Weidenhammer packages Rügenwalder "Mühlen Frikadellen" meat delicacies

Rügenwalder Mühle brought their "Mühlen Frikadellen" classic German meat patties in a new look to refrigerated display cases in October 2012. Packed fresh in trendy plastic containers, this home-style delicacy has become a modern lifestyle product – and a perfect on-the-go snack. The resealable containers are made by Weidenhammer Plastic Packaging (WPP), the plastics division of the Weidenhammer Packaging Group (WPG). Manufactured using the In-Mould Labelling (IML) process, the transparent packaging meets retail market demands for fresh product packaging. It also satisfies the needs of young consumers for practical to-go packaging.

Tasty "Mühlen Frikadellen" meat patties are an ever-popular lunch or party food in Germany. So it makes good sense to offer this culinary classic as a brand-name product in convenient packaging on the refrigerated supermarket shelves. Rügenwalder Mühle is using a proven packaging concept for this traditional snack and marketing its "Mühlen Frikadellen" product in modern, durable plastic containers. The company, which is based in Bad Zwischenahn in Lower Saxony, used the same type of packaging to launch its "Mühlen Würstchen" sausage products in 2010. The WPP plastic container was also chosen for the new product. "In its form and appearance, the 'Mühlen Frikadellen' container is nearly identical to the successful packaging used for the sausage product," explains Andreas Rothschink, Sales Director at Weidenhammer Plastic Packaging. "This ensures optimum brand management, and the rigid container is an excellent packaging format for a product that is primarily intended for consumption on-the-go."

See-through packaging for spontaneous snacking
Practical, recloseable and transparent: Like the "Mühlen Würstchen" sausage products, "Mühlen Frikadellen" meat patties are packaged in a see-through polypropylene container manufactured and labelled by WPP based on the IML process. Since the patties are fried without oil, there is no grease inside the packaging to obscure the consumer's view of the product inside. The tasty contents can be seen through the transparent, partially printed wrap-around label, inviting consumers to spontaneously pick up the product. "Impulse purchases are very important at the point of sale," says Rothschink. "Our packaging solution lets consumers standing in front of the refrigerated display case actually see what they will be eating."

The stylish container is popular among younger consumer groups. It features maximum to-go convenience, provides an appetizing look at the contents and highlights the premium quality of the product. "We've been seeing this trend for quite some time. Packaging is rapidly becoming an integral part of an overall product concept that is perfectly tailored to the needs of consumers," explains Rothschink. "Along these lines, our IML packaging is ideal because it offers plenty of flexibility in the design and can be tailored to each specific product."

Manufactured under clean room conditions
Available in classic pork or 100% poultry, "Mühlen Frikadellen" are perfectly protected in 165-gram containers. The semicircular WPP container is sealed with a fully-printed aluminium membrane for optimal product freshness and aroma. After it is opened for the first time, the container can be resealed with a deep-drawn, transparent plastic cap to keep the product fresh.

Following in the footsteps of the popular "Rügenwalder Teewurst" and "Mühlen Würstchen" sausage products, the IML container for "Mühlen Frikadellen" is the third packaging solution produced by WPP for Rügenwalder Mühle. All three plastic containers are manufactured at the Weidenhammer plant in Zwenkau, Germany. The packaging is produced under clean room conditions. "Hygiene plays a key role, especially with fresh products. And this starts with packaging production," says Rothschink. "The Weidenhammer plant in Zwenkau offers the best possible conditions. All production operations are certified according to BRC/IoP and subject to strict quality management."

Source: Weidenhammer