Whether it’s salad or snacks, you want packaging that keeps food fresh, features great shelf appeal, and has the right price point. Clamshell packaging is a great option for meeting these needs. Customers love the high visibility that shows off fresh food offerings and a flip lid that lets them enjoy food later. Commercial food producers love how easy the one-piece packaging is for managing inventory and production.
In this post, we’ll show you why clamshell packaging is a great choice for your food products.
What Is Clamshell Packaging?
As the name implies, clamshell or clam packaging consists of two pieces of packaging material joined at a hinge along one side, which allows it to open and close. Typically made of thermoformed plastic, the edges can be sealed with a label, pop-tight lock, or other mechanism to protect the food from damage and the air.
Food processors can get clamshell packaging that’s stock — meaning it’s designed by the supplier in mass quantities — or made custom for the producer.
Understanding the Clamshell Packaging Market
Because of its convenient design and rising consumer demand, the clamshell packaging market is forecasted to experience steady growth through 2034. Clamshells are used across several verticals, but most of the anticipated market expansion is attributed to the food industry — especially within fresh and prepared food applications.
For consumers, clamshell packaging is user-friendly and well-suited to protect food during transportation, keep products fresh over time, and store food inside even after opening. Many shoppers also prefer transparent clamshell packaging, as it is much easier to evaluate the freshness and overall quality of the food within.
As consumers become more conscious of the packaging they use and its impact on the environment, the clamshell packaging industry has continued to trend toward more sustainable materials and manufacturing processes. As part of our own sustainable practices, Lacerta commits to a minimum average of 10% PCR content across all of our PET-based clamshell products.
Common Clamshell Packaging Materials
Clamshell packaging is typically made from various plastic materials, with the most common being PET (polyethylene terephthalate), rPET (recycled PET), and polystyrene (or styrofoam). PET is favored for its clarity, strength, and recyclability, making it ideal for food packaging. rPET, which is a type of post-consumer regrind (PCR) plastic, offers a sustainable option with similar qualities.
Polystyrene is lightweight, affordable, and a great insulator — which is why it’s sometimes used in restaurants for leftovers and takeout. At the same time, it’s less environmentally friendly compared to the materials above and has a low resistance to oxygen, which can impact freshness over time.
How Clamshell Packaging Is Made
To understand our process for creating custom and stock clamshell packaging, you’ll need first to understand “thermoforming,” which is a manufacturing process that utilizes heat to shape plastic. Once heated, the plastic sheets are formed in molds by applying vacuum, pressure, and mechanical force to draw the plastic into the shape of the mold.
Combined with our in-house capabilities, the thermoforming process allows us to create both custom and stock solutions with speed to market and lead times that are unparalleled in the food packaging industry. Here’s a glimpse into our process from start to finish.
- Ideation: We begin by understanding our customer’s requirements through a comprehensive needs assessment, which evaluates their desired features, applications, shapes, and overall goals. Our packaging experts then conduct thorough market research to understand the current packaging landscape and brainstorm innovative solutions. After research and brainstorming, we develop concept drawings and realistic renderings to visualize the packaging.
- Concept Review: Next, our customers provide feedback on the design elements, such as material, thickness, and coatings.
- Prototyping: After we’ve completed our review rounds, we then develop a clamshell prototype that puts snap, lid integrity, film seal, tamper resistance, and other stressors to the test.
- Mold and Tooling: After finalizing the prototype, a mold is created and adjusted for production. This phase ensures the mold’s accuracy and prepares it for optimal manufacturing.
- Production: With the mold created and run times determined, the final product is inspected by our quality team during both trial and production runs. We then give qualified items a final review before customer delivery.
Clamshell Packaging Benefits
Cost
Stock clamshell packaging often comes with cost benefits thanks to its ready-made nature and existing available molds — that can mean faster production times, too. However, the right packaging provider will also be able to provide custom solutions at a price-competitive point.
Protection
Well-constructed clamshells protect against improper handling during transport or storage. Once the consumer purchases the food, the packaging keeps food secure between the store, work, and home.
Freshness
Plastic clamshell packaging is designed to create a tight seal. In some cases, this can include leak resistance that securely seals your product from airborne contaminants, protecting its safety and freshness.
Transparency
When consumers can clearly see the food, they are more likely to buy, especially if the company offers fresh, healthy ingredients.
Safety
Tamper-resistant packaging provides retailers and consumers peace of mind that food has been packaged and sealed safely. Stock clamshell packaging often includes tamper-resistant options.
Versatility
While custom options are always available, stock clamshell packaging can be found in many designs for various foods, from salads to sandwiches.
Operational Advantage
Because the lid and bottom are attached, clamshell packaging options are one piece of material. This means one SKU and one item for inventory to manage.
Partner With the Leading Custom and Stock Clamshell Packaging Supplier
Lacerta has produced plastic food packaging since 1993 and in that time has developed a number of innovative packaging designs to meet your needs. Recently, we developed the Fresh N’ Sealed tamper-resistant line, which features clamshell packaging, for a broad range of applications.
Each plastic clamshell package in our Fresh n’ Sealed line is specially designed with:
- Pop-tight lock
- Easy closure
- Clear PET materials to showcase your product
- Fully recyclable materials
We offer clear, plastic clamshell packaging for sandwiches, salads, herbs, snacks, and more. At Lacerta, we are committed to working with our customers to help them find packaging that meets their needs.
See the advantages of clamshell packaging and our Fresh N’ Sealed line for yourself.
