The Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB) has announced its approval of Nestlé USA’s advertising pledge as a participant in the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative - which was created to encourage companies to restrict advertising to children. The Children’s Food & Beverage Advertising Initiative was created in 2006 by BBB, with 10 major food and beverage companies, which accounted for more than two-thirds of children’s food and beverage television advertising... ...Read more »

A 3-year European Union project is set to provide state-of-the-art science on nutrition labels and consumer behaviour as well as best practice guidelines for future research, industry and policy-makers. The first EU-funded research programme on nutrition labelling, FLABEL (Food Labelling to Advance Better Education for Life), was officially launched this week. The issue In response to the prevalence of diet-related diseases, governments and food companies increasingly promote nutrition information... ...Read more »

The Kellogg Company is attempting to utilise consumer insights collected from virtual shopping to enhance the packaging of its breakfast cereals. Consumers are now more demanding than ever, private label is placing greater pressure on ‘national brands’ and the economic crisis is softening demand and reducing impulse purchases. As a result, virtual shopping has become an increasingly popular tool for brand marketers in the US, in particular, as the ability, and tools used, to understand... ...Read more »

The Australian Food and Grocery Council, Australia’s peak food and grocery manufacturing representative body, has welcomed recognition from the nation’s Environment Ministers that the National Packaging Covenant has played a significant role in increasing consumer packaging recycling rates by 16 per cent over the past three years. AFGC Chief Executive Kate Carnell said it was pleasing to see last week’s meeting of the Environment Protection and Heritage Council acknowledge the success... ...Read more »

Zip-Pak, a global leader in building brands through resealable packaging, has launched new technology which will enable greater differentiation amongst manufacturers. The ZIP-PAK TopZip Jr. retrofit system, launched at PACK EXPO International 2008, is economical, upgradeable and has a smaller footprint than traditional stand-alone zipper applicators. These benefits allow companies in emerging Asian markets to provide consumers with brand-differentiating resealable packaging for powdered milk, tea,... ...Read more »

A pan-European study by the European Food Information Council (EUFIC), presents interesting information for the food industry - with food labels found to be widely understood and recognised. “While there are several nutrition labelling schemes across Europe, our findings show that people recognise them and generally know how to use them to make informed nutrition choices,” commented Professor Klaus Grunert of the University of Aarhus, Denmark, who conducted the study for EUFIC. “Nutrition... ...Read more »

McDonald’s, the world’s largest fast-food restaurant franchise, is to banish its current packaging in a bid to improve consumer ties to the brand, with an increased focus to be placed on the product instead of the iconic ‘I’m lovin’ it’ slogan. Speaking to reporters in America overnight, the Global Chief Marketing Officer for McDonald’s, Mary Dillon, noted that the change was the “biggest packaging initiative in the history of the brand”. Each... ...Read more »

With the world on the brink of a global downturn and a further intensification of competition likely between products and brands, there is more and more pressure on beverage manufacturers to differentiate their brands through radically different and innovative packaging materials and design. As market conditions have deteriorated over the last 18 months, pressure on margins, coupled with highly volatile energy and materials costs and increasing environmental pressures, have shifted the focus of packaging... ...Read more »

This week, Coon, the iconic Australian Cheddar cheese block, launched new resealable packaging, representing a market first for the popular everyday cheese block segment. The innovation is designed to provide consumers with the functional benefits of convenience and more effective storage. The unique double rail reseal zip helps to stop the cheese from drying out and in doing so, offers consumers a superior storage solution compared to what is currently available now for the cheese block, according... ...Read more »

Mars, Incorporated reported on Friday that they are to become the first confectionery company to voluntarily implement Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) nutrition labeling on all of its chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery and other food products. “All packages will be redesigned to feature new graphics on the front and back of packages, which contain consumer-friendly, clear and easy to understand nutrition information that will help consumers make informed choices at the point of purchase.... ...Read more »