The Continued Growth of Single-Serve Food and Beverage Packaging

Last year we wrote a blog post about the rise of single-serve food and beverage packaging, and this trend shows no signs of slowing down. More and more food manufacturers are offering individually packaged products to busy consumers as these goods gain increased popularity due to their convenience and the variety of food choices available in single-serve form. In addition to the growth of single-serve foods, single portion beverages have gained popularity as well.

When mentioning single-serve beverages, one of the items that probably comes to mind is the K-Cup®. It has changed the way coffee is consumed. In addition to the K-Cup®, other popular single-serve food and beverage products that have hit shelves include individual containers of cereals, cheese and cracker packs, snack packs, fruit and vegetables with dip, and other bottled drinks such as soda and water.

These options have impacted the labeling industry significantly by changing the way products are packaged and how information is presented on the labels. What are the differences between the packaging on single-serve products when compared to regular product varieties? Let’s examine how the labels, ingredients, and company information are presented in a different manner.

Single-Serve Food and Beverage Packaging and Labels

Single-serve packaging differs from the packaging used for full size product offerings because the information printed on a single-serve item is often describing that particular serving size.

In addition to this, the label and packaging of the product is often designed and printed differently than the label for a standard product. For example, many individual packets of cheese present information such as the name of the brand, the brand’s logo in a different format and size in comparison to a traditional pack of cheese. Items such as the font may be displayed in a different manner. Other foods that follow similar packaging trends include individual servings of fruits or vegetables and snack packs such as mini bags of cookies and crackers.

Individually Packaged Products Highlight Ingredients

Another unique approach to single-serve food packaging for products such as vegetables, snack packs, and crackers, is that these products often highlight unique selling points to consumers on the front. For example, if a product is vegan or gluten free this is often emphasized on the front of the package. If the product has 5 grams of fiber, this may be highlighted on the front of the package as well, because depending on the way the package is designed, the nutrition facts may be presented differently than they would on the full size version of a product.

Image Credit: Ritzcrackers.com

Single-Portion Nutrition Facts Labels

In addition to the way the company’s name, logo, and type of product are portrayed, there are differences in the information included in the nutrition facts label. Single-serve products such as macaroni and cheese often include instructions on the labels as seen below.

This particular container of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner has instructions for consumers to just add water to the product. The label and packaging also provide the time it takes for the product to cook as well as a description about what the product is. This is different from buying a box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner because this individual container includes information that would be included on one box.

Image Credit: Kraftmacandcheese.com

Due to the condensed size of these packages, the information is presented in a different manner because of the smaller space available for printing information related to the product.

Future of Single-Serve Packaging

As we look ahead to the future of single-serve packaging, we will most likely continue to see an increase in the growth of this industry. Single-serve food packaging offers a convenient option for busy consumers who need to grab a fast snack.

If your company is expanding product offerings to include single-serve foods or beverages, and you have questions about the best labeling system or labels for your business, please feel free to reach out to us for more information!