Pre-made vegetables: Packaging is key

In recent years, prepared dishes have been favored by consumers because of their convenience and fast consumption, and the market size has continued to grow. Data show that from 2019 to 2023, the scale of China's prefabricated vegetable market increased from 244.5 billion yuan to 522.5 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 20.9%. China Business Industry Research Institute analysts predict that the size of China's prefabricated vegetable market will grow to 570.5 billion yuan in 2024.

At the same time, the industry is also facing challenges in product standards and food safety. The first is the issue of food safety, how to ensure the quality and safety of products is the primary task of the development of the industry. Secondly, environmental protection issues are also becoming increasingly prominent, and the packaging materials of prepared vegetables are mostly disposable plastics, causing a serious burden on the environment. In addition, the nutrition and health aspects are also the focus of general attention of consumers. These problems have seriously affected the further development of the prepared dish industry, therefore, some measures are needed to standardize and improve.

1. National policies and norms

Based on these problems, the state has successively introduced policies to guide, encourage and regulate the prepared dish industry, and continue to inject "tonic" into the development of the prepared dish industry.

In February 2023, the Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and The State Council on Comprehensively Promoting the Key Work of Rural Revitalization in 2023 were released, and prepared dishes were written into the central No. 1 document for the first time. According to incomplete statistics, 25 provinces across the country have issued documents and local standards related to the high-quality development of prefabricated dishes. Chongqing, Henan, Gansu, Guangxi and other provinces have written "supporting the standardized and orderly development of the prepared vegetable industry" into the 2024 government work report.

On March 21, 2024, the General Administration of Market Regulation, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce and the National Health Commission jointly issued the Notice on Strengthening the Safety Supervision of Prepared Vegetables and Promoting the High-quality Development of the Industry. The new regulations further standardize the definition and scope of prepared dishes, stipulate that prepared dishes do not add preservatives, strict the use of food additives, and vigorously promote the use of prepared dishes in the catering sector, protect consumers' right to know and choice, raise the industry access threshold, strengthen safety supervision and so on.

Two, packaging blessing

According to the data, the underlying logic behind the current hot prepared dishes is that prepared dishes are undergoing structural changes from the B-end to the C-end, which requires the traditional B-end prepared dishes enterprises and enterprises and brands that cut into the prepared dishes track to transform from the previous "factory thinking" to "user thinking", and consider product development and design from the C-end consumer experience level. Among them, packaging is obviously a key touch point to strengthen the C-end consumer experience of prepared dishes, from the restaurant kitchen to the home kitchen, the change of application scenario will bring about changes in the innovation of prepared dishes packaging? How to optimize the consumption experience of prepared dishes through packaging innovation and upgrading?

Vacuum packing

The vacuum packaging of prepared dishes can better maintain the color, aroma, taste, freshness and quality of meals, and facilitate the storage, transportation and sales of prepared dishes.

Vacuum packaging is a way of packing food into a bag and then pumping out the air. It can maintain the freshness and texture of food, and can extend the shelf life. Vacuum packaging is usually used for foods that need to be sealed, such as meat, fish, cheese and preserved foods. The use of vacuum packaging can remove oxygen from the bag, thereby reducing the content of oxygen in food, which can effectively prevent the oxidation reaction of food.

Vacuum packaging applications in the field of prepared vegetables and subdivided into two categories, one is the use of vacuum prefabricated bags for food packaging, the other is the use of prefabricated boxes for food packaging. Among them, ordinary vacuum packaging can extend the shelf life, and prefabricated box packaging generally uses gas lock fresh technology, mainly used for marinated food packaging, this product needs to be stored in a low temperature environment after the packaging is completed, so the cold chain transport is generally used in the product circulation process.

Coated iron technology avoids liquid paint residue

In addition to vacuum packaging, some packaging companies also improve the quality and freshness of prepared dishes through composite material technology. For example, the prepared vegetable products of the packaging company Aoruijin use a bowl-shaped structure, which is not only convenient for consumers to use, but also makes the products more aesthetic and cultural connotation.

The most important two links of coated iron, one is to avoid the residue of liquid paint in the production process, no pollution; The second is strong corrosion resistance, used in food and beverage packaging materials, has better safety than the same type of products, and has a good effect in maintaining the original taste and nutrition of ingredients.

Paper aluminum-plastic multilayer composite material

In addition to the traditional metal cans, glass cans, soft cans and other room temperature prepared dishes, Tetra Pak has launched an innovative solution for room temperature paper packaged food that is highly matched to the prepared dishes - Tetra Pak. Tetra Pak's packaging is a paper-aluminum-plastic multilayer composite material with special requirements for the inner and outer layers and each layer in between. Its process is to put food into paper packaging, through the post-sterilization mode to achieve room temperature storage and transportation, the shelf life can be up to two years.

This lightweight, vertical, square and stored at room temperature design is suitable for soup and sauce foods, which is in line with the current innovative direction of prefabricated dishes towards the development of soup dishes. In addition, Tetra Pak can also be applied to cheese, tofu and other ingredients that traditionally need to be chilled and preserved, and similar applications are relatively rare in the domestic market. And for from one person to the family, from 100 to 500 ml, Tetra Pak has different capacities.

NaCl microcapsules achieve saltiness release

NaCl microencapsulation technology is also increasingly used in the packaging of prepared dishes. According to reports, through the microcapsule technology, the use of temperature response edible capsule wall materials, low temperature stability and high temperature release, combined with spray drying technology to seal salt in microcapsules. NaCl microcapsules are added to the finished products of Chinese industrial products after cooling, and reheating can achieve saltiness release.

All in all, with the continuous development of society, the prepared dish industry is facing both challenges and opportunities. No matter how the development, prepared dishes and packaging are inseparable, so the future packaging industry needs to consider the type of food, storage time, transportation distance, cost and feasibility, and develop a high fit packaging. At the same time, prepared dish companies can gradually increase the market acceptance of prepared dishes by disclosing the source of raw materials, optimizing the processing process, reducing the use of additives, and introducing new products that are more in line with healthy eating trends.