Why do little nuts need such thick bags?

October 14, 2007 5:16 PM

What are the criteria used to decide the toughness of different snack packaging materials? Why do peanuts require much thicker packaging that potato crisps? Do "gourmet" crisps only have thicker packaging to indicate greater value? Who makes the decisions, and how?
posted by howfar to grab bag (9 comments total)

I would suspect that it's a mixture of testing and marketing. The ultimate decision would be made by management, based on strong recommendations from the product development team and the marketing team, who would work together to develop a proposal.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 5:29 PM on October 14, 2007

It also depends on who the factories get their goods from. Whatever is cheapest and meets their needs, IE tear strength and marketing things.

From working in a few larger factories, we switched around different packaging products as we tried to cut costs. Also, different plants used different products as well, depending on how cheap they could get things fairly locally.
posted by peripatew at 5:51 PM on October 14, 2007

If you are really want to know, see if there are any food service plants near by and try to get a tour.
posted by peripatew at 5:51 PM on October 14, 2007

There are undoubtedly different requirements depending on the type of food to be protected, but I know marketing plays a significant role in determining product packaging. Out of sheer curiosity I once had a subscription to Package Printing Magazine. What I gleaned from that trade publication was that in package printing, the name of the game is product differentiation. Product marketers want to be the first to have a package that is shiny, clear, curved, embossed, metallic, etc.

The article I found most interesting was about the new Heinz ketchup bottle that was designed to fit perfectly in your refrigerator door, a prime spot in your fridge because it is easily accessible and highly visible.

Subscriptions are free, but it is targeted mostly at people who desire things like ultraviolet dye curing, high velocity anti-static systems and innovative die-cut techniques.
posted by reeddavid at 6:02 PM on October 14, 2007

Strange, I once had a subscription to the same magazine, I worked for a little while in a couple art departments for packaging suppliers...

But everyone above is pretty much spot on. Take a look at any grocery, the store brand and budget chips are usually in the clear bags, with less involved printing and fewer colors. The more the price goes up, the better the bags become. Opaque, foil lined, full color printing, photo-reproduction... Part of this is that nicer bags protect more from light or stand up straighter on a shelf, but part is that the higher retail price supports a higher packaging cost, and consumers expect things that cost more to have nicer packaging.

Think about pharmaceuticals. Aspirin/acetaminophen/etc. comes in store brands and name brands, and are virtually indistinguishable from each other. Often store brands are sold just in the bottle, with a printed label, while name brands get a bottle with printed label inside a printed box. Market research over the years showed that if both products were presented in just labeled bottles, the name brand sold slightly better than the store brand, but with the overwrap carton, it sold even better. While selling without the box would be cheaper to produce, it actually allows the company to charge a higher price, because people will buy more of it.

Consumer psychology is a twisted little science...
posted by pupdog at 6:46 PM on October 14, 2007 [1 favorite]

And as for peanuts, single serving bags are thick because the stand up in your hand and make pouring the nuts out into your palm or mouth easy on the go. Softer/thinner bags wouldn't be as appealing. For unshelled peanuts, the heavier bags ship better, thinner bags could be punctured by broken shell fragments, or pop if products shift around.
posted by pupdog at 6:51 PM on October 14, 2007

Some products (like peanuts) may still be warm or hot when packaged. Some products require greater protection from the elements and are often (as in the case of peanuts) vacuum sealed for freshness.

Shelled peanuts, you may note, are not in heavy, vaccum sealed packages because they are neither hot nor in need of such freshness protection safe in their little homes.
posted by Pollomacho at 6:01 AM on October 15, 2007

When it comes to potato chips, the bags are inflated. That's to protect the chips so they don't get crushed.

They're inflated with nitrogen, because oxygen makes the oil degrade and changes the flavor. (That's why the chips are only good for a few weeks after the bag is open, and begin to taste increasingly stale.)

So the bags themselves have to be strong enough to hold the inflation without popping, and they have to prevent oxygen from filtering in.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 11:33 AM on October 15, 2007

Pure speculation here, but could it have something to do with nut allergies? I figure, if there are enough people allergic to nuts to get them all but banned on airplanes, wouldn't you want to treat nuts almost like a potentially toxic substance (i.e. have thicker bags so you don't run the risk of nut bits/powder spilling out if it rips)?
posted by edjusted at 2:46 PM on October 15, 2007