Protective Packaging: Is it Right for your Business?

Health and safety are top considerations for many businesses, especially now with mounting concerns for one’s well being. With this rising trend, protective and tamper-evident packaging are becoming more popular for many consumer products in the food, cosmetic, and medical manufacturing industry. Preventing products from harmful contaminates or mishandling brings an extra level of comfort and reassurance; that the contents will be as they were initially intended – untouched until it’s physically in the buyer’s hands. Protective and tamper-evident packaging materials include items such as, seal bands, lidding films, blister packs, flexible pouches, and shrink packaging.  

What is the Best Type of Packaging for Your Business?

There’s no doubt that safety is one of the most important aspects to consider for a business, whether just starting out, or one that has been in the game for a number of years. Protective packaging is often used as a primary or secondary source of protection depending on the product inside. Ensuring that the product is in perfect condition without damage, helps to prevent any concern that the items contained are as pristine as when they first left the packaging facility. This uncertainty can not only call into question the reliability of a product, but of the quality and ethical standards of the business and brand as a whole. Tamper-evident packaging works similarly to protective packaging, but is used more in products containing supplements or pharmaceuticals. They also tend to be more durable and take a little bit more time to open, like when it comes to safely opening resealable items or pouches. Here are some types of preventive and tamper-proof packaging and their uses to help you choose which material might be best for your business:

The Top 5 Tamper Evident Packaging: 

  Shrink Bands Shrink bands (also known as seal bands) are tamper-evident plastic materials that are used in protective packaging. They are little shrink film sleeves that are shrunk around product containers. To make shrink bands more user-friendly, they are occasionally perforated. Shrink bands are designed to fit the precise size of a container’s top. These are commonly seen around the cap of things like pill bottles, essential oil containers, cough medication, and other similar items.   Over Wrap Over wraps are plastic film pieces that have been wrapped around a product and bonded using heat or glue. The cellophane plastic wrapping on a pack of chocolate for example, is an example of over-wrapping used on a variety of items.  Over wrapping lends a sense of cleanliness, protection, and quality to the goods. Over wraps also allow for branding because they may be printed with numerous colors, text, and graphic elements for branding reasons. Over-wrapping is distinct from shrink film in that it is wrapped around the goods. After the overwrap is wrapped over your goods, the plastic flaps are tucked and sealed by a machine. Shrink film, on the other hand, is a type of plastic that shrinks to provide a protective barrier around the packaged object.   Lidding Films For a long time, tamper-evident packaging has relied on lidding films. If you’ve ever eaten yogurt or purchased over-the-counter pain reliever, chances are you removed a lidding film before eating the thing within the container. Lidding films are plastic, metal, or bio-based materials that are utilized on a variety of items when freshness is critical. When you buy a tub of yogurt, for example, once you remove the plastic lid, there is normally a metal lidding sheet below. It is sealed on both sides and is removed by removing a tab. The tab protrudes from the top of the lid. When the tab is peeled back, the cap is usually removed from the container. However, the tab will occasionally fall off, forcing you to use more creative methods to remove the lidding. This may irritate your consumer and lead them to experience wrap-rage. Some lidding films employ MAP (modified atmosphere packaging) to keep your items as fresh as feasible for as long as possible. MAP uses are most commonly seen in lidding films for meat, poultry, fish, and vegetables.   Resealable Stand-Up Pouches Resealable stand-up pouches have been on the rise as of late. Everything from industrial hemp to cereal, sweets to toys, and millions of other goods in between may now be found wrapped in resealable bags.  The rapid growth in popularity of resealable stand-up pouches originates from their ease of branding with vibrant color and design aesthetics, as well as their ability to save money due to fewer shelf space. Stand up pouches, from an environmental standpoint, take up less space in landfills and are one of the most environmentally friendly materials currently available. Furthermore, once opened, they may be resealed. These pouches are now widely used across a variety of product categories, as seen by a stroll through your local supermarket. There are also child-resistant resealable pouches used in pharmaceutical applications and medicinal marijuana shops. In this regard, resealable pouches offer a wide range of possible uses for a wide range of products across a wide range of markets.   Induction Seals  Induction seals are packaging supplies constructed from thermo-plastic polymers heated by induction. Induction seals are typically seen on the interior of pill bottles. In general, it will be a multi-material lid (often aluminum, wax, paper pulp, and plastic) with a piece of plastic projecting from the top that is supposed to be grabbed and pulled to release the seal from the bottle. These seals are most typically seen on pharmaceutical, food, and liquid containers, as well as commodities with a lengthy shelf life. Induction seals function as a tamper-evident substrate that, if ripped, notifies the customer to the possibility of tampering or harm to the product before consumption. Induction seals help to protect your product from leaking, keep it fresh, and notify consumers of potential problems. Whether your business is looking for easy to see protective packaging, or simple tear away tape or plastic, finding the right packaging for your brand can set you apart from the pack, and take your product to the next level. It’s all about finding the right niche for your market and getting the product out there, so consumers can see how far you’re willing to go for their safety and well-being. Protective packaging may seem like a minute packaging detail at first, but it makes a big difference in the decision-making process for consumers as well as business manufactures when it comes to the quality and integrity of their products and their packaging.