Category: News

With margins slim and competition fierce, you understand the importance of staying ahead of the competition as a food company. And food startup consulting firms tend to agree that keeping informed about food technology trends is one of the best ways to achieve this.

If you have to work harder (or pay more) than the competition to achieve a similar product, you’ll struggle to compete. Food industry technology can level the playing field and help even small-time food startups more quickly gain market share, maintain market agility, grow a successful food business.

This article will discuss two key areas you can leverage technology to outmaneuver and outperform the competition.

Labour Technology

This is a hot topic in 2021 when so many companies struggle to maintain adequate staffing and those who come into work every day feel overwhelmed because they have to carry more than their fair share. This phenomenon isn’t completely new, as a 2018 Deloitte Report estimated that 4.6 million industrial positions will go unfilled in the next ten years.

Labour technology can provide some solutions here. Many established companies are still relying on outdated legacy systems, and many think they’re saving money by running their systems until their last leg. But the truth is, modern technology can significantly improve workforce efficiency, allowing fewer employees to do more with less. The right technology pays for itself.

Technology such as the Food industry-specific enterprise resource management tool (ERP) can address labour shortages by:

• Tearing down silos, so people feel connected
• Showing people how what they do directly impacts the company’s mission and goals (That’s critically important for attracting and retaining Millennial workers.)
• Reducing frustrating miscommunication or communication delays that lead to bottlenecks and missed quotas.
• Automating monotonous tasks while reducing error
• Providing useful reports and analytics to leadership to continually improve conditions, safety, productivity, and perceptions

Trade Technology

As the world markets open up, even food startups have their sites set on expanding to international markets and may start planning for that eventuality now. Even if you see a two year or more horizon for this move, food startup consulting would often recommend that you start planning for this now and determining the trading technology you’ll need to tackle the unique challenges of global market expansion like:

• Keeping up with regulations and tariff changes in different countries
• Market and exchange rate volatility
• Country trends and cultural differences driving food-buying decisions

Here, technology can help as well:

• Track vendor performance
• Manage accounts payable across borders
• Automatically update the tools and resources employees use as regulations and trends change
• Quickly identify changes in buying, ingredient costs, warehousing, logistics through real-time reporting, analytics, and useful business intelligence, so you can make data-driven decisions.

How Food Startup Consulting Benefits Your Food Business

A food consulting company can help you identify the technologies that deliver the most value to you and your customers. We can help you evaluate new markets and enhance product development to stay ahead of consumer food trends. Our unsurpassed sourcing knowledge can ensure you’re getting the best price on the highest quality food ingredients. To learn more about food technology and consulting, we encourage you to book a free consultation.

The Keto food market is experiencing increased growth. And that’s not surprising considering that so more people are now discovering the lifestyle and health benefits of the high-fat, low-carb diet.

But Keto food startups need to carefully choose the right product manufacturer when launching an innovative Keto product. That’s because the manufacturer can mean the difference between turning a great product idea into a successful business and a complete flop. 

Before you take the leap and sign your first contract, here are some tips and considerations that can help you find the right product manufacturer for your Keto food brand. 

Knowledge and Experience

The right product manufacturer would be one with sufficient knowledge and plenty of experience tucked under their belt when it comes to the low-carb market.

It is usually helpful to check out some of the best manufacturers used by competing Keto food brands, as these will have lots of experience in producing high-fat, low-carb products.

Certifications and Ratings

Make sure to choose a manufacturing firm with all the relevant certifications. But earning certifications is one thing; being able to satisfy clients is another. 

For this reason, it is a good practice to always look up manufacturers on popular B2B platforms to read reviews and see their ratings before signing a contract. If possible, reach out to past clients and ask for both positive and negative feedback.

Track Record

It is not out of place to find new manufacturing firms that outperform some old hands. However, before signing a contract with any manufacturer, it is important to research how long they have been in business. 

Remember to find out the number of successful contracts the manufacturer has executed. This will give you a good idea of their track record and help you decide whether they are reliable enough to handle your food business.

Necessary Connections

The hassles of searching for different consultants for the various stages of your Keto product can be exhausting. Thankfully, you can cut this down by choosing a manufacturer that has a robust professional network. 

For one, the right manufacturer should be able to recommend or link you up with a qualified food chemist with up-to-date permits and all the necessary licenses. 

Reputation

Lastly, you want to choose a manufacturer with an above-average reputation, industry experience, and fair labor practices. 

