GB2502798A

GB2502798A - Packaging sleeve

Info

Publication number: GB2502798A
Application number: GB201210033A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andra Philip Wilkins
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-06-07
Filing date: 2012-06-07
Publication date: 2013-12-11
Anticipated expiration: 2032-06-07
Also published as: GB2502798B; GB201210033D0

Abstract

A blank 101 for creating a food package sleeve formed from a sheet of material, comprises two opposing slots 111, 112 that define an inner 122 and adjacent outer panels 121, 123. The inner panel can be placed on a first side of the food package and outer panels 121, 123 can be placed on the opposing side. Slots 111, 112 may be formed by slits or cut outs and may be parallel, non parallel, v shaped or curved. The blank may comprise lateral arm members 131, 132, linking outer panels, respective slot ends extend into at least one of the members. Arm members 131, 132 link adjacent outer panels together by crease lines 121a, 123a, 121b, 123b. Movement of the members in a first direction moves the inner panel out of the plane of the outer panels in that direction. The inner panel comprises longitudinal crease lines 122b, 122c to allow it to form a flat portion between crease lines. The inner portion may include instructions and product information. The outer portion may include information or advertising. The sleeve may be created, formed and applied to a food package automatically.

Description

PACKAGING SLEEVE

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of packaging sleeves and associated methods.

Background

Food package sleeves are generally used to provide information and advertising to the consumer/buyer of the food contained within the food package (e.g. pre-packed trays of food). Generally food package sleeves are designed such that the food package can be inserted into the sleeve before being transported for sale.

The listing or discussion of a prior-published document or any background in this specification should not necessarily be taken as an acknowledgement that the document or background is part of the state of the art or is common general knowledge. One or more aspects/embodiments of the present disclosure may or may not address one or

more of the background issues.

Summary

According to a first aspect there is provided a blank for creating a food package sleeve, the blank formed from a sheet of material and comprising: two opposing slots configured to define an inner panel and respective adjacent outer panels; wherein the blank of material is dimensioned, and the two opposing slots are configured, such that inner panel can be moved out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels to provide for the food package sleeve such that the inner panel can be placed on a first side of the food package and the respective adjacent outer panels can be placed on the second opposing side of the food package.

The blank may comprise lateral arm members linking the adjacent outer panels to each other, and wherein the respective slot ends extend into at least one of the lateral arm members such that movement of the lateral arm members in a first direction moves the inner panel out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels in that direction.

I

The blank of material may be dimensioned by having a size commensurate with the corresponding food package.

The material of the sheet may comprise a combination of one or more of HIPS (High-Impact Poly-Styrene), Polypropylene, Nylon, Polystyrene, metal, foil, plastic, paper and cardboard.

The lateral arm members may be linked to the adjacent outer panels by respective crease lines such that movement of the lateral arm members in the first direction moves io the inner panel out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels in that direction.

The inner panel may comprise longitudinal crease lines configured to allow the inner panel to be moved out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels. The longitudinal crease line may be perpendicular to the axis of the slots.

The inner panel may comprise a respective longitudinal crease line with the respective lateral arm members, the respective crease line configured to allow the inner panel to be moved out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels with the movement of the respective lateral arm members.

The inner panel may comprise opposing longitudinal crease lines configured to allow the inner panel to form a flat portion between the opposing crease lines when the inner panel is moved out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels.

The inner panel may comprise opposing longitudinal crease lines configured to allow the inner panel to form a flat portion between the opposing crease lines with the movement of the lateral arms members.

The inner panel may comprise opposing longitudinal crease lines configured to allow the inner panel to form a flat portion between the opposing crease lines when the inner panel is moved out of the plane of the adjacent panels.

The inner panel may comprise a first set of opposing crease lines configured to allow the inner panel to be moved out of the plane of the outer panels, and a second set of opposing crease lines configured to allow formation of a flat portion of the inner panel when the inner panel is moved out of the plane of the adjacent panels.

The inner surface of the inner panel may comprise cooking instructions associated with the food contained in the food package.

