Healthy snacking for kids and grown-ups, in Huhtamakis convenient pocket packaging

Children, as well as adults enjoy snacks during the day to keep going - in other words to maintain a stable energy level throughout the day. At their best, snacks are refreshing, nutritional and healthy.

Children, as well as adults enjoy snacks during the day to keep going - in other words to maintain a stable energy level throughout the day. At their best, snacks are refreshing, nutritional and healthy. Packaging plays an important role in the snack category, both in the choosing situation as well as in enhancing the user’s convenience, especially when the snack is enjoyed on-the-go. Andros, a French manufacturer of fruit purees and jams and the owner of the Bonne Maman brand, is using advanced packaging to enter the single portion, out of home market. Andros offers two different fruit snack products in 100 g packaging, targeted for children, for their afternoon snack at school and day care breaks. “All the various tastes of the range are apple based. Apple is a very challenging ingredient, since it requires good protection against oxygen in order not to lose its original color and taste. However, apple as a taste and as part of blends is very popular, so we set to find excellent barrier packaging solutions”, says Nicolas Plantec, Consumer Goods Sales & Marketing Manager from Huhtamaki. There are two different types of packaging to suit two different products, Andros Snack and Andros Pocket. Andros Snack, a very solid fruit concentrate is sold in 100 g bottles. Usually the bottle-formed one portion packs are produced with injection blow molding. This is, however, a relatively expensive technology and due to its monolayer characteristics does not provide the required barrier properties. Thus, a new solution was needed. The result is a unique small bottle, sealed with aluminum foil, with high barrier properties. The production utilizes Form-Fill-Seal technology: Huhtamaki supplies the barrier sheet and after thermoforming the product is sleeved and sealed in line. The bottle form requires a very thick barrier sheet which is one of Huhtamaki’s core competences in the sheet business. The other one, Andros Pocket pouch, is a flexible packaging with superb rotogravure graphics and a tamper evident spout and cap closure. The fruit product inside is relatively thick but still drinkable. The pouches are hot filled, using Form-Fill-Seal technology and combined with a high barrier flexible sheet the result is first class ambient packaging.