A manufacturer that checks all of the above boxes will not only help you produce high-quality Keto products but also guarantee customer satisfaction. 

Ignoring these considerations, perhaps to cut costs, can lead to glitches in the manufacturing process. And that’s a quick way to lose customer loyalty. 

The Next Step

The Greater Goods is a top-notch food business consultant focused on helping startups thrive. We take pride in guiding young companies to finding the perfect manufacturers for their businesses, sourcing the right ingredients at the best price points, developing brand concepts, and more.

Book a free consultation today, and together, we will explore the various options that will enable you to find the perfect fit for your business.

As food business startup consulting experts with years of experience helping companies large and small in connecting with ingredients suppliers, the team at The Greater Good wants to underscore the critical nature of your food supply chain.

You need a robust supply chain so your business will run safely and efficiently as you continue to grow. Expanding your brand in the marketplace will depend on the quality of your supply chain.

Food Safety in the Context of Supply Chain Logistics

Food safety should be your highest priority. The health of your customers and your brand demand adherence to the strictest food supply chain safety protocols.

Consider that approximately 10% of people worldwide (about 600 million individuals) become ill from consuming food that’s been contaminated by parasites, viruses, bacteria and other unsafe material, with 420,000 dying each year, according to the World Health Organization. You don’t want any of your customers to be amongst this list of victims.

Why You Need Food Business Startup Consulting Professionals to Help You Develop a Stronger Supply Chain

With the safety of your customers at stake, it’s wise to keep in mind how the strength of your food supply chain makes a difference.

As Just Food explained, a common scenario in the food industry involves a new supplier providing a spice mix, and now it includes an ingredient that you’ve never used before in manufacturing sauces.

The result is an undeclared ingredient in your food, requiring a recall effort to protect consumers who may be harmed by an allergen.

With excellent lines of communication between you and your supply chain partners, you’ll be able to address hiccups such as undeclared ingredients. Discovering an error like this as soon as possible helps to prevent injury to customers. It’s also crucial to maintain your good reputation, showing that your priority is customer safety and well-being.

Your expertise is in coming up with delicious food products and doing consumer research to fine-tune your marketing campaigns. You would be best served by relying on industry professionals to consult with you to develop the safest and most responsive supply chain so your production will keep humming along without delays.

Another factor is efficiency. Your consultants will ensure that your supply chain allows for accurate inventory management to meet your monthly production and distribution goals.

And to meet your business plan goals for growth over the coming years, it’s best to work with food industry consultants who already have experience managing at scale as a food business starts to grow more popular and sees a big demand from customers.

Connect With Us to Improve the Safety and Security of Your Food Supply Chain

It’s clear that a robust supply chain will be essential to your food business’s future growth and development.

But there’s no need for you to become a technology expert when you can work with seasoned professionals. While you focus on providing the best products and services to your customers, it would be prudent to partner with industry experts with years of food supply chain experience to help smooth the path forward for you.

To book a free consultation or to learn more about our approach to food business startup consulting, please get in touch with the team at The Greater Good at 647-407-8847 today.

Figuring out what’s on a food label is crucial for gluten-free consumers. Unlike other people, gluten-free consumers can develop serious allergies by consuming foods that are not certified gluten-free.

Here are three vital tips to help you know what foods are safe to consume when you or someone in your household is living gluten-free.

Keep an Eye Out for Third-Party Certification

A product is considered safe for gluten-free consumers if it has a third-party certification. The Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO) mark is an excellent certification example. 

Products with the GFCO marks typically go through a painstaking certification process that is twice as strict as that of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The GFCO certification process includes:

• Ingredient analysis
• Off-the-shelf product testing
• Ensuring that tested foods contain no more than 10 ppm gluten (the FDA threshold for gluten content is 20 ppm)
• Plant audits
• Continuous food testing

Look for the Words “Gluten-Free”

Some products may not carry a third-party gluten-free certification mark but they are considered safe for gluten-free consumers if the products are regulated by the FDA and the labels have the words, “gluten-free.”

The words, “free of gluten,” “no gluten,” and “without gluten,” on FDA-regulated product labels also means the food should be gluten-free.

The FDA requires manufacturers to strictly meet the terms of the gluten-free definitions outlined in the relevant regulations. 

However, an FDA-regulated product with a gluten-free label may also have wheat listed on the ingredient list. In such cases, look for a statement on the label that indicates that the wheat has been processed to meet the FDA requirements for gluten-free foods.

