by CMG Plastics | Sep 28, 2021
The ice cream section of the frozen aisle at the grocery store has never been more competitive or saturated with options. In addition to dozens of flavors, you have low-fat and nonfat options. You have dairy-free and vegan options. You have locally and ethically sourced options.
To stand out from the crowd and deliver a customer experience that keeps people coming back, you need the right packaging.
Traditionally, ice cream packaging has been made from wet-strength paperboard, which is lined with plastic to keep the package from deteriorating in the freezer. Of course, once you open one of those containers and start scooping, it loses its shape and becomes difficult to reseal, which can lead to leaks in the freezer.
This type of packaging also limits your design options. Colors tend to be muted and it’s difficult to use shiny, metallic finishes. These limitations are a big reason why so many ice cream products look similar on the shelf.
CMG Plastics manufactures rigid plastic containers with in-mold labeling (IML) that overcome these limitations. Modern finishes and textures can be combined with vivid graphics and colors that are printed right into the plastic, creating a visual presentation that commands attention and enhances consumer perceptions.
At the same time, a clear container allows consumers to see what they’re buying. When you think about it, which do you think a customer would rather see, a photo of your ice cream on the package or the ice cream itself in the container?
Rigid plastic containers also maintain their shape after repeated use and are easily resealed to prevent leaks and maintain freshness. Once the customer finishes the ice cream, they can either rinse it out and use it for something else or recycle it. Our containers can be made with a percentage post-consumer recycled materials and offers a sustainable option that supports a circular economy.
We’re ready to help!
CMG Plastics operates multiple in-mold labeling systems in manufacturing facilities in New Jersey and Canada. If you’d like to discuss how we can enhance your ice cream packaging using rigid, clear containers with IML, contact us today! We look forward to helping you and will get back to you promptly.
by CMG Plastics | Sep 21, 2021
We’ve all salivated over the deli counter. Beyond meats and cheeses, you have fresh potato salad and macaroni salad. Cole slaw and guacamole. It’s enough to make you want to have a pop-up barbecue right there in the grocery store.
Perhaps the greatest advantage of the deli counter is the transparency. Customers can see exactly what they’re buying. Also, they have a direct view of your brand and packaging for salads and dips.
Here are a few ways rigid plastic containers and the right labeling strategy can help you deliver an experience that will have your customers coming back for more.
In-Mold Labeling
If you want your products to stand out, in-mold labeling (IML) can create impact from vivid graphics and colors in ways that traditional offset printing cannot. Logos, product names, descriptions, ingredients, and other information and imagery are printed into the plastic, creating a sleek yet bold design that gets your products noticed. The label is part of the container.
An often-overlooked feature of IML is that IML labels can be produced with an oxygen barrier layer. Even though polypropene plastic is solid, oxygen moves through the contents, which contributes to the spoiling process. Using a barrier IML label reduces the flow of oxygen to keep the contents stable and fresh for a longer period.
Printing Around the Container
Utilizing a full wrap IML label around your container as well labels on both the lid and bottom of the container, can help you extend your products shelf life and slow spoiling. You may sacrifice a little transparency, but you also prevent light from reaching the product which contributes to spoilage.
Also, because our rigid containers are durable and resealable, your customers can reuse them to store leftovers and other products, creating additional touchpoints and brand awareness.
Sustainability
Consumers are becoming more and more environmentally conscious. This growing segment of your customer base will be happy to learn IML is 100 percent recyclable. You don’t have to remove a pressure-sensitive label or shrink sleeve that isn’t recyclable. Just toss the container into the recycling bin!
We’re ready to help!
Want to discuss how the rigid plastic containers with recyclable IML can help you win at the deli counter? Contact us today! We look forward to helping you and will get back to you promptly.
by CMG Plastics | Sep 16, 2021
In today’s oversaturated marketplace, brands need marketing to be relevant and relatable. If there’s not a direct connection between brand and consumer, marketing is just noise that gets ignored, deleted, or forgotten.
Product packaging is a huge part of branding and marketing, especially for products in the dairy aisle at the supermarket. After all, consumers must notice a product before they feel comfortable enough to place it in the cart and head to checkout.
Here’s the challenge. The same packaging probably won’t appeal to all audiences.
For example, if you’re trying to sell yogurt to millennials and seniors, can you realistically expect to appeal to both groups using the same images, colors, and text? Probably not.
The solution to this problem is digital printing.
With traditional printing methods, you would have to stop the printing process and redo big print dyes every time you want to change part of the packaging label. With digital printing, special software makes it possible to customize any component of the label based on your data without slowing down the sales process.
For example, if you want to target both millennials and seniors, you can print labels for both on the same sheet. Colors, images, messaging, fonts, font sizes, and other components will be automatically swapped out as directed by your database.
Remember when Coke had bottles and cans with people’s names on them? Digital printing made that possible. Could you imagine how slow, inefficient, and expensive the printing process would have been if they had to stop and reconfigure for each individual name?
When you align your brand with specific segments of your target audience by customizing your packaging, you increase the likelihood of building connections with the people you want to buy your product. They’ll be more likely to think, “This brand is right for me!”
CMG Plastics can use digital printing to customize labels on our rigid, plastic containers made with post-consumer recycled plastic materials. Not only will you increase printing efficiency and customization, but you’ll build make connections that can lead to greater brand awareness and more sales.
We’re ready to help!
If you’d like to learn more about digital printing and how custom packaging can build alignment between brand and consumer, contact us today. We look forward to helping you and will get back to you promptly.
We’re ready to help!
