Packaging variety is not an issue … if you have the right solution

The pet food industry has undergone a renaissance, offering an incredible level of variety and product differentiation. Image courtesy of Cama North America

An exclusive Packaging Technology Today interview with Billy Goodman, Country Director at Cama North America.

Fast forward to the present day and it is fair to say that the pet food industry has undergone a renaissance. Owners are now spoiled for choice as they face walls of exotic flavors, made from premium healthy ingredients, prepared (it appears) by Michelin-starred chefs, packaged in innovative containers and backed by multi-million-dollar advertising campaigns.

This incredible level of variety and product differentiation may be good for pet owners (and of course their pets), but it creates a logistical nightmare for the producers’ manufacturing and packaging operations. Not only do they have to cater to a wider choice of flavors and packaging formats, but they also have to create mixed packaging arrays that deliver the all-important dietary variety.

According to Billy Goodman with Cama North America, packaging variety is not an issue, if you have the right solution. Billy and his colleagues have been supporting the pet industry for 15 years, empowering pet food companies – both large and small – to realize greater efficiencies through the automation of packaging operations. In February, we had the opportunity to interview Billy as part of our thought leadership interview series, and here’s what he had to say:

Many pet food suppliers are looking to mix flavors and then package them in shelf-ready cartons – with as many as six flavors in each carton. Image courtesy of Cama North America

How does the growing array of flavors and packaging formats impact pet food manufacturers?

It’s a pain point. Many people no longer want to feed their cats or dogs the same flavor every day, so there has been an incredible pull from the market for greater variation. This is good for the animals too, as it delivers greater dietary variety. As a result of this, many of the premium pet food suppliers are looking to mix flavors and then package them in shelf-ready cartons – with as many as six flavors in each carton. If this is undertaken manually, it is an incredibly labour-intensive task.

There has been a major shift away from the typical 400g tin. The humanization of pet food has also resulted in more premium-look-and-feel packaging – on a par with human food packaging – with single-portion servings of fresher food gaining significant headway in this crowded market. Compounding these widely varying demands is a growing decline in plastic acceptance, which is seeing a move back to metal and recyclable packaging, albeit in varying sizes. Manufacturers have certainly got interesting times ahead and, as a result, so do the packaging technology companies.

How are pet food variety packs prepared and assembled?

In a typical wet pet food operation, the meat is prepared, sterilized and packaged before being quarantined for up to a week to catch any quality issues before going to market. After the quarantine period, all the flavors are collected, mixed offline and then packed into secondary cartons and boxes. This secondary packaging is either fully automated, semi-automated or, in many cases, completely manual.

Premium pet food packaging is now on a par with human food packaging, and single-portion servings of fresher food is gaining significant headway. Image courtesy of Cama North America

Why are flexible packaging solutions important in this industry?

For one plant we support, the first step towards their wider automation was a semi-manual process for creating and closing the cartons, but this is just one example of the ways that companies can move towards automatic packaging processes. Our technology allows companies to match their aspirations and take gradual steps; it totally depends on the customer and how they want to achieve their automation levels.

Cama is in the perfect position to help pet food companies – both large and small – to realize greater efficiencies through the automation of packaging operations. We’ve been supporting this industry for over 15 years now. We have helped many companies across the globe absorb the impact of changing market dynamics.

We’ve seen the natural progression of packaging, starting with cans, onto trays, into pouches and now back to cans again. We’ve also addressed the multi-flavor issue thanks to tightly integrated and highly flexible automation infrastructures and in-house-development of robotic pick-and-place systems. Indeed, this industry is not unlike the coffee industry, in which we are a market leader, with its huge variety of packaging concepts.

Pet food companies – both large and small – are realizing greater efficiencies through the automation of packaging operations. Image courtesy of Cama North America

How do you help customers find the right solution for their unique needs?

We are proud to be part of a pet food network called the Petfood Competence Network. Twelve international companies, with decades of combined experience, give businesses simple and streamlined access to the very latest industry has to offer, in terms of raw materials, formulation, processing, filling, transporting, sterilizing, loading, packaging and palletizing. All of which can be tailored, developed, scaled and installed to match businesses precise needs – through a single point of contact.

Each company in the network brings its own domain expertise and extensive industry R&D experiences, and merges them into a complete, tightly integrated production solution, which can be trialed, scaled and fully connected to match manufacturers’ precise requirements, to deliver quality processes, products and packaging every single time. Many of these companies already work together across the globe, not just in pet food, but also in other equally demanding industries. Mutual understanding, trust, technological integration and Industry 4.0 data architectures are already in place, proven in action and ready for you to leverage.

Want to Learn More?

Visit Billy Goodman and his Cama colleagues at PACK EXPO Southeast, booth 1413, March 10-12 in Atlanta. Register for free with code 53R77 at https://www.packexposoutheast.com. Find  more information at www.camagroup.us and www.petfoodcompetencenet.com