Pouched Improvements

I’ve been seeing an increased number of pouched products hitting the market of late, and whenever new product approaches like this pick up speed, it’s time to pay attention if you haven’t already caught the trend tip.

So I started digging. The first step was to sample. One of the areas where these pouches have begun to take off is in the baby-food segment. And lucky for me, I have a baby in the house to serve as an eager guinea pig (she just loves to eat). She’s shown universal approval for anything and everything I could throw at her (and sometimes back at me via mid-mastication sneeze … hilarious for everyone except the receiver…) from one company that has released a range of fruit, vegetable and combined fruit-vegetable blends—basically purées. Just squeeze and serve. I was particularly intrigued by the fruit-veggie blends, like sweet potato, corn and apple; spinach, peas and pear; and pumpkin and banana. Great complementary flavors (yes, I tasted them myself—not something I am prone to do with most baby foods…). It’s a snap to get her to eat these. Eager declarations of “Mmmm…” abound with none of the dreaded (albeit adorable) scrunchy face.

A colleague of mine who worked on the line noted that the products aren’t retorted—simply acidified (with natural ingredients as needed) to a pH below 4.6 and hot-filled. Fresh flavors abound. It’s like I’d puréed the foods myself, but in convenient, shelf-stable format.

Fresh flavor—something formulators actively strive for in packaged foods—was also noted in another line I have only read about so far. A recent bit in the Chicago Tribune gave the nod to a line of pouched sauces—pesto, tapenade and lemon confit. The reviewer noted that they’re “fresh and taste as though they were crafted with care (not on a conveyor belt).” That’s exactly what the folks manning the conveyor belts want to hear.

When acidification isn’t an option (think meat, or plain veggies), we can fall back on good, old retort. Some of these pouches are engineered to withstand retort—but the key here is that they can, reportedly, hit necessary food-safety rubrics with lower temperatures. This kinder, gentler retort process can yield fresher, less-cooked flavors. Anyone who has worked with the classic retorted No. 10 can knows that countering the off, overly cooked flavors that develop at 250°F—and held long enough at that temperature for it to penetrate throughout the product to ensure safety—is instrumental to the food’s success. The pouches also likely benefit from quicker cool-down times.

Finally, the lightweight, malleable, form-fitting pouches economize on space during shipping and storage—another plus when every penny counts toward improving the bottom line.

I expect to see more products going the pouched route. This tack could be worth looking into if you’re considering a packaging switch—a natural for liquid products like purées, sauces, soups, and so on—and a competitive flavor edge, to boot.