Introduction
Specifically, the Chinese New Year Commonly referred to as CNY is a time when people of different ages and relations with others gather together for the celebration of the new year in different ways. One of the important activities that take place during the celebration is the exchange of CNY goodies which include bak kwa (barbecued pork), love letters, pineapple tarts and so on. These goodies have always been wrapped or packed in paper, plastic or cardboard materials. However, in recent years, non-woven bags have become a preferred replacement to plastic for CNY goodie packaging. How does non-woven bags differ from other types of packaging materials used for CNY treats? Which of these two options has more benefits to the vendors and consumers?
What are Non-Woven Bags?
Non-woven bags are actually constructed from polypropylene, a type of plastic. The material is wearable, elastic and the t-shirt can be printed with attractive colors or any message. Non-woven bags are currently used extensively as grocery bags, gift bags, as packing material in retail stores and the like. For the CNY goodies, the bags are preferably red and gold colors with motifs of the Chinese zodiac, or even images related to CNY. It is soft and thin and the cost of manufacturing is also low Vendors are able to add company logo, store addresses or promotion messages.
5 Unheard/Written Benefits of Using Non-Woven Bags for CNY Goodies
Aesthetics and Branding
The variety of prints and colors on non-woven bags means that products packed in these bags appear joyous and consumers get excited about the CNY season. Advertisers can request for the bags to be printed with the store logo, brand animal, website or contact to act as an advertisement. Seasonal and aesthetic looks vary and therefore using a pod system that can print any design in full color gives limitless options.
Protection and Durability
Non-woven fabric has been designed to be rigid and strong for use in normal cycles. In case CNY goodies are packed in this bag, the bag bears the weight of the products and in case of a bounce or a fall it shields minor bangs. Due to the toughness of the bags getting from the stiffness of the materials used, fragile products such as pineapple tarts, bake goods and the likes are not easily compressed during the transport. This assists the gift to preserve its looks and shape when it is time for the customer to collect it.
Customization
Most of the non-woven bags offer vendors much more flexibility in size, design and style than from cardboard boxes or plastic containers usually used. Possible, small bags, those that can hold average gift sets, and big bags can be made to meet D&G variety of gifts. No MOQ is needed for custom prints, so small businesses can easily afford a design that will represent their brand. Customization also enables the packaging of CNY products for specific collections year after year if needed.
Eco-Friendliness
By far, most non-woven fabric is recyclable as a result the importance of appropriately disposing them. In this case, non-woven CNY bags can be Continue plastic bags or foam used as eco-friendly products. Utilising non-woven bags is in line with such environmental practices which customers consider with increasing interest. If consumers use the bags for the subsequent years, then it minimizes waste produced.
Disadvantages of Non-Woven Bag on the Celebration of CNY with Goodies
Not Waterproof
Although the fabric offers sufficient protection, it still offers an open-cell construction making the boots non-waterproof. The pre-soupy CNY dishes such as pen cai or Lo Sew Year pudding would spill through the non-woven bag. The fatty and messy products such as chocolate, wine, coffee, various drinks, fruits and greasy foods, etc. can discolour the fabric. This shortcoming needs added protective inner layer before it can be placed inside the non-woven textile outer sack.
Physical Damage
Although, non-woven fabric is rough for normal manipulation, it can easily rip if exposed to sharp objects or if overburdened with exceedingly heavy objects. Sharp edged or shaped CNY snacks such as pineapple tarts may even poke through the bag if not properly packed. Unlike cardboard boxes they can easily develop rips, cracks, or holes, which further hurts the aesthetics and functionality of the bags.
Not Great for Food Safety
Non-woven bags have poor airtight and well-sealed features unlike the plastic containers that are commonly used. This implies that water, air, microbial agents, and bacteria get penetrated slowly to perishable CNY products inside and prolong the rate for deterioration and staleness to permeate the products. microbiological risks are therefore higher if the seal is not extremely tight minimizing food hygiene safety of our customers. It is less of a problem if the appropriate supplementary internal liners and packaging are used.
Comparatively Costly
Non-woven bags made to order are relatively expensive compared to common cardboard, plastic and foam packaging materials and may cost up to 4 to even 10 times more. The price is cheap for large outlets or “big players” or anyone with deep pockets. However, small scale traders such as home-based businesses selling CNY items may consider the cost to be high particularly where they are placing an order in small quantities. Seasonal production does not allow large inventory stock and therefore incurs much higher per unit cost.
Somewhat Less Useful for Some Products
This has been realised by the fact that non-woven bags are problematic when used for especially heavy or oddly shaped CNY specialty items. Complex preparations such as whole cheese cakes, big tubs of cookies or even attractive logs have to have better support to look nice when shipped. Fabric bags yield to boxes or tins for these products since they offer better protection in addition to facilitating in the arrangement or placing of a number of such products. : Similarly to the case of non-woven bags, their designs are not uniform; therefore, productions may differ in size. This creates issues in how some fixed dimension CNY food gifts are fit.
Non-Woven or Traditional Packaging
For most purveyors of CNY snacks such as bak kwa, candies, nuts or essential CNY items such as love letters or pineapple tarts, non-woven bags are ideal packaging materials. They are customizable, and very attractive, provide reasonable protection against minor impacts/dirt compared to plain cardboard boxes or simple plastic bags and they are environmentally friendly. They also prefer non woven bags as they consider them as prestige and best to be used when gifting.
However, non-woven bags also have their drawbacks including; high cost, susceptibility to leakage, rips or tears, and inability to completely seal products in to maintain their freshness. They also do worse than traditional packaging for other products as well. In this respect, conventional boxes, tins or plastic containers are still relevant usability where non woven bags are wanting. Some of the home bakeries that offer specialty large, heavy or liquid-based CNY kueh might consider going for traditional unique packaging due to a higher cost of these packing methods.
In most cases non-woven fabric bags meet the criterion of a good looking bag, adequately protected its content, gender free and sustainably manufactured. Their portable features and the blurring of line between form and function makes them a more suited than conventional choices for contemporary CNY food hampers.