Every meat packaging format has its place, at least for today. By tomorrow the market landscape may have shifted once again, reordering the field. This isn’t news; it’s the nature of a responsive and vibrant retail marketplace. 

New packaging in the deli and lunchmeat category often is being driven by consumers’ lifestyle needs. For example, portable protein packs were created because consumers want to be fit and eat less while on the go. 

Sell by. Use by. Best by. No matter how it’s defined, shelf life is a key value driver for highly perishable meat and poultry products. 

A host of retailers and processors see innovation as the prevailing driver of packaging format changes in the future, says one veteran industry source.

When a processor makes a packaging wish list, chub packaging ticks most of the boxes. Sustainable? Yes. Case-ready? Yes. Vibrant, full-color graphics? Yes. 

Food waste affects every American consumer. The United States wastes more than 84 million tons of edible food a year, and meat contributes 22 percent of the total food loss (Dou et al., 2016). 

A recent survey conducted by Accenture found that 83 percent of respondents believe it’s important or extremely important for companies to design products that are meant to be reused or recycled.