LPF creates new stand up pouches for convenience food manufacturer

LPF Flexible Packaging, a Clondalkin Group company, is helping Germany’s Müller’s Mühle meet increased demand for its range of convenience foods with retortable, barrier stand up pouches.  The packaging is retorted up to 121 degrees and includes a 12-month barrier from water vapour and oxygen.
 
LPF supplies Müller’s Mühle Gourmet range of Rice, Balsamic Lentils and White Beans, with a new type of packaging that uses a silicon-oxide-coated polyester as a barrier layer instead of aluminium, which allows for microwave heating.  The packaging is also designed to withstand the retorting process and offers good barrier properties for longer shelf life.  LPF’s technical team also developed cool grips on the pouches for safe, easy handling after microwave usage.
 
Charles van Reij, sales and marketing director of Clondalkin Group’s Laminated & Coated Products (LCP) business unit, said: ‘These retortable stand-up pouches are the latest addition to the high-performance Gourmet product range of LPF, offering benefits to consumers as well as producers – extended shelf life, great display characteristics, gravure-printed up to nine colors, retortable, microwaveable, easy-to­-open, lightweight, and easy to transport.’
 
The thin profile of the pouch and high ratio of surface area to volume means it is more time and energy efficient to retort a product in stand-up pouches than in glass or tin cans, resulting in better taste and higher nutritional value.
 
Birgit Vosen, marketing director at Müller’s Mühle, said: ‘Demand for convenience food is increasing from consumers and hobby cooks, who also favor high quality products.  These ready meals are great as a side dish alongside seafood or meat and can be prepared in the microwave in only two minutes.  LPF came up with a modern packaging solution that is microwaveable and easy for consumers to use.’