The blank may comprise crease lines configured to allow for repeated movement of the s inner panel out of the plane of the outer panels and for repeated formation of a flat portion of the inner panel. The crease lines may be biased such that when inner panel of the food package sleeve blank is biased away from the respective outer panels.

The two opposing slots may be parallel to one another. The two opposing slots may not be parallel, for example, they may be V-shaped.

The package sleeve blank may comprise more than two slots defining more than one inner panel and/or more than two outer panels.

The longitudinal crease lines may be perpendicular to the axis of the slots. The longitudinal crease lines may be parallel to the longitudinal axis. The axis of the slots may be perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.

The opposing slots may be created from slits of cut-outs. A slit may be straight or curved.

A food package may comprise a tray (e.g. containing food). The food package may be sealed using a robot or other mechanism (e.g. in a modified atmosphere). The food package may comprise pre-prepared food such as ready to eat food (e.g. filled baguettes), chilled food or frozen food (e.g. microwave meals, ready meals). The food package may comprise conventional food stuffs such one or more of as cheese, a sandwich, bread (e.g. a baguette), a cake, bottle of wine, a fruit and a vegetable.

According to a second aspect there is provided a food package sleeve, created from a blank, the blank formed from a sheet of material and comprising: two opposing slots configured to define an inner panel and respective adjacent outer panels; wherein the blank of material is dimensioned, and the two opposing slots are configured, such that inner panel can be moved out of the plane the adjacent outer panels to provide for the food package sleeve such that the inner panel can be placed on a first side of the food package and the respective adjacent outer panels can be placed on the second opposing side of the food package, wherein the inner panel is moved out from the plane of the adjacent outer panels.

The food package sleeve and the food package may form a food package assembly.

According to a third aspect there is provided a method of creating a blank, the method comprising cutting two opposing slots in a sheet of material to define an inner panel and respective adjacent outer panels; wherein the blank of material is dimensioned, and the two opposing slots are configured, such that inner panel can be moved out of the plane the adjacent outer panels to provide for the food package sleeve such that the inner panel can be placed on a first side of the food package and the respective adjacent outer panels can be placed on the second opposing side of the food package According to a fourth aspect there is provided a method of forming a food package sleeve from a blank, the blank formed from a sheet of material and comprising: two opposing slots configured to define an inner panel and respective adjacent outer panels; wherein the blank of material is dimensioned, and the two opposing slots are configured, such that inner panel can be moved out of the plane the adjacent outer panels to provide for the food package sleeve such that the inner panel can be placed on a first side of the food package and the respective adjacent outer panels can be placed on the second opposing side of the food package; the method comprising moving the inner panel out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels to provide for the food package.

According to a fifth aspect there is provided a method of forming a food package assembly comprising forming the food package sleeve, and inserting a food package into the food package sleeve.

The sheet may be configured to allow for printing on one or more sides.

Brief Description of the Figures

A description is now given, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figure Ia depicts an embodiment of a food package sleeve blank.

Figure lb illustrates the food package sleeve blank giving example dimensions in millimetres.

Figure ic shows the food package sleeve in an expanded configuration and a separate food package.

Figure ld shows the food package inserted into the food package sleeve.

Figure 2a depicts an embodiment of a food package sleeve blank.

Figure 2b shows the food package sleeve in an expanded configuration and a separate food package.

s Figure 2c shows the food package inserted into the food package sleeve.

Figure 3a depicts an embodiment of a food package sleeve blank.

Figure 3b shows the food package sleeve in an expanded configuration and a separate food package.

Figure 3c shows the food package inserted into the food package sleeve.

Figure 4a depicts an embodiment of a food package sleeve blank.

Figure 4b illustrates the food package sleeve blank giving example dimensions in millimetres.

Description of Example Aspects/Embodiments

Other embodiments depicted in the figures have been provided with reference numerals that correspond to similar features of earlier described embodiments. For example, feature number 1 can also correspond to numbers 101, 201, 301 etc. These numbered features may appear in the figures but may not have been directly referred to within the description of these particular embodiments. These have still been provided in the figures to aid understanding of the further embodiments, particularly in relation to the features of similar earlier described embodiments.

