FOOD AND BEVERAGE
One of the latest additions to En Route’s wide snack box offerings is Alfonso’s Tapas Range, which is an ambient product
Europe in 2011, where it started with fresh and ambient meal boxes, soon adding frozen meal boxes to the range. “We started working with various copackers all over Europe so that we can also offer meal boxes that are typically Scandinavian, Italian or Belgian, for example,” Fendel says. “Current trends are special meals, which is why we offer a gluten-free buy-on-board meal box as well as the Schär meal box. There is also a high demand for retail brands to be included in the meal to serve something to the passenger that is recognizable and that they would buy in their daily life in a retail environment.” The company’s target audience operates in the travel, leisure or recreational sectors, and current customers range from airlines to buses, trains, ferries and cinemas. “Basically anybody who is looking for a convenient packaged meal solution on the go,” she says. To manage the distribution, Oakfield Farms has various warehouses located all
New products from Oakfield Farms include this chilled meal box for a Scandinavian charter airline with an integrated slot for a hot meal
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over Europe and the U.S., and can offer a global logistics network to its customers. For sales tracking, it uses its own IT systems which have been customized especially for its individual needs, as the travel industry differs slightly from other industries, the company says.
Snackbox to-go
Snack boxes created by Snackbox to-go are designed to be perfect for inflight catering because they are convenient. They are freezable, ovenable and can be presented to the customer immediately after prep. This no-handling process is fast and hygienic, says Jeroen Kosterman, co-owner of Snackbox To-Go. The Dutch firm was founded around the innovation of crispy fries. Later, it created a unique type of fries for preparation in airline ovens inside a specially developed snack box. Today the company supplies many different kinds of snack boxes filled with cakes, hot snacks, pancakes, paninis, burritos and chicken wings. It also produces boxes for breakfast and tapas, which
are designed for sharing. “A new product that we expect to be a great hit is the pizza and fries snack box – the world’s most famous snacks combined. We will be releasing this product at the WTCE 2018 in Hamburg,” says Kosterman. Snackbox to-go’s corporate identity is fun and playful, consisting of a blackboard design with doodles. In the same vein, fun facts are written on the product packaging. In a further innovation, the company has developed ovenable packaging with a special divider to separate the fries and pizza. The packaging incorporates perforation holes to make sure the product is heated evenly. The firm also offers multiple snack boxes in different sizes and with different purposes, all with the same easy-opening and ovenable capabilities. Additionally, it has designed special ovenable paper-film for its bread products. In terms of trends, Kosterman points to healthy eating. “We think that people who travel will treat themselves on board.
DFMi Although U.S.-based DFMi does not produce snack box packaging, the company does offer the contents. “DFMi is always searching for healthier products and innovative packaging that offers extended product shelf life that meets the snack box providers’ requirements,” says Kim Brown, Director of Marketing.