Making mackerel more convenient
mackerel fillets. Once the preserve of beverage manufacturers, the
ring pull is increasingly being used in food applications to meet
consumer demands for convenience.
The new packaging concept, developed for French firm Saupiquet, features a rectangular Peel Seam lid, and the newly packaged product is now being rolled out across supermarkets in France.
The patented Peel Seam opening system consists of a rectangular aluminium ring, sealed with a peelable flexible aluminium lid and seamed to the aluminium body. The lid is constructed of aluminium foil laminated with polypropylene film on the inside and lacquered on the outside.
The Peel Seam lid features a small tab for easy lifting. Crown Holdings says that by grasping the tab and peeling off the lid, the consumer is able to open cans smoothly and easily with a simple, fluid gesture, leaving no sharp edges.
In addition to creating increased convenience and easy opening for consumers, the new packaging is rectangular in shape - traditional for canned mackerel. At 154 mm long, 55 mm wide, and 30 mm high, Saupiquet believes that the packaging solution also enhances brand recognition with fresh colours, logos and modern graphics, all printed directly onto the smooth lid and the foil tab itself.
Crown claims that the advanced gravure printing processes available for the Peel Seam lid ensure high-quality results.
The Saupiquet convenience package breaks new ground because the heat-sealed flexible lid is able to withstand the difficult constraints of a retort process. Crown worked closely with Saupiquet to adapt the filling and seaming process to create a high-performance product.
It is only in recent years that there has been a substantial increase in their use for food cans. When the ring pull was introduced in the late 1950s, the concept had an immediate impact on the development of the beverage can. But despite the success of the concept, the canned food industry was slow to benefit from the advantages of the easy open end.
Nonetheless, the food packaging industry is making up for lost time. "After the steel easy opening end made its première in the market for pet food cans in the early 1990s, it was quickly adopted throughout the whole food market," said Arcelor Packaging's food project leader Barbara Martin.
The new lid system is designed to reinforce Saupiquet's market position as a key innovator in the processed fish industry. The company believes that the transition to the new packaging will be smooth as the packaging process can be carried out on Saupiquet's existing canning and filling lines.
"Mackerel consumers have long demanded the convenience of easy-open ends," said Saupiquet's marketing director. "By implementing the new Peel Seam solution, we have been able to meet this important requirement while building brand differentiation and further increasing customer loyalty."