It is common to insert packages into a food package sleeve. Generally package sleeves require to be glued or fastened before the food package is inserted. It may be beneficial to create a package sleeve from a single sheet of material, and/or without the need for gluing. This may reduce the amount of material required for the package sleeve.

Figure la depicts an embodiment of a blank (101) for creating a food package sleeve. In this case, the blank is formed from a sheet of cardboard material and comprises: two opposing parallel slots (111, 112) (also can be considered as slits) configured to define an inner panel (122) between the opposing slots (111, 112) and respective adjacent outer panels (121, 123); wherein the blank (101) of material is dimensioned, and the two opposing slots (111, 112) are configured, such that inner panel (122) can be moved out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels (121, 123) to provide for the food package sleeve such that the inner panel (122) can be placed on a first side of the food package and the respective adjacent outer panels (121, 123) can be placed on the second opposing side of the food package. The slots, in this case, lie parallel to a slot axis (191).

Figure lb depicts the package sleeve blank of figure Ia and gives example dimensions in millimetres. It will be appreciated that other example embodiments may have different sizes and/or shapes.

In this case, the blank is created by cutting the two opposing slots in the sheet of material.

It will be appreciated that, as the sleeve can be stored and transported as a single sheet, the transport and storage costs may be lower (e.g. compared with a package sleeve which is glued). Manufacturing costs may also be lower as the food package sleeve blank may be manufactured in a single culling stage (rather than a cuffing stage followed by a gluing stage).

is This embodiment further comprises lateral arm members (131, 132) linking the adjacent outer panels (121, 123) to each other, and wherein the respective slot ends (111, 112) extend into the lateral arm members (131, 132) such that movement of the lateral arm members (131, 132) in a first direction moves the inner panel (122) out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels (121, 123) in that direction, thereby providing for the package sleeve (e.g. in an expanded configuration). The package sleeve is depicted in figure ic (in an expanded configuration) wherein the inner panel (122) is configured to be out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels The lateral arm members (131, 132), in this embodiment are linked to the adjacent outer panels (121, 123) by respective opposing longitudinal crease lines (121a, l2lb, 123a, 123b) such that movement of the lateral arm members (131, 132) in the first direction moves the inner panel out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels in that direction. It will be appreciated that the crease lines may be biased such that the outer panels (121, 123) are biased away from the inner panel (122). That is, the crease lines of the package sleeve blank may be biased such that it is easier to bend them into the corresponding package sleeve (expanded) configuration, than to bend them in the opposite direction. This may make it easier for a person or machine assembling a package assembly to make the package sleeve from the package sleeve blank.

In this case, the inner panel also comprises a first set and a second set of opposing longitudinal crease lines (122a, 122d; and 122b, 122c), the inner panel opposing longitudinal crease lines configured to allow the inner panel to form a flat portion between the opposing crease lines when the inner panel is moved out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels. In this case, the crease lines are configured such that the flat portion of the inner panel of the package sleeve (in the expanded configuration) is parallel to the respective outer panel. In this case, the outer panels of the of the package sleeve (in the expanded configuration) are in the same plane.

It will be appreciated that other example embodiments may be configured such that the inner panel of the package sleeve (in the expanded configuration) is not parallel to the respective outer panels. It will be appreciated that other example embodiments may be configured such that the outer panels of the of the package sleeve (in the expanded configuration) are in not the same plane (e.g. by have different relative crease positions between the lateral arm members and the respective outer panels). That is, there may be an offset between the respective outer panels in the expanded package sleeve. It will be appreciated that the crease lines allow for repeated movement of the inner pane! out of the plane of the outer panel and for repeated formation of a flat portion of the inner panel. It will be appreciated that other example embodiments may be configured such that the inner and/or outer panels curve when providing for the package sleeve.

Also depicted in figure ic is a food package (102) comprising a sealed tray chilled ready meal (e.g. spaghetti carbonara). The tray base, in this case, comprises opaque black plastic, and the tray top surface (181) (which in this case is the first side) comprises transparent plastic (which allows the contents to be seen) In this case, the food package has been prepared in a packaging plant in a modified environment to lengthen the life of the product.