If you’d like to learn about our custom packaging solutions with IML that can help you grab the attention of the consumer and win more sales, contact us today. We look forward to helping you and will get back to you promptly.
by CMG Plastics | Sep 7, 2021
Put yourself in the shoes of the consumer. You enter the dairy aisle. After the milk and eggs, you see a seemingly endless selection of yogurt, cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, butter, and other dairy products in rigid plastic containers.
Your brand may be the highest quality or most unique, but the consumer might never realize how special your brand is unless your packaging stands out in a sea of dairy products.
Many brands that require rigid packaging choose offset printing on plastic containers. The challenges with this method start during the print process. Offset printing makes it difficult to incorporate different finishes and features like matte, shiny, and metallic, and switching from one SKU to another is slow and inefficient.
Once these products get to the aisle, the packaging typically lacks the high-impact colors and graphics to jump off the shelf. Some brands use shrink sleeves, which can be damaged and torn. Shrink sleeves also create more waste and are harder to recycle because you have to separate the sleeve from the cup prior to recycling.
More dairy brands, especially in the yogurt category, are switching to in-mold labeling. While digital offset prints on the container, IML incorporates the printing into the plastic so graphics are brighter, and text can’t be scratched off. The label itself is also made from the same material as the cup, so the entire cup can be recycled in one recycling stream.
CMG Plastics manufactures rigid, fully customized containers with IML to make your dairy packaging pop. Vivid graphics and attention-grabbing finishes are easy to apply during the IML print process, which is much faster because of easier changeover across the overall product run.
From a sustainability perspective, our durable plastic containers can be made with a percentage of post-consumer recycled plastic materials. They can be resealed, repurposed, and easily recycled in a way that supports a circular economy while reducing environmental impact.
Stronger branding, better visibility, and better for the environment. That’s how IML helps you win the dairy aisle!
We’re ready to help!
If you’d like to learn about our custom packaging solutions with IML that can help you grab the attention of the consumer and win more sales, contact us today. We look forward to helping you and will get back to you promptly.
by CMG Plastics | Aug 23, 2021
You may recall that in one of my posts earlier this month I asked readers if they were a “half-full glass” or “half-empty glass” type of person.
Well, as it relates to one industry authority, it would appear that they tend to be the “half-full” type. At least when it comes to forecasting strength and growth for plastic manufacturing. And that’s especially good news given the roller-coaster-ride economy of the last eighteen months.
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by CMG Plastics | Aug 11, 2021
So how are things today? Really.
Well, it probably depends on whether you’re a “half-full glass” or “half-empty glass” type of person. Here at CMG Plastics, we definitely consider ourselves to be a “more-than-half-full-glass” organization. So, we remain positive and optimistic about the future of our industry and the clients we serve.
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by CMG Plastics | Aug 4, 2021
Hearing that word can create peace of mind or make you cautiously nervous.
The difference? It lies in the relationship and the person who says the word. Is it one of honesty and transparency? Or perhaps, something else?
So, when does ‘No problem’ (today’s substitute phrase for ‘yes’) lead to problems?
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by CMG Plastics | Aug 3, 2021
You have meal prep delivery services like HelloFresh, Blue Apron, and Purple Carrot. You have restaurant delivery services like Grubhub, DoorDash, and Uber Eats. You have major grocery store chains and local food markets offering delivery services.
No matter how you slice it, more food than ever is being shipped to residential homes. In fact, some experts believe the pandemic has accelerated adoption of food delivery apps by two to three years.
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by CMG Plastics | Jul 27, 2021
People like to reuse containers.
It’s more convenient to reuse than buy new, and people like to maximize the mileage from their investments. As society continues to become more environmentally conscious, reusing products and packaging is obviously more sustainable than using something once and getting rid of it.
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by CMG Plastics | Jul 21, 2021
Most food-to-go brands and home delivery services have been utilizing the same packaging the same way for about 15 years with little or no innovation.
That’s the way they’ve always done it. Changing the manufacturing process, materials used, and branding strategy for packaging would be disruptive.
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by CMG Plastics | Jul 14, 2021
Food and packaging make up about 45 percent of all materials in U.S. landfills according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
CMG Plastics believes we as a society can do better, which is why we’ve invested heavily in manufacturing rigid plastic food packaging that not only meets high-quality standards but can also be made with post-consumer recycled plastic materials that support a circular economy and dramatically reduce environmental impact.
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by CMG Plastics | Jun 28, 2021
When most people think about sustainable or green building, they tend to focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, indoor air quality, and water conservation.
According to a recent survey, however, about a quarter of builders and remodelers said one of the top three customer requests they receive involves products that conserve materials and resources.
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by CMG Plastics | Jun 22, 2021
Is there anyone who has not battled a traditional paint can?
Made from aluminum or tin-coated steel, these cans could be opened by inserting a flathead screwdriver around the edge of lid like a crowbar to pry it open. When you were done painting, you had to hammer the lid back into place, causing dents in the lid and possibly the can. If you didn’t create an airtight seal, the rim of the paint can could rust or oxidize, and the paint could be damaged.
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by CMG Plastics | Jun 17, 2021
Think about the brand names you see most often when you walk into a neighbor’s garage.
You see a toolbox that’s been beat up over many years but is still going strong. On a shelving unit, you see buckets and containers that were obviously purchased years ago but have been repurposed because the owner knows they’re durable.
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by CMG Plastics | Jun 7, 2021
If you buy screws, nails, deck fasteners, nuts, washers, anchors, or any other type of small hardware from a home improvement store or e-commerce website, what type of packaging would you get?
Depending on the weight and number of items per package, these products are typically packaged in a flimsy cardboard box or a plastic container with cardboard top. Some hardware comes in a plastic box with a top that pops back into place.
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