Packaging
2008 “Best of Packforum” Award: Russian Food Processor MIRITAL Wins with Ready Meals in Cryovac Simple Steps
Monday 17. November 2008 - The 2008 BEST OF PACKFORUM AWARD took place on 17 September 2008 during the fifth Retail Press Day. The contest invites international chief editors of retail publications to vote for the best Packforum packaging amongst 15 innovative European retail packs. Editors are asked to evaluate each pack, giving a score between 1 and 10 for each of the following criteria: convenience, presentation appeal, food safety, merchandising and environmental impact.
The winner of the 2008 BEST OF PACKFORUM AWARD is the Simple Steps pack which the young Russian food processor Mirital adopted to recently launch its new range of frozen ready meals. Voters of the award were impressed with the merchandising appeal, food safety guarantee and remarkable consumer convenience. This frozen pack can be heated in the microwave in just a few minutes, so consumers can enjoy a succulent meal in no time at all.
Established in 1996, Mirital is a young food company which is present on the Russian market with two main brands and runs its own production facility near Moscow with a new one under construction. The new Mirital range of ready meals packed under Simple Steps was launched in July 2008 and sales have already sky rocketed. The range is currently available at Metro, Magnit Federal chain, Perekriostok and soon will be in Auchan and Lenta. As winner of the 2008 BEST OF PACKFORUM AWARD, Mirital will receive a custom designed Baccarat Trophy in a special local celebration, as a symbolic gesture of congratulations.
Simple Steps is a vacuum skin pack (VSP) which combines the benefits of “sous vide” cooking with microwave convenience in a hermetically closed pack. It offers taste and texture preservation, tenderness enhancement, superior convenience, reliable shelf life, high product visibility and a striking second skin effect for outstanding appeal in the retail case. The pack keeps the meal components looking juicy, fresh and easy to serve once heated.
In second position came a pack of marinated meat also packed in Simple Steps and distributed in Sweden by Pärson. For this pack, editors particularly appreciated the vertical display and convenience to cook raw meat in a microwave in just a few minutes. The third position came to the Delpierre salmon slices packed in Slicepak and sold at Carrefour France, a pack combining traditional look and enhanced shelf-life.