In this case, the inner surface of the inner panel (122) comprises cooking instructions (not shown) associated with the food contained in the food package. It will be appreciated that, for example, the consumer would be able to view the cooking instructions when the food package is removed from the food package sleeve. This allows the surfaces of the food package sleeve which are visible when the food package is inserted to be devoted to providing other content (e.g. serving suggestions, advertising, branding, and/or nutritional information).

It will be appreciated that the package sleeve may provide product information, such as as nutritional information (e.g. Guideline Daily Amounts), contents information, ingredients, allergy advice, cooking instructions, serving suggestions, price information and/or advertising printed thereon.

Figure id depicts the food package assembly (103) when the food package (102) has been inserted, along a longitudinal axis (192), into the food package sleeve (101). In this configuration the first (top) surface of the food package (181) is placed on the inner surface of the inner panel (122) and the opposing second (bottom) surface (152) is placed on the inner surface of the outer panels (121, 123). In this configuration, the lateral arm members lie along first and second opposing sides (183, 184) of the tray which may allow for efficient packing (for transport, storage or display).

Figure 2a depicts a further embodiment of a blank (201) for creating a food package sleeve. In this case, the blank is formed from a sheet of cardboard material and comprises: two opposing slots (211, 212) configured to define an inner panel (222) and respective adjacent outer panels (221, 223); wherein the blank (201) of material is dimensioned, and the two opposing slots (211, 212) are configured, such that inner panel (222) can be moved out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels (221, 223) to provide for the food package sleeve such that the inner panel (222) can be placed on a first side of the food package and the respective adjacent outer panels (221, 223) can be placed on the second opposing side of the food package.

Unlike the previous embodiment, wherein the slots could be considered to be elongate slits, in this case, the opposing slots are parallel elongate diamond shaped holes. By shaping the slots in this way, the food package may be easier to insert into the food package sleeve.

In this case, the blank is created by cutting the two opposing diamond shaped slot cut-outs in the sheet of material. It will be appreciated that, as the sleeve can be stored and transported as a single sheet, the transport and storage costs may be lower (e.g. compared with a package sleeve which is glued).

This embodiment further comprises lateral arm members (231, 232) linking the adjacent outer panels (221, 223) to each other, and wherein the respective slot ends (211, 212) extend into the lateral arm members (231, 232) such that movement of the lateral arm members (231, 232) in a first direction moves the inner panel (222) out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels (221, 223) in that direction. The package sleeve is depicted in figure ic in an expanded configuration wherein the inner panel (222) is configured to be out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels.

The lateral arm members (231, 232), in this embodiment are linked to the adjacent outer panels (221, 223) by respective opposing longitudinal crease lines (221a, 221b, 223a, 223b) such that movement of the lateral arm members (231, 232) in the first direction moves the inner panel out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels in that direction.

In this case, the inner panel also comprises a first set and a second set of opposing longitudinal crease lines (222a, 222d; and 122b, 222c), the inner panel opposing longitudinal crease lines configured to allow the inner panel to form a flat portion between the opposing crease lines when the inner panel is moved out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels. It will be appreciated that the crease lines allow for repeated movement of the inner panel out of the plane of the outer panel and for repeated formation of a flat portion of the inner paneL Also depicted in figure lc is a food package comprising a sealed tray frozen ready meal is (e.g. steak pie and mashed potatoes). The tray base, in this case, comprises aluminium foil tray, and the tray top surface (251) (which in this case is the first side) comprises cardboard.

In this case, the inner surface of the inner panel comprises cooking instructions (not shown) associated with the food contained in the food package. It will be appreciated that the person buying the food package assembly will be able to view the cooking instructions when the package is removed from the food package sleeve. This allows the surfaces of the food package sleeve which are visible when the food package is inserted to be devoted to providing other content (e.g. serving suggestions, advertising, branding, and/or nutritional information).

