Evaluation of red meat in vacuum skin packed on board retail ready format

Summary

VSP on plastic tray format has been present for some time in the Australian market, however fresh red meat products have yet to be offered in VSP on paper board in Australia.

This project evaluated vacuum skin pack (VSP) on paper board, a new case ready packaging format for red meat. Expectations were that Slimfresh packs will deliver increased shelf life of red meat portions to 30+ days compared to 10 days with current modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) enabling wider distribution and that the materials can deliver a 20-35% reduction in waste film compared to traditional thermoforming packs.

All aspects of the new product were developed enabling the commercial launch of the new format into select Coles stores for a period of just over four months to ascertain feedback from consumers. During this period observations and valuable insights were gained into the benefits and challenges related to production, quality, shelf life, impacts to supply chain, customer feedback, and sales uplift.

The average weekly sum of sales value in the stores selling the new pack had a 50% increase post launch while over the same period the control group had a 15% increase. The insights and data gathered over the course of the project were used to develop a feasibility and cost benefit analysis.

Objectives

The specific project objectives were to:

• commission and test new Mondini Platformer (first in Australia) to produce “Slimfresh” packs
• validate Food safety using the new board format in typical fresh meat applications and supply chain
• discover and develop value proposition for Slimfresh including:
  • domestic Coles supermarkets and Coles Express stores
  • Asian export markets
• take advantage of new pack format to utilise further branding, recipes, and consumer information about the cut of meat to support consumer awareness for “locked in freshness, aged in the pack”.

Key findings

The average weekly sum of sales value in the stores selling the new pack had a 50% increase post launch while over the same period the control group had a 15% increase.

There are many factors affecting sales in different regions, part of the 35% sales uplift difference can be attributed to the introduction of the new pack format. The assumption is that a long term, sustained sales uplift in the 15% to 20% range can be expected. 

One of the key learnings from the customer feedback study is the desire for sustainable packaging and reduced plastic. The influence the sustainability aspect of the offering has on sales is expected to continue growing in the years to come as consumers become increasingly aware and sensitive to the potential impacts their purchasing habits can have on the environment.

The analysis makes the conservative assumption that the new production equipment would operate at the same rate, efficiency, and labour requirements as the current units. Considering advancements in packaging technology, there may in fact be additional benefits from new equipment designs providing increased throughput, higher efficiencies, or automation of certain tasks allowing reduced labour requirements. Packaging material costs are also considered to remain at the same level.

Benefits to industry

The introduction of red meat in on board VSP format will benefit the Australian red meat industry by providing consumers with sustainable packaging, longer product shelf life, improved quality, and enhanced presentation of red meat products. This corresponds to consumer demand outlined by feedback surveys and observed buying habits.

Future research

The format has proven to be a success, however the investment in capital and infrastructure requires a detailed review of volume, speeds, and range of products to be transitioned. RROA are reviewing all capital investment options to ensure the selected technology has sufficient flexibility to enable new variations and innovation into the future.