Also, some GFCO-certified products may contain wheat starch as an ingredient. In this case, the wheat has been processed to meet the 10 ppm (or less) gluten content standard of the GFCO. 

Read the Ingredient List

The best way to ensure that you are buying and consuming a gluten-free product if the label doesn’t have a “gluten-free” or third-party certification is to read the ingredient list.

Packaged foods that are not gluten-free will contain one or more of the following ingredients:

• Wheat (faro, spelt, durum, emmer, and all other wheat types)
• Barley 
• Brewer’s yeast 
• Malt 
• Rye 
• Oats

Note that some oats products are safe for gluten-free consumers. However, the FDA does not allow descriptions in the ingredient list. That means you won’t find products with “gluten-free oats” as an ingredient on any packaged food label, at least not in the United States.

If you don’t see a gluten-free certification mark and can’t find the words “gluten-free” on the product label, it is best to avoid oat products since they may contain gluten.

The exception is buying oat products from other countries where descriptions are allowed on the ingredient list. In that case, you should look for “gluten-free oats” (or something to that effect) in the list of ingredients.

Want to learn more about healthy food choices? The Greater Goods has you covered. With over 15 years of experience in the health and functional foods industry, there’s so much more we can help you with. Book a free consultation today, let’s see how we can help.

Although a passion for food undoubtedly started your journey into the business world, it can only carry you so far. Eventually, you have to look past the dishes on your menu and use business intelligence to promote the success of your food company. Otherwise, your efforts could start to fall short, leaving money on the table and impeding your company’s growth. Thankfully, you can look to a knowledgeable food industry consultant for help using the data to achieve all your goals.

What is Business Intelligence for Food Companies?

When it comes to the food industry, business intelligence is all the data generated by your company, including:

• Sales figures
• Overhead stats
• Inventory trends
• Marketing results
• Foot traffic numbers

On top of that, you can also get excellent business intelligence by looking at your competitors for data.

Benefits of Using Business Intelligence for Your Food Company

When you make it a priority to leverage business intelligence, it can help you improve your efforts in the following ways.

Guides Your Marketing Efforts

As you advertise your company, your marketing efforts generate data that can help lead the way to even better strategies. With each campaign you run, it’ll be easier and easier to see what resonates with your target audience and ditch what doesn’t. The data can also help you see who’s in your target audience and tap into the trends that inspire them to spend money.

Helps You Set Competitive Prices

Finding the perfect price for food products can prove rather difficult, especially if you don’t know what your competitors are doing. By digging into the facts and figures, you can set prices that will promote the growth of your company while still aligning with your customers’ expectations. After establishing all your current price points, it’s easy to return to the data through the years to make smart changes as your business grows.

Boosts Your Management of Inventory

Business intelligence lets you see the big picture in managing your inventory, especially when it comes to perishable items. As you look at the data, you can make strategic decisions on what items to buy, when to buy them, and from which suppliers. More money will stay in your pocket as a result, allowing you to direct the funds into the growth of your food business.

In the end, proper use of business intelligence lets you oversee the success of your operations. You can make key changes to all your processes and procedures as needed to keep working toward your goals. As the data piles up, you’ll have a long record of your efforts, allowing you to look back upon your journey in awe of how far you’ve come.

Ready to Leverage Business Intelligence with Your Food Industry Consultant?

Like your food company as a whole, the way you should use business intelligence to promote your success in the industry is totally unique. For that reason, it’s important to create a personalized roadmap to success with help from Bernard, your food industry consultant at The Greater Good. Upon getting food industry consultant services, you can easily leverage all the right metrics to improve upon your efforts and reach your goals every step of the way. If that sounds like just what you need, then call 647-407-8847 to book your free consultation today.

The term “eco-friendly packaging” may have been a buzzword in time past. But all that has changed, as both brands and consumers continue to prioritize sustainable packaging more than ever. 

More brands are keying into packaging designs that reduce environmental footprint over time. Sustainable packaging is gradually moving from an option to a necessity and brands that must remain relevant going forward need to toe this path. 

Here’s a quick look into sustainable packing design and what it means for your business. 

Definition of Sustainable Packaging Design 

Sustainable packaging design refers to creating product packaging that does little to no damage to the environment. 

As you can imagine, this is not a small feat to achieve and may take several small steps for brands to make their product packaging entirely eco-friendly.

