Ruiz Food Products (Dinuba, CA), a market leader in the frozen Mexican food category, recently selected the Robbie PromoBag packaging system from Robbie Manufacturing to relaunch its line of El Monterey Quick Classics brand Mexican food deli tray products.

The Robbie PromoBag packaging system, including equipment and preprinted wicketed bags comprised of DuPont’s Clysar polyolefin film, is a leak-resistant packaging method that enables Ruiz Food Products to use the entire front, back and most of the sides for merchandising and product information. “The Robbie PromoBag reduced packaging costs and labor costs, increased throughput and improved the appearance of the package for Ruiz Food Products,” said James Guenther, marketing director of Robbie Manufacturing. The entire line of 11 El Monterey Quick Classics deli tray products are packaged in the Robbie PromoBag, including beef and bean burrito six-packs, beef and chicken taquitos and beef and chicken tamales.

Before selecting the PromoBag packaging system, the deli tray line was packaged on a foamed polystyrene tray overwrapped with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) stretch film. A process-printed label was then applied to the front of the pack, while a black and white label with ingredients and cooking instructions was placed on the back. Ruiz Food Products had difficulty ensuring that the pressure-sensitive labels would be applied evenly across every package every time. According to Guenther, the labor to apply the two labels was slow and costly, while the automatic PromoBag system is faster and cost-efficient. “In some cases, packaging line speeds have improved by more than 100 percent,” he said.

The package still has the polystyrene tray, but is now wrapped in the PromoBag. “Robbie Manufacturing has been able to provide us with a packaging system that produces consistent quality while enhancing the total visual appeal of our deli line items,” said Ric Alvarez, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Ruiz Food Products. “This system allows us to combine traditional deli packaging with quality six-color graphics which can easily be applied to all of our black deli trays,” added Alvarez.