Ceepackaging

Technology

Vacuum packaging aiding caterer

Today Kivircik is the leading Turkish food caterer, the only one providing sous vide food packaging solutions. The company operates a new modern plant where 50,000 daily meals are prepared each day, then delivered to foodservice customers such as schools, universities, governmental agencies, health centers and various industrial canteens. The meals are composed of a choice of soupsmain and side dishes, as well as sauces and desserts. They are based on 120 traditional Turkish recipes, to which new international trend dishes were added thanks to the partnership with Deliva. Cooked under vacuum, then pasteurized to ensure optimal preservation, these ready meals are re-heated at the customer’s facilities.

VERTICAL POUCH PACKAGING
Established thanks to training and guidance from joint venture partner Deliva International in Belgium, the Delivaturk business immediately adopted the high performance Vertical Pouch Packaging (VPP) technology from Sealed Air to pack its ready meals in highly resistant flexible pouches. The Cryovac® VPP technology results in hygienic packs that ensure prolonged shelf life, convenience and security.

Cryovac® flexible pouches are made of fully co-extruded, multilayer, high barrier film. This unique technology provides a pack with no headspace, which is formed, vertically filled, heat sealed and separated into a finished, hermetic, puncture resistant pillow pouch offering high pack integrity. The high barrier materials provide optimal protection and extended shelf life. The chlorine free formulations are compatible with environmental and recycling requirements. The packs are easy and safe to transport, open and handle.

NUMEROUS BENEFITS
The ‘sous vide’ cooking combined with the Cryovac® VPP technology brings caterers and end-users alike a great many benefits:
§ Increased customer convenience as meals are centrally prepared and delivered “ready to heat and serve”;
§ Extended and secure shelf life and hygiene thanks to the hermetic seals of a vacuum pouch;
§  Optimal food quality preservation during prolonged storage, ensuring healthy and high nutritional value as nutrients and organoleptic properties are preserved;
§ Improved logistics and reduced transport costs, minimizing needs for storage space;
§ Product traceability for enhanced food security;
§ Development of standardized recipe concepts, by defining ingredients and doses, thus impacting on cost control and quality performance;
§ Reduced operational costs (labour costs, no food waste, orders planning, energy saving in central kitchens vs. in-house catering);
§ The pouches are easy to handle, transport, store, open, empty and discard.

OPTIMAL RESULTS
Sealed Air has contributed in launching the Delivaturk business by creating a centralized production outlet for the catering market and developing innovative solutions (pasteurized meals packed in VPP) as well as finding new prospective customers through strong networking.  “We have been thrilled with the entire process and are extremely happy with the results”, commented Hasan Erdogan. “My relationship with Sealed Air is more than business in the sense that I consider them not as a supplier but as a friend, as a partner. They contribute to getting us informed about novelties in the market and innovative opportunities that fit our products. This is extremely precious.”

PROMISING FUTURE
The Delivaturk business is expanding fast and meeting with increasing success. It is now considering purchasing an additional Cryovac® VPP machine targeting to double their production to 100,000 daily meals in 2009.

The company plans to exploit the huge potential of catering opportunities in Turkey by specializing in serving universities and health institutes, as well as developing new market outlets with restaurant franchises, hotels and municipalities, or delivering special healthy meals to schools and health organizations. They recently won a public tender to supply 1,500 meals a day once a week to indigent people, meals packed in Darfresh® vacuum shrink packaging by Sealed Air.

The owner-managers are also looking to expand geographically, by establishing a new production plant in Dubai to serve Middle Eastern countries. Also, retailing opportunities such as Cash & Carry may be envisaged thanks to the Sealed Air networking with local food retailers.