At the 2018 Excellence in Flexography Awards hosted by the Flexographic Technical Association in Canada, TC Transcontinental Packaging won several awards in the wide web/process/film category.
Three of the awards were for Transcontinental’s pet food packaging:
- Nutro Ultra Small Breed Adult Dog Food, printed by Coveris Americas, now part of TC Transcontinental Packaging, won the silver award in the wide web/screen/film category
- Freshpet Select Roasted Meats Tender Chicken Recipe with Beef Cat Food printed by Transcontinental Ultra Flex won the bronze award in the wide web/process/film category.
- Nutro Natural Choice Dog Food Bag printed by Coveris Americas, now part of TC Transcontinental Packaging won the bronze award in the wide web/screen/coated paper category.
TC Transcontinental Packaging also won the “Best of Show” award, for Transcontinental Robbie’s Post Fruity Pebbles/Cocoa Pebbles packages. The company won a silver award in the wide web/line/film category as well as in the wide web/screen/film category, a bronze in the wide web/screen/coated paper category, and a self-promotion award for its Inspire NexGen 240 bag. The wide web category was the only category to continue the upward trend in awards seen over the past five years.
Pet food packaging must convey safety
Today’s pet owner is paying close attention to where the ingredients in their dog or cat’s food come from, and product packaging is the most direct way to answer their questions. In addition, much like with their own food, pet owners want to know that every facet of the food they buy for their pets is safe, including the packaging.
Various food safety certifications can get the job done on the packaging side, assuring manufacturers that their product is going into a container that matches their own strict safety practices. Among these are the SQF (Safe Quality Food) certifications.
“[One of the things] that we bring to the market is our food level safety,” said Bruce Jensen, vice president of sales and marketing for TC Transcontinental Packaging. TC Transcontinental recently expanded its packaging business into the pet food space. “Our plants are SQF Level 2 or 3 certified, which a lot of our competitors are not. It’s the push into fresh, which requires a whole different process and investment. And that helped us bring in a different story to some of our customers: They say, wow, these guys really have their act together, and really understand what it is to be food safe.”