A giant leap may not be feasible, but you adopt a few different approaches, including:

• Significantly reducing the carbon footprint during the production process
• Using 100% raw or recycled eco-friendly materials for packaging
• Promoting reusability by creating product packaging with extended lifecycle and usability. 

The most important thing to keep in mind is to find a way to create the least negative impact on the environment without affecting your business.

What Makes a Packaging Design Sustainable?

A “bio” product packaging doesn’t necessarily mean a sustainable design. To be considered truly sustainable, your packaging design needs to fulfill the following requirements:

• Safe: The packaging design does not pose any health or environmental risks.
• Efficient: It should use and make the most of green packaging materials.
• Effective: It should provide value for both the consumer and brand. The packaging should also support responsible decision-making.
• Cyclic: The packaging design must include eco-friendly materials, inks, and technologies.

Why Sustainable Packaging Is Good For Your Business

Implementing sustainable packaging may seem like a lot of hassle just to get your product across to consumers. 

But cutting corners will end up hurting your business, as more consumers are catching on to the damages that non-eco-friendly packaging brings to our green planet. 

While consumers will not stop buying, a large percentage of buyers are tilting toward companies that provide products and packaging that help keep our planet healthy.

Having sustainable packaging can do the following for your business:

• Improve how customers perceive your brand.
• Reduce the carbon footprint of your business.
• Potentially reduce the cost of packaging by minimizing unnecessary use of materials and limiting excessive waste.
• Improve customer satisfaction.
• Increased sales, especially among consumers who are sustainability-minded.

By following the “reduce, reuse, and recycle” motto, you will have more happy customers, a better bottom line, and a safer planet. It is, indeed, a win-win situation for all.

The Greater Goods Can Help

Implementing sustainable packing designs requires knowledge and experience. The Greater Goods has both qualities and can help you figure out the best ways to make your packaging eco-friendly while maintaining your brand image. 

Book a free consultation today, let’s work out something that will reduce the environmental footprint of your business.

A co-packing agreement is closely related to private label food manufacturing, but the two are distinctly different services. 

Understanding the difference between these two is important because that will give you a clear picture of your options and rights to the propriety formula for the food products you own. 

Co-Packing

The customer has all the rights to a proprietary formulation under a co-packing agreement. Although the manufacturer creates the product, co-packing usually requires the manufacturer to sign a non-disclosure agreement that does two things:

1. Prevents the manufacturer from sharing the information relating to the customer’s product.
2. Prevents the manufacturer from creating additional products outside the agreement.

Private Labeling

The private label agreement allows the food manufacturer to use its formulation in creating and packaging the product under the customer’s label. In other words, the propriety rights belong to the manufacturer.

A simpler way to understand the difference between co-packing vs. private labeling is to think of it this way:

• Co-packing = your product with your label
• Private label = a manufacturer’s product with your label

Which Ownership Option Is Best For Your Business?

In a nutshell, co-packing is best suitable for:

• Food and beverage owners looking to bring a new product to the market
• Restaurants that have a special sauce
• Individual chefs who own special and popular recipe

On the other hand, private labeling works great for:

• Large retailers
• Small food businesses that want their names on their products
• Customers who want custom branding on items they gift to others

Having listed the above, it is crucial to consider the following factors when trying to decide on co-packing vs. private labeling:

• Responsibility: Is your company or business prepared to deal with all the hassles of navigating propriety laws? If you would rather skip this burden, a co-packing agreement is your best bet.
• Cost: A co-packing arrangement might be less expensive than a private label, depending on the contract negotiated. 
• Marketing: If you prefer a private label agreement, it is usually a thing if the manufacturer agrees to exclusive production. But regardless of whether you choose co-packing or private label, your marketing efforts can receive a huge boost with exclusivity.
• Logistics: Not all manufacturers have the same capability and capacity, and this is something to keep in mind when considering a co-packing arrangement. Securing a good co-packing arrangement is great but it can be challenging in many cases to find a manufacturer that checks everything you want.

What The Greater Goods Can Do For Your Business

The Greater Goods offers a ton of flexibility that business owners can explore. You can take advantage of what we offer while enjoying the benefits of a first-rate food consulting firm. 

It is crucial to read and understand the fine print before you sign an agreement with a manufacturer. As an experienced food consulting firm, we can also help you in this regard.

