We give our clients the tools to improve outcomes for their customers and their bottom line
View our case studies below to see how we do it
Case study #1
FOOD SERVICE APPLICATION
Casual Dining Concept consistently delivers ideal 135 ~ 145F serving temperature by adding HACCP-friendly retherm bags to their protein prep regiment.
“Basically, you’ve taken our pre-cooked proteins from a C to an A in quality by retaining more heat, flavor, and texture with your oven-able bags.” – recent customer
- Enhanced HACCP prep of pre-cooked, frozen proteins with a retherm bag that doubled as a “slack out” bag, i.e. overnight thawing from frozen to fresh in refrigerator. Kitchen workers then retherm in “waterless steamer” combi-oven in same bag, avoiding direct food contact with their hands.
- Enhanced heat, flavor, and texture profiles by avoiding need for stay warm glow lamps. Proteins stay in bag post retherming until plated. Moisture is encapsulated in retherm bag before, during, & after cooking maximizing heat, flavor, and texture profiles.
- Energy Efficiencies realized with shorter retherm times, and no water needed to achieve optimal food outcome.
- Food Waste reduced due to more consistent retherm outcome and less patron returns.
The casual dining food service customer approached us to help remedy the problem of “low serving temperature and dry texture” for their rethermed pre-cooked frozen proteins. Prior to our combi-oven high temp (to 400f) retherm bags, customer was retherming proteins in the microwave in colored HDPE “day bags” (good to est. 200F max) and placing proteins under glow lamps before plating. The result was dry, un-flavorful proteins served to customer at ave. 91F, and day bags that would melt/stick together under the glow lamp.
The objective was to increase serving temperature to more HACCP-friendly 135 ~ 145F with excellent flavor and texture profiles using a retherm bag that “could handle the heat.”
The challenge was to come up with a film material and “user-friendly” bag design that could resist retherm temperatures above 300F but lower than 400F as retherm oven moved from microwaves to combi-ovens.
The work included numerous retherm cooking tests and bag designs to confirm the protein heat profile was consistently achieved with a bag that was easy and convenient to use and application-friendly, i.e. quick to dispense, resistant to the higher heat level, FDA Compliant, and delivered superior flavor/texture profiles by retaining the proteins’ natural moisture levels.
- Achieved desired 135 ~ 145F serving temperature
- Streamlined protein prep process by developing a bag that could be used to BOTH slack out frozen pre-cooked protein portions overnight and retherm thawed protein in the SAME BAG!
- Enhanced flavor, texture, and heat profiles resulting in a superior eating experience
- Minimized food waste with more consistent, superior protein portion outcome
Case study #2
FRESH WHOLE POTATO GROWER/PROCESSOR
Fresh Whole Potato Processor achieves extended 60+ days shelf life and superior cooking results with specialized microwave self-venting packaging.
“With your specialized high OTR breathable steam film, you’ve helped us not just extend our shelf life, but helped us deliver a quick-prep great tasting potato to the market.” – recent customer
- Delivered Extended shelf life, i.e. 60+ days with our HIGH OTR steam lidding film. i.e. 1,000,000 cc O2/100 sq. in./24hrs
- Reduced Supply Chain Waste with extended shelf life
- Consistently delivered enhanced flavor and texture profiles for 16 oz. potatoes within a 5:00 ~ 6:00 min. microwave cooking time
- Grew potato processor sales by delivering a package that enhanced consumer value in the form of quick, nutritious, and tasty outcome.
Fresh Potatoes, like many other forms of produce, are living respiring plant foods. Unlike many other produce commodities, fresh potatoes thrive off a 21% atmospheric oxygen level, and consequently, need sufficient “air flow” to maximize their shelf life. Reduced air flow results in shorter shelf life, which, in turn, increases supply chain waste.
With the growth of quick-prep fresh potato microwave “steam kits” (pre-washed potatoes with seasoning packet in microwave-safe packaging) the breathability or “air flow” can as sometimes be restricted by the packaging.
Furthermore, cooking inconsistently shaped fresh potatoes in the microwave without packaging that properly regulates moisture loss typically results in an inconsistent and unsavory spectrum of cooking outcomes. In addition, the UV light rays present in grocery stores, can create “greening and sprouting” of the potatoes, reducing their consumer shelf appeal.
With the objective of achieving extended 60+ day shelf life for optimal retail distribution and delivering a superior quick-prep microwave-able package that yields excellent flavor and texture profiles, the challenge becomes controlling the inter-package oxygen and moisture atmosphere during distribution, blocking detrimental UV light rays at retail, and regulating excessive moisture loss during microwave steam prep.
The work included numerous shelf life and steam cooking tests to arrive at the ideal shelf life and cooking outcome on a CONSISTENT basis, package after package.
By providing a variety of oxygen and steam venting strip designs designed into our specialty SteamPak Plus tray lidding film, the customer was able to test and qualify the optimal shelf life and microwave steam cooking performance.
To address the UV light and greening/sprouting concerns at retail, a printed paperboard outer sleeve, a fully printed steam film web, or a snap on opaque package top was used.
To address the natural variation the comes with potato size and the variation in microwave cooking outcome, we used our specialized “micro porous” self-venting technology to maximize inter-package pressure by REGULATING how much steam moisture can vent from the package.
- Achieved desired 60+ days shelf life for retail grocery distribution
- Delivered CONSISTENT and Enhanced flavor/texture profiles resulting in a superior consumer experience package after package!
- Saved on costs with minimized supply chain shrink/retail chargebacks due to consistent extended shelf life
- Helped customer grow retail sales with other potato items, using the microwave “steamer” package as a solid value-added anchor item.
Contact Us
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GSP, Inc. is a Kansas City, Missouri-based supplier of value-added packaging specializing in “cook-in” and “retherm” packaging solutions for microwave and oven applications. Packaging solutions include specialized self-venting films that deliver food enhancement in the form of superior flavor, texture, and heat profiles. Please contact us to further learn how our packaging solutions can benefit your retail or food service application.
GSP’s mission is to help its customers sell more of their own products by matching the correct GSP cook-in packaging solution to the customer’s unique application needs.
As a member of the global business community, we believe that it is our responsibility to supply sustainable packaging solutions, i.e. materials that are either produced from recycled raw material, are recyclable, reduce energy footprint, and/or assist in “source reduction.”
We believe it is not just our moral obligation to serve others through charitable organizations, it also feels pretty good. Some of the charitable organizations we support are included in the list below. I urge you to take a closer look and consider supporting these organizations as well.
www.givesafewater.org provides cost effective simple-to-use water purification systems to countries like El Salvador that suffer from contaminated water supply. A mere $100 donation allows for safe drinking water for a family of four for 10 years!