For a long time, packaging has been used to cater to the different needs of specific consumers. For instance, people who were interested in monitoring their weight used to use products with weight management packaging to monitor their food intake.
Initially, this was specifically for people on diets. However, today, a larger group of people are showing interest in their health, especially in terms of what they eat, and portion control packaging has become more useful than ever before.
Why Has Portion Control Packaging Become So Important?
Different research-based studies have reported that the younger generation is a lot more health-conscious than the generation before them. As health information is a lot easier to access now, people pay a lot more attention to their physical fitness and eating habits. In response to this new trend, food businesses have started incorporating portion control packaging for their products.
In addition, by being able to closely monitor the small details about every ration of food they take, buyers can now get more balanced diets on every meal. Furthermore, portion control packaging has contributed to food waste reduction. Buyers can now get food in portions that match exactly what they want instead of getting generic large-sized meals that end up being wasted.
In the coming years, we expect to see more food businesses jumping on this trend to match the younger generation’s health-conscious preferences.
Design Features of Portion Control Packaging
The idea of giving measured rations of food to buyers sounds nice as a concept, however, for it to be properly executed, there have to be well-designed containers for it. These are some of the features on the meal kits’ packaging that make them meet consumers’ needs perfectly.
Convenience
The packages are designed to match users’ on-the-go lifestyles. Most businesses creating portion control packages use containers that are easy to hold and convenient to carry around. Furthermore, since the packages contain measured single servings of food, they do not need to be excessively huge anymore, so they are perfect for carrying around.
Detailed Nutritional Information
Health-conscious buyers are not only interested in the amount of food they eat but also in the specific nutrients they take in with every meal. To meet this need, portion control packages have to be designed with detailed nutritional information about the food package. Buyers need to know the specific ingredients of the product and how many calories they get from every meal.
Easy-to-Use Package Design
The products are designed to be functional for every user. For instance, packages with multiple servings must be resealable because they aren’t meant to be eaten at a go. The single-serving products also have to be easy to use and come with detailed instructions for how they are to be disposed of.
Challenges with Portion Control Packaging
Even though portion control packaging offers a number of advantages for businesses and consumers, the innovation also comes with some challenges.
Packaging Waste Generation
Serving food to people in measured rations helps to cut down on food wastage and keep buyers’ health in check. However, every one of these small packages that are sold is waste being generated. If this packaging style scales up, the amount of waste generated from food products will rise astronomically. This poses a threat to the environment at a time when all hands are on deck to reduce the production of harmful waste and protect the environment.
If more businesses adopt sustainable food packaging methods, this problem will be solved. There are biodegradable materials that can be used to make single-serving products. Similarly, products could use recyclable material that will be kept in the cycle to be reused for other single-serving products.
Balancing Cost and Accessibility
There is an additional cost that comes with making individual packages for small rations of food. Even though portion control is helpful to people’s health, it is not a luxury that everyone can afford and this prevents the packages from scaling to a larger audience.
Conclusion on Portion Control for Health-Conscious Customers
Packaging styles are always changing to meet new consumer demands. The new trend is for healthy eating and the industry has come up with portion control packaging to help buyers control the amount of food they take in and their specific nutrients. Once the challenges with scaling are sorted, we expect the single-serving products to take over the market as more people choose health-conscious habits.