"Every time I open the return box, I see the wilted broccoli and swollen scallops, and my heart is in a knot." Director Wang, the head of the supply chain of a company, recalled the scene two years ago, and his brows were still furrowed. As the earliest regional brand to enter the pre-prepared food track, they once lost nearly 30% of their orders in the cold chain distribution link due to preservation problems.
Pain points give birth to changes
The turning point occurred at an industry exchange meeting. When Director Wang heard the data that "gas replacement technology can increase the retention rate of vitamin C in vegetables by 40%", he contacted the equipment supplier on the spot. Three months later, three production lines equipped with modified atmosphere packaging machines were put into use simultaneously. "It's not just a simple equipment upgrade," said Zhang Gong, the production supervisor, pointing to the smart screen on the new packaging machine. "It can automatically adjust the gas ratio according to the breathing characteristics of the dishes, just like installing a miniature ICU for each pre-prepared dish."
The fresh-keeping revolution has achieved results
The changes are immediate. The "soup leakage" problem, which was the most complained by customers in the past, has been reduced by 85%, and the cold chain transportation radius has been expanded from 500 kilometers to 800 kilometers. More importantly, the new packaging extends the shelf life of the product by 3 days, and the number of supermarket orders has surged by 60%. "Now dealers specifically ask for 'breathing packaging', which has become our secret weapon for differentiated competition." In the mobile phone screenshots shown by Director Wang, the consumer comments of a fresh food platform all mentioned "professional packaging" and "dishes are like freshly cooked."
Technology empowers long-term value
The surprises brought by in-depth cooperation are far more than that. The modular upgrade solution provided by the equipment supplier allows the packaging machine to handle -40¡æ frozen products and accurately package high-temperature sterilized meal packs. "During the Double Eleven last year, we temporarily increased our production capacity by 30%, all thanks to this 'Transformer'." Zhang Gong patted the metal shell of the packaging machine, and the metal collision sounded proud.
When the industry was still using vacuum packaging machines to "roughly lock in freshness", a certain company had already built a moat through modified atmosphere packaging equipment. This upgrade, which started with anxiety about freshness, eventually turned into an absolute advantage on the supply chain side - in the red ocean market of pre-prepared meals, sometimes the winner is determined by the gas ratio parameter jumping on the display screen of the packaging machine.