Book a free consultation today and learn more about the nitty-gritty of co-packing vs. private labeling. 

When choosing to take on a co-packer, you will quickly find that this is one of the most important business relationships you have, and is key to your brand’s growth. And while a great food co-packer can make your food business a success, a bad food co-packer can ultimately break you. This is why it’s incredibly important to do your due diligence when researching potential co-packers, as well as making sure that your business is ready for a co-packing relationship in the first place. In this article, we take a look at the biggest mistakes to avoid when taking on a food co-packer, so you can avoid these common pitfalls.

Mistake #1: Engaging a Food Co-Packer Too Soon

Unfortunately, this first crucial mistake may be entirely on you, and that’s engaging a food co-packer too soon. If you are just beginning your food business and are unsure of volumes, it may be incredibly difficult to maintain a good relationship with a co-packer and will make keeping up your end of the contract impossible.

Brandon Mackie, co-founder of innovative snack-maker Keto Farms tells us more about hiring a food co-packer too soon on Amped Kitchens:

“We tried co-packing too early,” Mackie admits – crucially, he explains, before Keto Farms had dialed in its product and process and hit a stabilized order flow. “The first co-manufacturer we found was too small and didn’t give us the focus we were hoping for. The second one was too big, and their sales team made promises that ultimately weren’t kept because volumes were too low.”

Mistake #2: Choosing A Co-Packer Exclusively On Price

When you’re first starting out, price is often a crucial factor in deciding whether you can afford this extra help. However, choosing a co-packer exclusively on price will more than likely be your downfall. 

IndustrialPackaging.com explains why the cheapest option is not always the best option when it comes to your co-packing needs:

“When basing your decision exclusively on price alone, you open yourself up to a set of potential problems. You may find a co-packer with the lowest cost of doing business, but, they may not be specialized for your products and may not be able to deliver your packaging needs to the level you expect or require. While the cost of a contract packaging program is crucial, it is not the most important dynamic. At the end of the day, you will want to choose the co-packer who has a defined specialty in packaging all of your products. The cheapest option may not meet this criteria.”

Mistake #3: Not Checking the Manufacturer’s Certifications

When hiring a co-packer, you need to be aware of the necessary certifications that they must carry in order to legally do their job. The certifications they require may change depending on where you wish to sell your products, which you also must take into consideration if you see yourself expanding in the future.

PartnerSlate tells us more on why checking the manufacturer’s certifications is an absolute must:

“It’s super important from day one to make sure that your co-packer is following strict quality standards. That doesn’t mean they necessarily have to be SQF Level II from the start, but make sure at the very least they are third party audited by The Department of Agriculture. Then if you know that you’ll eventually want to move into Walmart or Costco, look into what they require and start the discussion with your co-packer to see if you can work together on getting them there. If not, then you know it’s time to start looking for another option.”

Here at The Greater Goods, we offer consultation services for your business, from food production to distribution. If you’re looking for advice on how to get up and running, we offer a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers.

Have you recently started working with a co-packer, and want to know what you can do to make your relationship stronger? While a co-packer is technically working for you, they harbor a great amount of control over your company. After all, depending on your individual agreement, they may be in charge of making, packaging, and ordering the ingredients for your product. Therefore, if you’ve found a great co-packer, this is a relationship you do not want to jeopardize! In this article, we take a look at 3 tips for a great co-packer relationship, so you can do everything in your power to strengthen it.

Plan, Communicate, and Be Flexible

Whether or not you’re just beginning in the industry, it’s important to do your homework and keep organized. Working with a co-packer may mean working with several different people, who all need to be on the same page. Making sure you are able to communicate and be flexible in your plan will make everyone’s jobs a lot easier.

Chris Kirby, Founder and CEO of Ithaca Cold-Crafted tells us more on the importance of a realistic, well-communicated plan on Medium.com:

“Once you’re up and running and all of the kinks are worked out, it comes down to forecasting and communication. During the startup phase you’re working with engineers, machine operators, QA technicians etc. But now the day to day work will be with the logistics coordinators, material planners, and warehouse managers. All of these people REALLY appreciate a well thought out plan that’s accurate, realistic, and well communicated. It’s a good idea to share an updated rolling forecast on a weekly basis with the people who need it.”

Refer New Business

While you may be afraid that new business may take away from your co-packers attention to your product, it will only benefit yourself and your co-packer. Referring new business to your co-packer will not only bring in more money for their business, but it could result in lower costs for you.

