Aluminium packaging has emerged as the best option for maintaining product quality while adding a contemporary touch to stores for the pet food market. Among the categories that comprise this rapidly expanding market, pet food stands out as the star, accounting for 78 per cent of total sales in 2023. According to Solange Akiama, senior manager of Commercial Excellence and Marketing at Novelis, aluminium's adaptability enables packaging for this category to take on several shapes, each with its qualities and advantages.
"Aluminum cans are popular for wet foods like dips and chunks in sauce, keeping produce fresh and safe. Aluminium sachets are often used for individual servings, allowing proper dosing at each meal. Flexible packaging is used for dry foods, offering protection against oxygen and moisture and extending the shelf life of the food. Aluminum trays can be used for moist or semi-humid food, ensuring more effective sealing and facilitating storage," said Solange Akiama.
As per Assunta Napolitano Camilo, director of the Packaging Institute, pet owners are becoming more conscious of the quality and safety of the food they give their dogs. As a result, there is a greater need for packaging that ensures freshness, nutritional integrity, and product safety. As a result, producers are investing in innovative packaging technologies such as oxygen, moisture, and light barrier films to increase food shelf life while maintaining quality.
Aluminium packaging is critical for ensuring pet food safety by acting as a barrier against external influences such as light, humidity, oxygen, and microbes. This avoids product degradation and changes in sensory properties, including flavour, fragrance, and colour, guaranteeing food quality and freshness. According to Solange Akiama, these packaging are inside covered with a particular varnish for interaction with food, assuring them protection against direct contact with aluminium.
The pet food business has implemented severe quality control and assurance systems to guarantee that its goods reach customers in pristine condition. Among the new processes used are stand-up pouches reportable packaging, a flexible packaging that can stand up owing to its structure and design. They keep the food fresh and enable it to be sterilised and cooked in autoclaves.
These containers have permitted the introduction of shelf-stable food items for dogs at room temperature. This technique is enabled by the application of an aluminium coating to the packages, which is required to shield the contents from the action of light and external gases. Besides being sturdy and recyclable, aluminium packaging provides new options for the pet food sector to advertise its brands. Packaging technology advancements, for example, have enabled them to become displays for displaying product information through QR Codes.
Assunta even demonstrates that the benefits of aluminium packaging extend beyond protection against harmful elements. They assure safety during different processing phases, such as hot and cold filling, pasteurisation, sterilisation, and UV resistance when canned goods. This ensures outstanding consistency in food quality throughout its route to the end consumer.
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