The merchandising of wider arrays of hot and cold prepared selections is making the supermarket deli an increasingly vibrant shopper destination for high-quality convenience foods.

And while most consumers are primarily focusing on such elements as cost, taste and freshness, a less conspicuous element—product packaging—also is playing a significant role in attracting buyers, analysts say.

Mona Doyle, president of Consumer Network Inc., a Philadelphia-based consumer research firm, notes that her company’s surveys found that deli and prepared foods packaging is important to between 8 percent and 10 percent of shoppers.

Those individuals, she states, seek containers that are leak-proof, easy to open and reclose, and maintain freshness.

“Resealability is most important and offers retailers the greatest payback,” Doyle says. “Packaging for Chinese take-out remains the gold standard in terms of being resealable and reusable.”

Shoppers, to a lesser degree, also seek sustainable containers.

“Eco concerns are a deterrent to purchasing some products,” she notes. “Retailers, by offering sustainable packaging, also build trust and generate the feeling among shoppers that they are doing the right thing.”

Adds Kevin Kimbell, owner of TKG Consulting, a San Francisco-based marketing and consulting firm specializing in consumer research, “Shoppers more often are saying that green—which includes using less materials in packaging—is important. There has been much more awareness about environmental issues over the last five years.”

Among the suppliers emphasizing sustainability is Lenexa, Kan.-based Robbie Manufacturing Inc., which is marketing the Hot-N-Handy Bio-Pouch.

Intended for fresh-prepared sandwiches, Bio-Pouch was developed to replace the rigid polystyrene-hinged containers that are commonly used in cold cases at retail locations.

Compared to rigid polystyrene containers, the Bio-Pouch uses 92-percent less crude oil, reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 56 percent, and decreases packaging material waste weight by 75 percent, the company notes.

Yet, while green is generating interest, product quality and ease of use remain top-of-mind for many packaging manufacturers.

Sealed Air Corp., Duncan, S.C., for instance, last fall introduced the Cryovac-branded Deli-Snap!, a high-barrier lidstock, snap-on lidded tray for processed deli meats and cheeses.

The tray’s reclosable feature is intended to keep products fresh and—unlike many packages with zippers—enable users to access items without being forced to rub their hands against the food and juices, says Jim Belcher, marketing director for Sealed Air’s Cryovac case ready products.

Deli-Snap! can hold between eight and 22 ounces of product and has a hermetic seal to support low-oxygen modified atmosphere.

Sealed Air. Corp. also is marketing its Multi-Seal flexible packaging for sliced deli meats and cheeses.

The company reports that the package can be opened and resealed at least 10 times and—because it does not require a zipper or tear-notch feature—uses less material than most other containers.