Nestlé Professional: New packaging for a new concept

© Nestlé Professional

In the fall of this year, Nestlé Professional changed its complete dessert concept for large consumers from the hospitality and catering industry. The international relaunch affects not only the recipes, but also and above all the packaging concept was adjusted to the special requirements of this target group.

As the world’s largest foodstuff company, Nestlé is represented in more than 80 countries throughout the world. Nestlé Professional is the business entity, which is managed upon a global level, of the foodstuff group for the catering market (food services) with foodstuffs and beverages. Large consumers have other requirements for the products, recipes, packaging and the degree of convenience than end consumers do. And precisely desserts play an important role: Things must go quickly, the packaging is supposed to be easy to handle, the results must optimally taste “like home-made” and must also be able to be supplied-even in the case of large quantities-in the shortest possible time by trained personnel.

In order to make the desserts segment an even greater priority for the global customers in this industry, Nestlé Professional transformed the complete assortment with mousses, crèmes, jellies and puddings successively into a new concept. The centrepiece of this transformation is a new packaging design and a comprehensive transformation of the cardboard packaging.

Meeting the requirements of large consumers

Beginning immediately, the outer packaging will primarily contain required information and notes. First and foremost, the preparation instructions have been revised and optimised. Thus, now, all steps and dosage/amount information will be illustrated with symbols. This simplifies preparation, is internationally understandable and prevents misunderstandings. Persons of quite varied nationalities are working together throughout the world in precisely large kitchens and non-understandable instructions upon packaging owing to language barriers are thus supposed to be a thing of the past.

Moreover, all folding boxes have been optimised with regards to stability and sealing. They are now available in particularly handy sizes of 1 kg and 2 kg. A thicker cardboard will be used which doesn’t bend or rip as fast and the improved seal is supposed to help ensure easier handling when opening and resealing the packaging.

Hygiene-related safety is the top priority

An additional central point which has the highest priority in the catering market is hygiene. Particularly in large kitchens, no compromises whatsoever may be made in this regard. This is also valid for brand-name companies which serve the industry in order to offer their customers the greatest possible safety – in addition to wanting to avoid legal consequences.

For handling in accordance with the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) regulations, the removable inner bag now has an expiration date so that no shipping carton must still be repackaged. According to the manufacturer’s statements, this is an absolute innovation on the market and naturally simplifies handling enormously because cartons may no longer be stored in the kitchens in accordance with the HACCP regulations. However, owing to traceability considerations, the inner bag is not only labelled with the expiration date and batch number, but rather also with the product name. Even without repackaging, this helps to quickly and easily be able to differentiate between the individual products in the hectic day-to-day kitchen work.

Wolfgang Schönfeld is the Kitchen Manager at Germany’s main Porsche factory in Zuffenhausen. From his experience as a professional chef, he confirms the importance of such highly-convenient packaging solutions: “The simpler and more foolproof the production of desserts is, the better-precisely because we also have auxiliary personnel in the kitchen. In this regard, our dessert counter is assigned substantial importance with 15 different offerings daily, based upon overall sales. This is also valid for our internal and external events. Thus, naturally, because everything must also function seamlessly here.”

Harmonisation on the international markets

Another important argument for the change in packaging was a harmonisation for the international business of the foodstuff manufacturer. Thus, the authentic recipes from the individual markets are supposed to also be available in other countries. Therefore, in Germany, there is the “Bavarian Crème” which is available in France or Italy as “Mousse Blanche Decor”. And the “Panna Cotta” - based upon the Italian recipe - is also available in Germany and other countries. The goal of the packaging relaunch was thus also a reduction in complexity: Standardised packaging in the various countries naturally simplify the manufacturing of packaging and thus offer enormous potential for savings.
At the same time, the packaging design of Nestlé Desserts should become more uniform in order to also increase the recognition factor. Furthermore, the weights have been conformed and standardised to one or two kilograms.