It will be appreciated that the package sleeve may provide nutritional information, contents information, ingredients, allergy advice, cooking instructions, serving suggestions, price information and/or advertising printed thereon.

Figure 2d depicts the food package assembly (203) when the food package (202) has been inserted along a longitudinal axis (292) into the food package sleeve (201). The longitudinal axis in this case is perpendicular to the parallel slots (211, 212) In this configuration the first (top) surface of the food package (281) is placed on the inner surface of the inner panel (222) and the opposing second (bottom) surface (282) is placed on the inner surface of the outer panels (221, 223). The gap between the two outer panels (221, 223) allows the food package (202) to be visible.

Figure 3a depicts an embodiment of a blank (301)for creating a food package sleeve. In this case, the blank is formed from a sheet of plastic material and comprises: two opposing slots (311, 312) configured to define an inner panel (322) and respective adjacent outer panels (321, 323); wherein the blank (301) of material is dimensioned, and the two opposing slots (311, 312) are configured, such that inner panel (322) can be moved out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels (321, 323) to provide for the food package sleeve such that the inner panel (322) can be placed on a first side of the food package and the respective adjacent outer panels (321, 323) can be placed on the io second opposing side of the food package.

In this case, the opposing slots are V-shaped (non-parallel) slits lying substantially along a slot axis (391), the slot axis being perpendicular to a longitudinal axis (392). By shaping the slots in this way, the food package may be easier to insert into the food package sleeve. It will be appreciated that other example embodiments may comprise curved slits.

This embodiment further comprises lateral arm members (331, 332) linking the adjacent outer panels (321, 323) to each other. Unlike the previous embodiment, in this embodiment, respective slot ends (311, 312) extend into one lateral arm member (331) such that movement of the lateral arm member (331) in a first direction moves the inner panel (322) out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels (321, 323) in that direction. The package sleeve is depicted in figure 3b in an expanded configuration wherein the inner panel (322) is configured to be out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels The lateral arm members (331, 332), in this embodiment are linked to the adjacent outer panels (321, 323) by respective opposing longitudinal crease lines (321a, 321b, 323a, 323b). Two of the crease lines (321a, 323a) are configured such that movement of one of the lateral arm members (331) in the first direction moves the inner panel out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels in that direction. Unlike the previous embodiments, wherein the flat portion of the inner panel is configured to be parallel to the outer portions in the expanded configuration, in this embodiment, the inner panel is configured to make an angle with the outer panels. The crease lines, in this case are perforated lines. It will be appreciated that, for other example embodiments, the crease lines may be provided by etching or by folding.

In this case, the inner panel also comprises three longitudinal crease lines (322a, 322b, and 322c). It will be appreciated that the crease lines allow for repeated movement of the inner panel out of the plane of the outer panel.

Also depicted in figure 3b is a food package comprising a cellophane wrapped piece of Em mental cheese.

Figure 3c depicts the food package assembly (303) when the food package (302) has been inserted along a longitudinal axis (392) into the food package sleeve (301). The longitudinal axis (392) in this case is perpendicular to the slot axis (391) In this configuration the first (top) surface of the food package (381) is placed on the inner surface of the inner panel (322) and the opposing second (bottom) surface (282) is placed on the inner surface of the outer panels (321, 323). The gap between the two outer panels (321, 323) allows the food package (302) to be visible.

It will be appreciated that the package sleeve may provide nutritional information, contents information, ingredients, allergy advice, cooking instructions, serving suggestions, price information and/or advertising. It will be appreciated that the portions of the food package which remains visible to the user when forming part of the food package assembly (303) (e.g. visible between the gap between the outer portions (321, 323)) may be used to display information associated with that particular food package (e.g. weight, packaging date, sell-by date, use by date). It will be appreciated that the food package sleeve may be used to display generic information associated with the food package (e.g. branding, type of food, nutritional information).

It will be appreciated that, as the sleeve can be stored and transported as a single sheet, the transport and storage costs may be lower (e.g. compared with a package sleeve which is glued).

