French dogs taste 'fresh' cuisine

The 800-g bag, which Effems calls the Fresh Pack, debuted in France earlier this year. Effems produces it at Verden, Germany, on a model SVB3601 R machine from Robert Bosch (Bridgman, MI). The bag material, from Bischof & Klein (Langerich, Germany), is a lamination of 2 mils of polyethylene for sealing and two plies of 1/2-mil polyester. The inner ply is metallized; the outer ply is reverse-printed by gravure in seven colors. Easy opening is provided by perforations at the top combined with a peelable seal.

“Reverse printing protects the inks from abrasion, and we know consumers react poorly to a package that looks scuffed,” says Jergen Homala of Effems’ packaging development group. “The metallized material enhances the impression of freshness.

“Since this is the first machine of this type,” continues Homala, “we know we’ll improve the pack’s performance” as the company becomes more experienced. “We believe a reclosable bag is the future for this kind of product.”