Gredio.com explains why you should refer new business to your co-packer whenever possible:

“I know you’ve got at least one goal for your company. I bet it’s making money. Am I right? Probably. And the same goes with your co-packer. They’re a business, too. So, whenever you’re at a farmer’s market or chatting up a demo guy at your neighborhood grocery store, keep your co-packer in mind. They’ll love you when you refer business their way. Plus, you may even get a discount out of it. Cha-ching!”

Remember That You Are Not Their Only Customer

While this may seem like an odd tip, it’s important to remember that you are not your co-packer’s only customer. It’s important to be understanding if your co-packer is not always able to respond to change as quickly as you may prefer, as at the end of the day, your co-packer having a good amount of business will only benefit you.

New Food Strategies tells us why it can be reasonable to cut your co-packer some slack:

“Many early-stage companies expect co-packers to react quickly to any change in demand or product. This is often difficult because co-packers can have up to 20 different customers all making simultaneous demands. These inherent conflicts can be worked through, but it helps if the customer remembers that the more business a co-packer has the more they can spread their fixed costs, lowering prices for everybody.”

Here at The Greater Goods, we offer consultation services for your business, from food production to distribution. If you’re looking for advice on how to get up and running, we offer a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers.

As the Millennial generation has matured during the past few years and entered the consumer arena, they’ve significantly reinvented food consumerism to meet their penchants for convenience, sustainability, and quality. As happens with every generation, several of the food trends they’ve embraced are likely to evolve from fad to classic status going forward into the 21st century. Following are five Millennial food trends that will probably be sticking around for quite some time.

Meals in a Bowl

Whether they’re from a food truck, a convenience store aisle, a favorite cafe or coffee shop, or prepared in the home kitchen, meals in a bowl are hits with younger consumers. They’re easier to eat when out and about, they’re nutrient-dense as well as tasty and work well for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In the home kitchen, they also mean less post-meal cleanup. Bowl meals also provide an excellent way to use up leftover ingredients.

Alternative Shopping

The supermarket used to be the grocery shopping venue of choice for the vast majority of consumers — in fact, it could have been argued at one point whether the average home cook could actually put quality meals on the table without visiting the supermarket on a regular basis. Then the old tradition of community-based farmers markets resurfaced, opening the door to other alternative food vendors, and after throwing online food purchase options into the mix, the average millennial shops at supermarkets far less than those of previous generations. Instead, they’re hitting up food carts, specialty markets, and even convenience stores.

Smart Eating

Millennials are also more mindful of the wellness benefits of eating a nutritious diet than their historical counterparts. They want less sugar, fat, and sodium, and they aren’t willing to sacrifice flavor for healthier fare. This preference for solid sustenance rather than empty calories extends to snack foods as well as meals.

Grazing

Millennials are also more likely to naturally gravitate toward a grazing style of eating rather than sitting down to three meals per day, which has earned them a reputation for being the most snack-loving generation in history. However, they aren’t going for the same type of snack foods their parents and grandparents loved — instead of being viewed as occasional treats with no nutritional value, Millennials see snacks as nourishment, factoring in nutritional value when making purchasing decisions.

Brand Transparency

Millennials want to know where their food came from, how it was grown or produced, and what’s in it. Transparency begins with labeling as the first point of contact between the consumer and the product. Labels of the past were often viewed as afterthoughts by food and beverage producers, but this generation of consumers is far more likely than others to read labels and look for specific nutrition facts as well as sustainability and sourcing information. Bright labels with optimal visual accessibility and clear language help develop brand trust and consumer awareness.
Please feel free to contact our food packaging consultant for more information on making your product appealing to Millennial consumers.

What do we know for sure about nuts? We know that nuts are great for you (in moderation), that they can lower cholesterol and inflammation, and that they are an excellent source of antioxidants and fiber. However, what many of us don’t know about nuts is how to buy and store them properly. By avoiding three simple mistakes, your nuts will be able to stay fresher, longer, and you’ll be able to save money in the long run. Let’s take a look at what you can do to get the most out of your nuts.

Mistake #1: “Saving money” by shopping the bulk bins

While buying your nuts from bulk bins may seem like an ideal way to save money, it’s actually going to shorten the life of your nuts. Let’s face it, you have no idea how often the shop is replacing the nuts in the bits, how long they’ve been sitting in open air, or how much bacteria may be on these nuts from people’s bare hands.

