On-the-go Packaging

Meal Time Is A Go

More Snacking and Meal Options Entice Consumers to Take Their Food on The Road.

By: Elisabeth Cuneo

Take a look around you next time you’re driving your car, walking down the street or even at work. What you’ll likely see are people all around you eating on the go. Eating at their desks, in their cars and while walking down the street. You can blame our busier lifestyles, the power of multi-tasking, and the influx of new snacks and meals that make eating on the go just so easy to do.

Snacking Is King

Today we all seem to snack more, whether it’s breakfast on the go, snacking between meals, or as meal replacements. While it is common at home, most of our snacking is done on the go. And this trend isn’t just affecting adults; kids, toddlers and babies are snacking too. Luckily, consumer goods companies are in tune to this trend and are offering consumers more (and healthier) options for eating on the go.

According to Mintel (mintel.com), millennials are more likely than any other generation to snack four times a day or, in many cases, more than that. But overall, 94% of Americans are snacking at least once per day. As a result, the CPG industry is registering strong growth, primarily due to the increase in sales for snacking brands.

Snacking on the go requires a different sort of package to allow consumers to take the snack with them. For a variety of snacks like nuts, jerky, granola, and even tuna fish, pouches are a great choice to deliver healthy snacks to consumers in easy to use packages. Take the Sahale Snacks line as an example. The line delivers a variety of fruit and nut combinations from sweet to savory and offers them in single-serve stick pouches, or resealable stand-up pouches meant to be shared.

The baby food industry has boomed over recent years due to the widely popular pouch that allows parents to pack baby food without the worry of a spill, or the need to pack a spoon. The pouches are also resealable, making them easy to save for later.

Meals on The Go

It isn’t just snacks that have us eating on the go; consumers are eating more meals on the go too. What makes this so possible is the influx of meal kits (or bento box-style kits) designed to make the food easy to pack and eat just about anywhere. Ready Pac has several lines that offer consumers an easy way to purchase and consume a gourmet salad, anywhere. The company’s Bistro Bowl line offers a variety of options and includes everything you need for the salad in one container, including the fork! Starbucks offers its customers several lunch options for people to eat there or take with them to work, the park or class. The bento-style boxes offer a full meal including a main dish and multiple sides and hits various food groups for a healthy lunch on the go.

I am sure you’ve seen the new and fun snack packs that feature cheese, nuts, fruit and sometimes chocolate. These single-serve rigid containers offer a variety of snacks in small portions, all packaged together, yet separately in the container. Some lines of these packs also include meat for a more substantial lunch option. They are easy to pack, open and eat, all in one sitting with limited waste.

Whether its snacking or eating a full meal, one thing is certain: CPGs have taken the hassle and guesswork out of what to pack. The options are endless for grabbing snacks and meals to eat on the run, from cheese snacks to single-serve charcuterie options, nuts, cereal, oatmeal and applesauce, there are so many options for people of all ages to eat just about anywhere.

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