Whether it concerns sausages, sliced meat or ham cubes, Grupo Schara’s processed meat products always equal highest quality. This certainly has something to do with the fact, that the company was founded in 1955 by German master butcher D. Michael Schara, and still remains a true family company. Schara was able to adapt his German recipes to the Spanish market, and to create a distinctive flavour. Nowadays, with the second and third generation in the company, Grupo Schara continues to live up to this remarkable flavour across its entire product line. Moreover, using clever marketing techniques, the company has been able to create a strong brand name in the Spanish market and abroad. We spoke with Sabine Schara, Marketing Director at Grupo Schara, about trends in packaging, and about how she found the perfect fit in SEALPAC.
The move towards fully automatic packaging
With three production facilities and 80 employees, Grupo Schara (www.schara.es) can be regarded as a major player in the Spanish market for processed meat, and in particular sausages. The company supplies both private label products to discounters and Schara branded products to deli stores. All its products contain 100% pork meat and are free of gluten, starch additives and colouring agents. Sabine Schara, Marketing Director at Grupo Schara: ‘We buy our meat daily from the finest suppliers in mainly the Cataluña area, where circumstances are perfect for high quality fresh pork meat. As they all tend to have their own specialization in slaughtering, different suppliers are selected for different parts of the product line. In all cases, highest meat standards and strict product security have to be applied. This also concerns the packaging of our products.’
At the start of the company, in 1955, Grupo Schara’s products were sold unpacked per kilogram directly at butchers to be consumed the same day. During the 1960’s, demand began to rise for pre-packaged products with longer shelf-life. Still, it took until 1977 for Grupo Schara to buy its first thermoformer. At present, all its products are packed fully automatic. By applying top quality packaging, these products maintain their distinctive flavour – based on the original recipes of D. Michael Schara.
Ultimate flexibility in production
Grupo Schara is known for its extensive product range. Sabine Schara: ‘This means that we are processing many different products at relatively small numbers. As such, we require packaging machinery that offers high flexibility. At the end of 2009, we bought three SEALPAC RE15 thermoformers with that in mind. Not only are they able to process many different products, they also enable us to run different packaging solutions on a single machine, such as vacuum packaging, MAP and skin packs. Talk about value for money!’
In setting up the packaging lines, EMO S.A., distributor of SEALPAC thermoformers in Spain and Portugal, played an important part. Being a long-term partner of Grupo Schara, they ensured a smooth installation as well as practical training of operators on the spot. With the lines running for six months now, Grupo Schara is convinced of having made the right choice. Sabine Schara: ‘So far, all three SEALPAC thermoformers have proven to be reliable and trouble-free. Maintenance is easy and downtime has been minimal. If ever there were hick-ups, EMO’s technicians arrived here in no time to solve them together with our in-house technical department. The performance of six strokes per minute is in correspondence with our current needs, and leaves enough room for future expansion.’
Highlighting the product with a second skin
For its line of sliced meat, Grupo Schara mainly uses skin packs. This type of packaging highlights the product on the shelf, making consumers want to take out every slice. In addition, it gives an optimal shelf-life of approximately 60 days due to the deep vacuum. For easy opening, part of one corner of the bottom film is cut from below in order to make it easier to lift the top film after the pack has been sealed.
However, some products may not be suitable for this type of packaging. Sabine Schara: ‘Owing to skin packaging, consumers can almost feel the product, longing to take it out at once. But what we experienced with sliced ham is that consumers were unable to separate the thin slices after opening the pack. For this product, we now use Modified Atmosphere Packaging again, which normally gives a shelf-life of around 30 days. Despite the shorter shelf-life, it matches our philosophy: the packaging always has to do justice to the product.’
Fresher packaging
Although shelf-life will always remain an important issue, especially when supplying to discount stores and supermarkets, Grupo Schara sees a clear trend towards fresh products. Sabine Schara: ‘Meat is an extremely sensitive food product. Therefore, we believe that a pack should be opened only once in order to guarantee the freshness of its contents. Re-closability is less of an issue for our consumer packs. A perfect example is our Schara Breakfast line, which contains a vacuum pack with three slices of bacon for one-time use during breakfast. Nevertheless, we also supply volume packs to the catering
industry.’
Grupo Schara closely monitors the logistical chain of its products, especially if they are supplied abroad. Sabine Schara: ‘We will never make concessions to the quality, originality or flavour of our products. In terms of packaging, we try to be one step ahead of the trends. This is not always easy when supplying to large discounters, who tend to dictate the packaging design, but we have enough experience to lead them in the right direction. Most of the time, it is just plain common sense.’
Packaging with a smile
Looking at trends, it is clear that also in Spain the average household is becoming smaller, with single households gaining ground quickly. This has lead to Grupo Schara’s introduction of single portion-packs for sausages. Using the slogan ‘Hoy me apetece’ (‘Today I feel like’), five different sausages in single portion vacuum packs were introduced to the market. Each made from natural casing and with a distinctive flavour, taking into account the unique preferences of single customers. It was at the Schara family dinner table that Schara Smile was invented as the brand name for this product line, based on their curved shape from the natural casing.
Just like in most parts of the world, environmental issues are an important topic at Grupo Schara. Sabine Schara: ‘We do not believe that we can be more environmental-friendly by using less packaging, but we try to find better packaging materials. For our biological product line, we are aiming towards 100% bio degradable films. The challenge is to get such films economized, so that they have a reasonable price. On the other hand, we believe it will not be long before supermarkets start to implement stricter environmental policies.’
Back to basics
Six months ago, Grupo Schara opened its first own deli store in the famous Barcelona market halls of La Boqueria (www.boqueria.info). It gives the company the opportunity to show its entire product range to consumers, and to get feedback on their flavour and packaging. The ultimate consumer panel, so to say. Sabine Schara concludes: ‘Funnily enough, this brings us back to the old times of the traditional butcher. On the other hand, we have clearly adapted the concept to modern life, with sausages in single portion-packs and sliced meat in skin packs.’
