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Wrapping up deli success: packaging plays a critical role in the success of retail deli meat products.

Article Excerpt
Retail deli-meat packaging continues to grow more important. Consumers, who are already used to innovative designs in other product sectors, are now looking for deli packages that keep foods flesh longer--and are easier to open and close. Processors, meanwhile, are positioning packaging as way to further distinguish themselves from competitors.

In order to gauge the state of retail deli packaging, Meat Retailer interviewed six industry experts:

* Allen Hankins, brand manger for Cincinnati-based John Morrell & Co.'s Kretschmar line of deli products

* Robert E. Hogan, director of sales and marketing for Zip-Pak, a Manteno, IL-based provider of resealable packaging products

* Bob Koch, director of sales in the food division for Kansas City, MO-based Multivac Inc., packaging equipment manufacturer

* Larry Rebodos, marketing manager for packaging provider Pactiv Corp.'s Lake Forest, IL-based Hefty Slide-Rite division

* Alan Warren, director of meat and seafood for Richmond, VA-based Ukrop's Super Markets Inc., a chain of 28 grocery stores located in central Virginia

* Tom Winter, product manager for Appleton, WI-based Presto Products Co.'s Fresh-Lock brand of zippers.

Here's what they had to say on a number of topics:

MR: How has retail deli-meat packaging changed in recent years?

Hogan: There are more convenience features. Packages are easier to open. But the most significant development is the addition of the slider zipper, which has occurred within the last few months. A conventional...

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