'Berry-good' resealable packaging with tamper-evident seal

New Zealand-based grower and supplier of fresh strawberries and raspberries Best Berries was searching for a packaging solution to match its requirements for supply to the New Zealand and overseas markets.

After an evaluation of its options, the company chose K-Reseal from global flexible packaging and lidding films supplier KM Packaging. The lidding film range can be repeatedly opened and resealed to the tray, and was a perfect match for all the requirements.

The NZ berry supplier required a fully printed reclose lidding film with macro ventilation holes for its APET 250 and 454 g punnets of strawberries. The punnets needed to have a tamper-evident seal from the point of packing through to the consumer first opening the pack.

The owner of Best Berries, Boman Zakari, said: “Our customers were interested in reclose lidding options. KM Packaging were able to provide the solution.”

The challenges

One of the challenges of this project was that Best Berries’ tray sealing machinery settings had no waste film allowance between each lid, on a four-across tooling layout.

Zakari said: “We were concerned about the tight tolerance on our sealing machine tool, but the team from KM advised on the settings and we had no issues.”

After the successful eye mark trial, KM supplied the fully-printed order and shipped it by a combination of air and sea to coincide with the start of the picking season.

Best Berries is now able to offer its customers the security of tamper evidence along with the convenience of easy opening and reclose lid.

A solution with good shelf appeal

The lidding film offers the added advantage of being a mono laminate PET, which matches the tray, ensuring that the whole pack is designed for recyclability.

Zakari said: “Our customers are happy with the packing innovation. And it really looks great. It has been an excellent experience working with KM. The team are very helpful and try their best to provide solutions to any problems.”

The K-Reseal range is compatible with most tray sealing machines and is suitable for chilled and ambient storage.

It seals to rPET, APET and CPET trays, and options include mono-material, antifog and high barrier.

The range can incorporate print designs for improved pack presentation and shelf appeal. It can also include macro holes, hot needle or laser perforation for advanced packaging solutions making it suitable for products that need to respire.

Applications include multiple market sectors: fresh produce; meat, poultry, and seafood; bakery and desserts; dairy and cheese; and plant-based protein.