RealSimple.com explains why shopping the bulk bins is crucial mistake number one when buying and storing nuts:

“According to Steve Lindsay, the Director of Quality Assurance for Diamond Nuts, oxygen is the number one enemy to any nut’s shelf-life. Nuts sitting in bulk bins are constantly being exposed to oxygen, compromising their freshness and speeding up the rancidity process. Your best bet for finding fresh nuts is to buy those that have been sealed in a bag—this will ensure freshness and prevent oxygen from slipping through.”

Mistake #2: Storing them in the pantry

The pantry seems like an ideal place to store nuts, right? After all, it’s away from direct light. However, if you wish to prolong the life of your nuts, it’s best to store them in the fridge or the freezer.

UnlockFood.ca tells us more on why you should avoid storing your nuts in the pantry:

“The best way to store nuts is in an airtight container in a cool dry place, like the refrigerator. If storing at room temperature, store away from direct heat or light. You can also freeze nuts. When freezing, use an airtight container or heavy duty freezer bag. If nuts develop an off flavour, bad smell or grow mold, throw them out.”

Mistake #3: Taking expiration dates too literally

While it’s not unwise to take the best by date of your nuts into consideration, you do not need to go dumping them into the garbage bin when this day comes. There are several factors that contribute to whether or not nuts are still usable, including how they’ve been stored and whether or not they’re still in their shells.

EatByDate.com explains why you shouldn’t take expiration dates too literally when it comes to nuts:

“Opened packages will last for a shorter time, again depending on the variety. But remember that nuts, unlike a lot of other proteins, usually have a best by date and not an expiration date. Because of this distinction, you may safely use nuts to compliment your favorite meals even after the best by date has lapsed. As a rule, nuts that are purchased in their shell will last for a shorter period of time than those which have been shelled. This has a lot to do with the packaging and is true as long as the package is unopened.”

Here at The Greater Goods, we offer consultation services for your business, from food production to distribution. If you’re looking for advice on how to get up and running, we offer a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers.

With the wants and needs of the domestic and global marketplaces constantly evolving, the future of food co-packing is looking as bright as ever. From making the switch to sustainable, eco-conscious packaging, to a new level of adaptability and speed, it’s important that we know what’s coming when it comes to this rapidly growing industry. In this article, we take a look at the future of food co-packing, so you can make sure that you’re choosing a co-packing partner who is ready to embrace these welcome changes.

Sustainable, Eco-Conscious Packaging

Eco-friendly alternatives are not only a trend, but are necessary to the health of our planet. More and more packagers are now opting towards eco-friendly packaging options as a way to not only appeal to customer demand, but to do their part for our planet. 

Globalnewswire.com tells us more about this important switch:

“Raising consumer awareness about environmental concerns, along with the producers’ demand for economical packaging options, is impelling contract packagers to adopt earth-friendly alternatives and eco-sensitive package designs.”

Adaptability and Speed

If we’ve learned anything from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that we need to be prepared for anything – and that level of preparedness also stems to our co-packers. Co-packers who want to stay ahead of the game are making sure that they can adapt to the ever-changing requirements of the industry, so they can keep up with the ever-changing requirements of their partners as new situations arise.

Jason Tham, CEO at Nulogy explains more on why adaptability and speed is more important for co-packers than ever on LinkedIn:

“From CPGs responding to frenetic retailer and consumer demands, to co-packers reworking their operations to ensure the safety of their employees, each side of the supply chain needed to react and move faster than ever before. Businesses that could adapt were able to capitalize on the incredible demand for consumer products during the pandemic.”

Packaging That Differentiates Itself

Last but not least, the future of co-packing will focus on packaging that differentiates itself from its competitors. No matter how much love and care has gone into the food product itself, most customers are going to make their decisions based on the first thing they see – the packaging. 

WG Pro-Manufacturing tells us more about why focusing on innovative packaging can put both the co-packer and the customer on the track to success:

“The average consumer devotes over 80% of their attention to your packaging, with only 15% going to the number on the price tag. What does this mean for you? Put simply—having the right packaging really matters. One of the most important things is to set your product apart from those around it on the shelf. Sometimes this will mean making the most of well-established trends. In other cases, seeking new and innovative paths will put you on the road to success.”

Here at The Greater Goods, we offer consultation services for your business, from food production to distribution. If you’re looking for advice on how to get up and running, we offer a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers.