A new barrier-film package structure for Chewy Chips from Kraft Foods

Kraft Foods has swept into stores with a barrier-film package structure for Nabisco Chewy Chips Ahoy! Chocolate Chip cookies that it claims boosts product freshness and addresses a number of consumer concerns.

A collaboration between Kraft, Sonoco Products Co. and Spear, Inc., the new packaging, dubbed Snack 'n Seal, is a patented, resealable structure that's easy to open and helps prevent tearing. Unveiled nationally in June 2005, the package incorporates a thermoformed tray inserted into a horizontal, flowrapped film, the latter of which incorporates a reclosable top panel with a precision die-cut opening to which a pressure-sensitive label is applied. The label can be grasped by a tab having an adhesive-backed, "clear" film printed with "Lift Here" and peeled back to reveal the opening. The adhesive strip on the tab is 1 in. at its widest point.

Consumers can then access the cookies and reclose the package without having to open the end seals. The package contains a widely used, high-barrier film structure with technology borrowed from the baby and homecare wipes market. Kraft's Laurie Guzzinati, senior manager of corporate and government affairs, says that the Snack 'n Seal design addresses feedback from consumers about their frustrations with opening and closing overwrapped trays and tearing the packaging film. The tears can lead to transferring the cookies to another container for storage. "With Snack 'n Seal, this is eliminated, resulting in a reduction in material waste," Guzzinati notes.