Riverside Natural Foods sees demand grow for small bags of healthy snacks
The company, which is based in Vaughan, Canada, was looking for a machine to increase production volumes, simplify the company’s processes and reduce downtime.
Taste, convenience & nutrition
It has now installed two tna robag 3ci vertical form, fill and seal (VFFS) packaging systems with an order placed for a third, after doubling production speeds of 150 bags per minute.
Sekhar Chakkingal, sales manager, tna, said the tna robag 3ci has rotary double jaws and a small footprint to maximize factory space.
It also incorporates tna’s intelli-weigh 0314 omega series of high-speed multi-head scales capable of up to 200 weighs per minute.
“The way we snack has definitely changed over the past few years and so has consumer expectations,” he said.
“A lot of consumers are leading busy lives and looking for healthy, on-the-go snacks that deliver everything - taste, convenience and nutrition. This is good news for companies like Riverside, which specializes in the manufacture of organic snacks.”
Riverside Natural Foods prides itself on natural, allergen-free snacks and has seen a rise in demand for its products since launching the brand in 2013.
Granola minis
Growing health-consciousness amongst consumers has driven demand for small bags of healthy treats.
According to GlobalData (Top Trends in Snacks, Confectionery, and Desserts, March 2017), more than 79% of global consumers agree health and nutrition is important when choosing a snack, making it the second most important factor, after taste, to influence their food choices.
Riverside’s granola minis contain certified organic ingredients, including particulate materials such as seeds, flakes and grains.
To prevent the seeds affecting the seal integrity of the bags, tna installed cross feeders with an integrated sifter to remove small particles from the line before the product reaches the bag.
Its Product In Seal Detection (PISD) technology automatically triggers a reject mechanism if it detects product or particles in the seal area so Riverside can remove bags from the line for further inspection before they enter the secondary packaging process.
“The installation was smooth and we started hitting the target speeds shortly after setup. We were so impressed with the performance of the two systems that we ordered a third bagger,” said Justin Fluit, VP, operations, Riverside.
Other requirements included a hygienically designed system that was easy to clean and tna’s film path adjustment system so that Riverside can control the film path position to print accurate date codes on the packs.
