Product packaging plays a huge role in successful and sustainable food industry operations, pharma manufacturing and numerous other sectors. However, it can be tough for manufacturers to choose the right packaging materials according to their business needs, even with the huge variety of choices available these days.

Cost is a primary concern for most purchasing managers, but the packaging material you choose should also be well-suited for protecting products during transportation, storage and delivery. Visual appeal and branding are important considerations as well, especially in sectors with very high competition.

Choosing the best packaging for your new product can have a huge role in how successful it is when it hits store shelves. This, of course, directly affects how your company is able to grow and compete in the long-run, and applies no matter whether you are in the natural food, pharmaceutical, or nutraceutical industries.

Even with its great importance, it can be tough for any manufacturer to choose the right packaging for your business needs — even with the plethora of options now available.

Cost may be your primary concern as you start your search process, but it’s vital that you weigh the other important factors.  You will need to chose packaging that has a strong visual appeal and fits well with your marketing and branding. Of course, it’s also important that your packaging protects your products during transport, storage and delivery throughout the supply chain.  That way, the final product your customer picks off the store shelf looks just like it did when it came off your production line.

It's almost that time of year again where the temperatures drop! Throughout the US, food production facilities and shipping trucks will be colder in the coming months. 

In the wintertime, how you handle your olive oil may have to be very different.  Picture for a moment: it's February, your production is about to start and you pull out your tote of olive oil that arrived last week.  You attach the dispensing pump and nothing happens -- no oil flows, and you can't get anything to come out.  You look inside and see your oil is completely solid, like cold butter. Now what?!

This is an all-too-real situation that happens to lots food manufacturers using bulk olive oil. Any manufacturer that has a cool warehouse in the winter or is located in the northern half of the US can expect to have this happen at some point!  The best thing you can do?  Prepare and know your options.

Product packaging will play a huge role in the success in sustainable food industry operations. However, it can be extremely tough for manufacturers to choose the right packaging materials according to their business needs, even with huge variety of choices that are offered these days. 

Cost is the primary concern for most purchasing managers, but the packaging material you choose should also be well-suited for protecting products during their transportation, storage and delivery. Visual appeal and branding are also important to consider as well, especially in sectors with extremely high competition. 

Are you looking for an easy way to fill small bottles or pour oil from a 35 Lb. Container?  Most small businesses and at-home users find that ordering 35 Lb. Containers are the cheapest and easiest way to "go bulk" and it's a size that works well for them.  But, many people are still looking for a simpler system to dispense the oil into smaller, easier-to-handle packaging for kitchen use.

What type of packaging is best for your manufacturing facility?

Let's take a look at some of the two most popular bulk packaging options to discuss the pros and cons of each.

Drums and totes are the two most commonly used bulk packaging sizes.  Each has it's own advantages and disadvantages.  One may also be easier to use, depending on the set-up at your facility.  

Centra Foods receives questions from countless food manufacturers each year, asking for the best ways to save money on olive oil. Many components can affect the total price of your olive oil, including grade types, packaging, freight, the distance of the FOB point, and experience of the supplier.

If you missed part one of this series, click here.  This week, we will be reviewing the next step to saving: choosing the best (and cheapest) packaging for your production facility.

Do you remember going to the grocery store when you were little with your parents? Did you ever want something in a small package to snack on but find that your mom or dad would grab the big box? Well if you ever experienced this you probably also experienced them showing you the price per ounce for both and comparing to teach you the difference and help pick the best option for the price.

I'm sure many of us can say we have memories like this. And adults, whether grocery shopping or working for our company, if we want a lower priced item for the same exact ingredient, the best way to do this is to purchase a larger packaging size.

If you are a small business looking to get cheaper prices on your olive oil, it’s smart to begin purchasing bulk quantities. You can save a lot of money by switching to larger packaging, getting your oil packed onto a pallet and ordering from a bulk supplier.

What most suppliers don't always tell you is that the transition from wholesale orders (buying one or two cases at a time) to bulk orders (buying a full pallet) brings its own intrinsic issues. You have to consider closely if the switch you’re looking to make, while helping you save money, may be too tough to handle in other ways.

You will probably have some good questions when you’re looking at buying 55 gallon drums of oil for the first time. The first, most logical one: how do I get the oil out?

This is is a very good question. Here is the answer and to be quite honest, it is pretty simple.

When looking to purchase bulk oil — olive oil, or any other oils for that matter — it is important to understand that each different supplier is going to have a minimum order. Distributors, for example may have a smaller minimum order like a few cases or a $200 minimum. Large manufacturers, on the other hand, will have a larger minimum order.

This “minimum order” information is good to know as you are doing your supplier analysis; it will tell you how much capitol you’ll be required to invest in inventory at one time and help you weigh out if it’s too much inventory for you to hold and use over time.

There are lots of different ways you can dispense oil from bulk packaging. Most options will require some sort of dispensing system. As you are comparing bulk packaging options, it’s always helpful to understand how you well get your oil out once it is in your facility.

In this article, you will find out how to dispense from the three most common bulk oil packaging options (35 Lb. Containers, Drums and Totes) whether you are pumping into smaller bottles or if the oil is being used as a batch in your food manufacturing.

These different options are all machine-free, low-cost, easy to use, and take up practically no facility space.

Are you wondering if you can use a drum pump in both steel and plastic drums? Well, the answer is yes! And even better, you can use the same pump in both types of drums.

Let me break down for you how easy it is to use.

Dispensing from a 275 Gallon Tote can be daunting if you’ve never done it before. With the right dispensing attachments, it’s really quite easy!

Many companies opt to buy bulk oil totes and need these dispensers. Whether you’re filling smaller bottles from totes to save money, or if you are using these bulk totes in your manufacturing production, we can provide an easy way for you to dispense out of them.

You may find yourself looking for a simple system to dispense out of these larger cases. In fact, most small businesses and at-home users find that ordering 35 Lb. Containers (4.6 Gallon Jugs) is what’s cheapest and what works best for them.

If you find yourself looking for an easy dispensing solution (but not looking for a big piece of machinery or a super-complicated set up), we have the perfect solution for you!