Premium, all-natural, sliced Italian cheese from BelGioioso Cheese, Inc., of Denmark, WI, is now available in a new, easy-open package constructed of Curwood’s (www.curwood.com) Curpolene® 7202 film with IntegraScore® opening. BelGioioso recently switched from a three-layer lamination film with a tear-strip opening to the two-layer Curpolene package due to performance considerations. With the previous package, the tear strip was not consistent and at times tore in half before tearing down the package.
“We are constantly seeking to improve the quality of our packaging without compromising the quality of our cheeses,” explains Errico Auricchio, president and founder of BelGioioso.
The film now used for the line of sliced cheeses—including cheddar, provolone, and asiago varieties, among others—is a two-layer lamination with a proprietary, high-barrier coex sealant. According to Curwood, the film offers superior abuse resistance, machinability, barrier, and aesthetics. The film is 2.6 mils thick, compared with the previous package’s 3-mil thickness, resulting in a 13% reduction in material volume for BelGioioso.
Straight-line tear opening
The IntegraScore opening technology, added to the film during conversion by Curwood, allows consumers to completely remove a tamper-evident hood that protects a press-to-close zipper. IntegraScore utilizes a score in the outer, nonbarrier layer of film, so the package tears reliably in a straight line, Curwood says.
The inclusion of the IntegraScore feature versus the tear strip has also saved BelGioioso setup time and waste, and has increased machine speeds. In particular, the costs of the tear-strip tape, the setup required to align the tape on the package, and the waste involved with this process are eliminated, as is the heat required to seal the tape to the package. Removing these factors has allowed the equipment to run at greater speeds.
The line of sliced cheese packages is five-color flexo-printed by Curwood with BelGioioso’s brand identity and nutritional information. The press-to-close zipper allows consumers to store the cheese in its original package, keeping the brand name in front of the consumer until the product is completely consumed.
–Anne Marie Mohan
“We are constantly seeking to improve the quality of our packaging without compromising the quality of our cheeses,” explains Errico Auricchio, president and founder of BelGioioso.
The film now used for the line of sliced cheeses—including cheddar, provolone, and asiago varieties, among others—is a two-layer lamination with a proprietary, high-barrier coex sealant. According to Curwood, the film offers superior abuse resistance, machinability, barrier, and aesthetics. The film is 2.6 mils thick, compared with the previous package’s 3-mil thickness, resulting in a 13% reduction in material volume for BelGioioso.
Straight-line tear opening
The IntegraScore opening technology, added to the film during conversion by Curwood, allows consumers to completely remove a tamper-evident hood that protects a press-to-close zipper. IntegraScore utilizes a score in the outer, nonbarrier layer of film, so the package tears reliably in a straight line, Curwood says.
The inclusion of the IntegraScore feature versus the tear strip has also saved BelGioioso setup time and waste, and has increased machine speeds. In particular, the costs of the tear-strip tape, the setup required to align the tape on the package, and the waste involved with this process are eliminated, as is the heat required to seal the tape to the package. Removing these factors has allowed the equipment to run at greater speeds.
The line of sliced cheese packages is five-color flexo-printed by Curwood with BelGioioso’s brand identity and nutritional information. The press-to-close zipper allows consumers to store the cheese in its original package, keeping the brand name in front of the consumer until the product is completely consumed.
–Anne Marie Mohan
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