Halopack® by Alexir makes its packaging debut with M&S Fish & Chips range
(PRWEB UK) 14 May 2015 -- The Halopack®by Alexir has made its packaging debut and sits proudly on shelf in the prepared meal section in Marks & Spencer (M&S) as part of their Taste of the British Isles range. The wide selection of prepared meals, which includes Beer Battered Cod and Scraps, comes in the Halopack® format designed as newspaper packaging, reminiscent of fish and chips wrapped in newsprint and eaten on the pier.
The Halopack®is a board-based MAP capable food tray and is produced from sustainable cardboard. It is also designed to extend the shelf life of daily fresh food over conventional carton-board tray options due to an extensive EVOH barrier, thus reducing food wastage. The cardboard packaging has a patented design that is fully sealable with a unique inline production system for optimal conservation of the packed product. The Halopack® has been presented with three major awards in Europe since its conception and M&S is the first retailer to use the innovative packaging format in the UK.
The team at M&S spent many months creating the range of fish and chips in order to recreate ‘local chippy’ favourites. M&S worked with Five Star Fish in Grimsby (part of the 2 Sisters Food Group) to source the fish and develop the complex batter. Five Star Fish supply frozen and chilled coated fish into the foodservice market and major retailers, coating over 8000 tonnes of fish per annum, with cod and haddock being the nation’s favourites. It was important to M&S that the batter was not only the right flavour but also had the right texture. This was achieved in five steps: coating the fish with wheat flour, using the right amount of baking powder and gluten in the mixture, adding some ‘fizz’ into the batter, like beer, to guarantee texture and flavour and finally, cooking the batter and not the fish so when the consumer heats it at home the fish cooks and the batter stays crisp. The range includes Beer Battered Cod & Scraps, Whole-tail Scampi & Chips, Cider Battered Plaice Fingers, Cider Battered Plaice, Whitebait and Haddock, Scraps & Chips.
David Tonkin, Packaging Development Manager for 2 Sisters Food Group commented “I saw an opportunity for the Halopack® to be used within our business and the route to market with M&S was a great fit as the Halopack® can be hermetically sealed with the additional benefit of the board and film components of the tray being easily separated by the consumer. Alexir were good partners in the project management and in delivering a smooth launch.”
Tom Sene, Sales Director at the Alexir Partnership says, “The Halopack® was ideal for this project as it is one of the most rigid, hermetically sealed board trays in the retail market. Furthermore, the material used in the manufacture complemented the newspaper-wrapped fish and chips design. The result is a fantastic looking range and a product offering that gives stand-out on shelf against other formats; we trust it will be a huge success for M&S”.
Notes to Editors
About the Alexir Partnership
With proven reliability, excellent quality and innovative packaging solutions, the Alexir Partnership is the only UK owned company that offers a complete design to delivery service in the food packaging and co-manufacturing industry.
http://www.alexir.co.uk
+44 (0)1732 866681
[email protected]
Claire Summersby, Alexir Packaging Ltd, http://www.alexir.co.uk, +44 1732866681 Ext: 2012, [email protected]
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