Crown’s Innovative Packaging Helps Grow McCall Farms’ Business

Crown’s expertise has helped keep McCall Farms current and competitive in the marketplace, and the two companies have collaborated on several recent product innovations.

7 Sep 2012 --- We Can” may seem like an odd tagline for a food manufacturer, but McCall Farms (Effingham, South Carolina) is proud of its long-standing relationship with canning, which dates back to 1954 when the McCall family decided to build a 5,000 square-foot canning operation. Since the very beginning, Crown Food Packaging North America, a business unit of Crown Holdings, Inc. has supplied metal cans for McCall Farms’ wide portfolio of southern-inspired vegetables sold across the United States.

Specializing in vegetables that flourish in South Carolina’s climate including peas, beans, greens, okra, rutabaga and tomatoes, McCall Farms cans locally grown fresh vegetables in southern-style flavor combinations. For example, field peas simmered with Vidalia onions is included in the product line, which is sold under the Margaret Holmes brand name. With such unique styles and seasonings, McCall Farms relies on packaging that locks in the flavor and quality of its products.

“We have always understood the benefits of packaging fresh vegetables and produce in metal cans and have relied on the format to uphold our brand image,” explains Marion Swink, Co-President, McCall Farms. “Other than eating them fresh from the field, the best and most nutritious way to enjoy vegetables and produce is out of a can.”

Relying on metal packaging has also led to other benefits for McCall Farms. In addition to being an efficient format to ship and store, cans are shelf stable and do not require refrigeration, so no extra energy use is required to keep food from spoiling.

Crown’s expertise has helped keep McCall Farms current and competitive in the marketplace, and the two companies have collaborated on several recent product innovations. After McCall Farms launched its boiled peanut line in standard three-piece cans, Crown offered consultation about how the company could make the product into an on-the-go snack by adding easy-open ends. Crown also worked closely with the McCall Farms operations team to ensure a smooth transition to the new ends. The convenient new package has resulted in a significant rise in sales.

With ready-to-cook meals gaining popularity, Crown also helped McCall Farms launch “Simple Suppers,” a line of vegetables and flavored sauces that can be added to meat to create a true Southern meal in minutes. By simply placing what Southern consumers typically cook in a can, McCall Farms makes family meals convenient and easy. Consumer reaction has been extremely positive to the product, which is currently available in four flavors. The company plans to add additional flavors to the line.

McCall Farms is also working on a project to highlight the nutritional benefits of canned food on its labels. Each label will have a “Can Fact” and a QR code will direct consumers to the company’s website for more information. In addition, to educate consumers about the environmental attributes of metal packaging, the company also plans to print the official “Cans: Infinitely Recyclable” logo on labels.

Even after sixty years of working together, Crown’s team still regularly visits McCall Farms to conduct product tests, review the production line and troubleshoot issues. “Crown is the ideal supplier,” says Swink. “From a high level of mechanical and technical support to understanding our market, Crown got us into the canning business back in 1954 and they will keep us in business in the years to come.”