Originally launched in 1989, the Healthy Choice brand offered heart healthy, low-fat, low-salt frozen offerings for the health and fitness consumer.
Not only did Healthy Choice recently revamp or βmodernizeβ their recipes last year to make them more relevant for todayβs consumersβ changing palates, they replaced the plastic bowl with a proprietary fiber bowl made from plant-based material that is completely compostable and recyclable.
ConAgra now positions the Powerbowl brand as food with a purposeβgood for you and the planet.
More than 640 tons of plastic were eliminated in 2018, all without a single modification to ConAgraβs packaging lines. The fiber bowl is a drop-in replacement for the plastic bowl. Nothing could be changed.
βWe had been looking for a plastic alternative in the frozen segment for years,β says David France, Packaging Research Fellow, ConAgra Brands, βbut we never saw anything close to the performance we needed.β
Franceβs remarks came during a presentation at the Smithers-Pira event, βSustainability in Packaging U.S. 2019,β held in Chicago March 4-6.
France presented alongside Jeff Bassett, VP Marketing for Footprint, maker of the fiber bowls. The journey was not easy, but ConAgra saw the writing on the wall with recent trends in Europe where consumers refuse to microwave, or even eat from, a plastic bowl.
The timing was right, but the βskunk worksβ team would try and fail for three years. βWe took some really big steps backwards,β joked Bassett.
βWe brought some things to the manufacturing floor that failed miserably,β said France.
Others might have given up, not willing to take the risk. But the stars were in alignment as ConAgra welcomed a new CEO and some other key top management changes and the new management team shared the vision of what the brand needed to be.
Consumers had become hyper-aware of what single-use plastic is doing to the planet at the same time the new bowl launched to a lot of fanfare. Packaging clearly calls out the plant-based bowl. The small team of five or six from both ConAgra and Footprint was nimble and applied persistent problem solving to every roadblock.
Most importantly, the team was not hampered by lack of organizational risk tolerance. βYou canβt wait for perfect,β says France, βyou have to be prepared for good enough.β
The fiber bowl falls short on one performance characteristicβshelf life. But the supply chain was vetted and it was determined this change would be acceptable. Sales are $100 million in the first year, and ConAgra has hit with the younger target demographic, so the efforts have paid off.
βThe fiber bowl was more expensive, but worth it,β said France. βWe can see a day when fiber will be cheaper than plastic,β added Bassett.
Bassett commented, βDavid France likes to say the bowl brings the customer in for the first purchase, but the new flavors bring them back.
βThe fiber bowl is a great disruptor in the frozen space,β said Bassett.
More importantly, ConAgra is a big company, and Healthy Choice a huge brand. The success of this project energized the rest of the organization and sustainability efforts have mushroomed.
βYou will be seeing a lot more from us, meaningful change, in the future,β said France.
Learn more about packaging solutions at the co-located PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO, September 23-25, 2019 in Las Vegas, NV.