3/28/2011 --- Ampac, a global leader in the retail, food, pet food, security and medical packaging markets, was awarded the AmeriStar Award for three flexible pouches: the Sprout Baby Food zippered retort pouch, the Hormel E-Z ZIP pouch, and the Hellman’s Best Foods E-Z ZIP pouch. The AmeriStar Award showcases the most ground-breaking, innovative packages of the year.

Ampac partnered with Sprout to provide a more sustainable alternative to standard baby food products packaged in glass jars or rigid cups. Sprout desired the added convenience of reclosability in case the product was not consumed in one sitting, and an easy open feature to improve access to the product as well as for consumer convenience. Ampac provided a recloseable standup retort pouch with photo quality rotogravure printed graphics and incorporated Ampac’s Linear Tear technology for straight and easy tear opening of the pouch. Ampac also incorporated a retortable recloseable zipper. The new pouch achieved all of Sprout’s requirements and provides significant savings in shipping and storage weight while also minimizing product breakage versus a glass jar.
 
The Hormel E-Z ZIP pouch is a flexible stand-up pouch that uses E-Z ZIP technology – an improvement over a standard zipper pouch. E-Z ZIP features a unique pull-tab opening that allows the user to simply pull away a thin tear strip to access the recloseable zipper. The package zipper then can be pulled open to dispense product and pressed closed to reseal. A unique feature of E-Z ZIP is that the zipper closure is accessed without having to tear off or damage the header of the stand-up pouch. Ampac produces this pouch with rotogravure printing resulting in excellent product graphics.
 
The Hellman’s E-Z ZIP recloseable, stand up pouch is a flexible package that replaces traditional cardboard packaging. The pouch holds 75 individual, serving-sized mayonnaise packets and is sold by bulk retailers. The pouch design represents an improved package design over existing packaging, reducing the amount of packaging required versus a cardboard box. It provides a more contemporary billboard for the brand on the retail shelf, and the package is more recognizable and easy to locate for its intended consumer. The E-Z ZIP reclosable stand up pouch takes up less shelf space and stores easily for continued use than a traditional cardboard package.
 
Ampac’s Director of Innovation, Sal Pellingra, said, “Ampac is thrilled to have won three Ameristar packaging awards. Ampac’s focus on innovative package design and features that bring differentiation to brands and unexpected benefits to consumers is a key component of our strategy. The awards are testimony that the strategy is bringing value and mutual growth to our customers.”