Page 36 - Packaging News magazine Sep-Oct 2022

FOOD PACKAGING
Sweets with a twist
Cannabis edibles are trending – and challenging conventional packaging processes. In this Q&A, Eric Aasen, product group sales manager – Horizontal, Robotics and Systems Portfolio at Syntegon Packaging Technology, discusses some of the most popular trends, production requirements and packaging technology solutions.
individual states, which is a considerable financial burden. As a result, they can’t invest in large-scale equipment, keep- ing the industry’s automation level low.
What about the products themselves? What are the challenges involved in packaging the edibles?
The products are very small and also differ in shape and structure. In addi- tion, they are quite demanding because of their often-sticky texture. Many vari- ants are also coated with sugar, which has a tendency to fall off during the handling and packaging process. This situation adds to the packaging chal- lenges and can lead to package integrity issues if it is not handled properly. An issue like this must be avoided to pre- serve product integrity and appeal.
Which equipment capabilities can help manufacturers overcome these challenges? Cleanability is a major factor. Sugar often sticks to the machine parts, disrupting the production process. This calls for properly designed equipment which allows for the fines to fall through with- out contaminating the mechanical parts. Easy cleaning is another major require- ment to keep the equipment and the packagers safe. Product protection, as with all foods, is another priority. Many manufacturers request an integrated gas flushing system to increase the shelf life of the products and keep them fresh. Similarly, packaging machines have to deliver bags with tight seams to prevent product oxidation and contamination with foreign particles.
Product protection is important, but what about preventing misuse by children, for example?
That’s an important point. The pack- ages have to be child-resistant to avoid misuse. At the same time, customers often want resealable bags to keep their products fresh longer. Therefore, machines must be able to produce packaging that combines these two important features.
Speaking of combinations, what
about versatility?
Given the wide variety of cannabis- based sweets, manufacturers also
need flexible platforms that can process products the size of a small breath mint. As I said, the products can be quite small, so machines need to be designed to handle these small products properly. Machines that
AS AN ALTERNATIVE to smoking canna- bis, cannabis-infused sweets are growing in popularity. Though these edibles pose certain challenges for packaging processes, they also offer attractive growth opportunities for the cannabis market.
Many countries and US states are now legalising cannabis. What trends can you identify for cannabis products?
For a long time, cannabis was forbidden and also taboo in many countries. This didn’t prevent people from using it for medicinal and recreational purposes, although secretly. Thanks to legalisa- tion, cannabis is more widely accepted and hence trending around the world. Especially in the United States the market is growing, as cannabis was legalised in 2012, initially in Colorado and Washington. Consumers not only enjoy smoking cannabis, but are also seeking other forms of consumption, including cannabis-infused sweets. These so-called edibles offer relaxation and enjoyment at the same time, and include cannabis-infused chocolate, popcorn, hard candy and gummies. A few years ago, chocolate was favoured, but has since taken a backseat to gum- mies. In the US, gummies made up 60 per cent of cannabis edibles sales in the first quarter of 2021. Other types of
cannabis confectionery, such as choc- olate, hard candy and taffy, represent less than 25 per cent of the market.
What production challenges do
edibles pose?
Cannabis products are expensive and often have a short shelf life, so con- sumers only buy small quantities. Accordingly, edibles manufacturers not only need to package small batches, but to protect the delicate products in the best possible way, e.g. via air-tight pack- ages. Band sealing machines and small flow wrappers lend themselves to these tasks. Band sealers preserve the flavour and help maintain a long shelf life, while flow wrappers have been a mainstay for confectionery packaging for decades, ensuring air-tight seams and processing even small product sizes and batches. The main reason for low produc-
tion volumes is legislation and correspondingly low levels of automation: since the legal requirements
for cannabis produc- tion in the United States vary widely, manufacturers – mostly start-ups
– have to build small produc- tion facilities in
ABOVE & RIGHT: As the Cannabis edibles market grows, Syntegon is well placed to service manufacturers.
36 ❙ SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER 2022
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