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By: Harry Lee
Do you love having nutritious breakfast or you like skipping them? Well! If you are the latter case, you must be at some point of your life attracted by the variety of cereal options available in those fascinating cereal packaging boxes, right?
Yes! They have managed to pull off their advertising strategy so brilliantly that it can even allure a person who was never in the habit of having breakfast. But, it is all for good, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Skipping breakfast is not a good habit and affects our overall mood all day long and of course, on health. It replenishes the body’s energy after an all-night fast.
If you don’t believe me, test it yourself. Start having a healthy breakfast each morning for at least two weeks. I am sure you will see a visible difference in your mental and physical performance. However, if you want to maintain a healthy lifestyle, gain some knowledge on your dietary requirements according to your body mass index.
Once you know that in which proportion you are required to have protein, carbohydrates and fats, you will never make a mistake. Make sure to include a breakfast that is low in cholesterol and fat while high in minerals and vitamins. However, experts suggest that having a protein-filled breakfast is the best option.
Now let’s have a little insight into the cereals and the options we have in our markets regarding them.
What Are Cereals?
Cereals are processed grains that are often eaten as the first meal of the day. It is eaten in both cold and hot form by mixing with milk and sometimes fruits and yoghurt. There is a range of breakfast cereals including;
- Cornflakes
- Wheat flakes
- Choco flakes
- Muesli
- Oat flakes
What Is The Nutritional Aspect Of Cereals?
- Cereals are typically low in fat yet satisfying
- Good source of whole grain and fibre
- Consumed with milk or yoghurt both of which are a good source of calcium
- Contributes to completing the daily vitamins and minerals requirements
- Lower sugar content than other breakfast options
- Dense in nutrients but not dense in calories
- Offers easy and quick preparation
Global Market Trends
The changing lifestyles and trends have led to an enhanced demand for ready-to-eat breakfast cereals. Moreover, due to the health issues of highly processed bakery breakfast items, people are now shifting to cereals. In 2013, wheat and rice accounted for a major share in terms of value in the overall breakfast cereal ingredients market.
However, the steady spike in demand for quick, yet healthy breakfast options is projected to further enhance the market share of these ingredients by 2022.
North America was found to represent the largest segment of the breakfast cereal market in 2013. It is now estimated to have a CAGR of 1.8% over the projected period.
Packaging Requirements of Breakfast Cereals
Products like cereals are highly sensitive to moisture and humidity. Moisture exposure to the cereals can cause microbial spoilage and soften. Therefore, they should be packed in packaging which does not let the moisture penetrate.
Packaging Options
Cereal packaging has multiple options. Let’s have a look at some of the famous packaging options for cereals.
Printed Laminated Pouches
These flexible pouches come in various combinations of materials. For instance, Polyester, CPP, BOPP, Metalized-Polyester, Aluminum Foil, Metalized BOPP, Kraft paper, and Polyethylene bags are among the most famous materials for pouches.
Quad Seal Bag
The QSB offers the best functionality when it comes to packing cereals. Moreover, dynamic and eye-catching packaging plays a vital role in driving sales. This packaging format gives a square box-type appearance, thus allowing the cereals to stand up on the shelf.
This way, it provides an excellent sale appeal and protection to the product inside. In addition, the square shape of the bag provides ideal space utilization to the retailers.
Classic Cereal Boxes
Custom cereal boxes offer the best packaging solutions for cereals. These cardboard boxes are 100% recyclable and do not end up producing waste piles. Moreover, they also cut down the production costs as in this case; manufacturers have the freedom to choose design options according to their budget.
In addition, these boxes also help in offsetting the carbon footprint by reducing the transport vehicle’s requirement. These boxes are easy to stack and take less space on the retail shelves. It also provides numerous other benefits to the business owners such as brand and product promotion.
Stand Up Bags
Another famous packaging option for cereals includes stand up bags. The flat’ fold over bottom’ and stand-up feature makes the product visible no matter which way the retailer stacks the bags. This way, it offers superior in-store branding and merchandising to the products. Moreover, the stand-up bag eliminates the need for an outer box, thus encouraging the use of less packaging material.
Unlike the bag-in-box style, these stand-up bags contribute to reducing packaging waste. It also ensures that the customers have access to key nutrition information that appeared only on the box, which would be discarded in case of bag-in-box style. Moreover, these bags are easy to hold and reusable.
It means you can seal the bag after pouring out the desired amount of product.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is extremely important to include breakfast as a part of your healthy diet regime. I have tried hard to provide you with a review of all the necessary information regarding cereals. Moreover, you can select the best packaging design according to your use convenience. However, regardless of the type of cereal and packaging, you choose its always important to have an eye on a few points. For instance, while choosing the best cereal option; make sure that it properly displays its nutritional information. Moreover, try to choose a brand that offers green packaging because it’s equally important to take care of the planet as ourselves.