming Solutions
Aside from an impressive presentation, Frank Battaglia, foodservice director for Power Mart convenience stores and Nana’s Hot Dogs — a Chicago-based diner — also asks for more from the packaging he chooses.
First, the materials must be durable enough to hold up to both hot and cold foods while customers transport them to their destinations. The packaging must also be versatile enough to fit several products of different sizes and dimensions to control inventory and make quantity purchases more economical.
At the Powmaro Deli inside the Power Mart store, Battaglia packages the popular seven-inch submarine sandwiches in plain white butcher paper.
“We found we are selling more of the sandwiches since we switched to the butcher paper,” he said. “In Chicago, white butcher paper is associated with fresh meats.”
Battaglia partnered with Fischer Paper Products to provide packaging options and help with his more challenging packaging needs. He said the company helped develop a variety of solutions for his particular requirements.
Next up, with the company’s help, he’s on a mission to discover a bag for the oversized (four-inch by four-inch) rectangular slices of homemade pizza he sells at the deli.
“We use Styrofoam now, but I’m not a fan of this material,” he explained. “I would rather use a bag.”
Nana’s Hot Dogs, a free-standing operation, sells between 400 and 500 of its namesake item per day. To present them, he is moving forward to use a 12-inch by 12-inch flat, red-and-white check wrap. The paper must be grease-proof to neatly contain french fries as well as hot dogs. Battaglia is planning to get the paper printed with the Nana’s brand.
The company is scheduled to open another Power Mart with deli and another Nana’s location in Downers Grove, Ill.
The Foodservice Packaging Institute surveyed 800 respondents in the U.S. and Canada balanced across income, education level, gender and region, about packaging needs for “The U.S. Consumer Survey, April 2019.” While c-store retailers know the ability to see the food conveys freshness and quality, customers don’t think of it as the most important attribute when compared with other attributes like leak proof and preventing stains. Source: Foodservice Packaging Institute’s “2019 Customer Survey Infographic,” with information from its “The U.S. Consumer Survey, April 2019”