Figure 4a depicts a further embodiment of a blank (401) for creating a food package sleeve. In this case, the blank is formed from a sheet of cardboard material and comprises: two opposing parallel slots (411, 412) (which in this case can be considered to be slits) configured to define an inner panel (122) and respective adjacent outer panels (421, 423); wherein the blank (401) of material is dimensioned, and the two opposing slots (411, 412) are configured, such that inner panel (422) can be moved out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels (421, 423) to provide for the food package sleeve such that the inner panel (422) can be placed on a first side of the food package and the respective adjacent outer panels (421, 423) can be placed on the second opposing side of the food package. The slots in this case lie parallel to a slot axis (491) which is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis (492). The package sleeve is configured to receive a package which is inserted along the longitudinal axis (492) to form a package assembly.

Figure 4b depicts the package sleeve blank of figure 4a and gives example dimensions in millimetres.

It will be appreciated that the above described embodiments may provide a number of advantages over conventional package sleeves (e.g. to the packaging company, the retailer and/or the consumer). For example, embodiments may use less material than a corresponding conventional package sleeve (e.g. a sleeve which is wrapped around and glued) configured for a food package of the same size. That is, an overlap portion may not be required for gluing and/or a present embodiment may not be configured to cover the same surface area of the food package. An embodiment may require less processing than a conventional package sleeve as gluing may not be required. These advantages may make the package sleeve more environmentally friendly. In addition, embodiments may be configured to be machine packable.

The reduced amount of material in package sleeve embodiments may offer material cost savings, reduce the weight of the package sleeve and/or reduce the storage space required (e.g. in a warehouse or in transit), thereby helping the packaging company. In addition, the costs of producing food packages may be reduced as the packaging process may be automated and the package sleeves may be easier to pack. Some of these cost savings may be passed on to the retailers and consumers by a lower unit price (which is beneficial to the retailer/consumer and may make the packaging company more competitive). Embodiments may also allow products to stand out in the eyes of the consumer as they are visually distinct from a conventional package (i.e. they may provide an innovative point of difference). In addition, embodiments may be available in custom styles.

For the consumer, advantages may include that there is less waste as there is less material in each package sleeve. In addition, the as embodiments may have a distinct appearance (having a strong product visual), the consumer may be able more easily to recognise a particular product (e.g. in a supermarket). In addition, the package sleeve embodiments may provide product information in a more user-friendly manner. The package sleeve may be configured to be easily removed from the food package, thereby improving the consumer's experience.

Claims

Claims: 1. A blank for creating a food package sleeve, the blank formed from a sheet of material and comprising: two opposing slots configured to define an inner panel and respective adjacent outer panels; wherein the blank of material is dimensioned, and the two opposing slots are configured, such that inner panel can be moved out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels to provide for the food package sleeve such that the inner panel can be placed on a first side of the food package and the respective adjacent outer panels can be placed on the second opposing side of the food package.
2. A blank according to claim 1, wherein the blank comprises lateral arm members linking the adjacent outer panels to each other, and wherein the respective slot ends extend into at least one of the lateral arm members such that movement of the lateral arm members in a first direction moves the inner panel out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels in that direction.
3. A blank according to claim 2, wherein the lateral arm members are linked to the adjacent outer panels by respective crease lines such that movement of the lateral arm members in the first direction moves the inner panel out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels in that direction.
4. A blank according to any preceding claim, wherein the inner panel comprises longitudinal crease lines configured to allow the inner panel to be moved out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels.
5. A blank according to claim 4, wherein the longitudinal crease lines are perpendicular to the axis of the slots.
6. A blank according to claim 2, wherein the inner panel comprises a respective longitudinal crease line with the respective lateral arm members, the respective crease line configured to allow the inner panel to be moved out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels with the movement of the respective lateral arm members.
7. A blank according to any preceding claim, wherein the inner panel comprises opposing longitudinal crease lines configured to allow the inner panel to form a flat portion between the opposing crease lines when the inner panel is moved out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels.
8. A blank according to claim 2, wherein the inner panel comprises opposing longitudinal crease lines configured to allow the inner panel to form a flat portion between the opposing crease lines with the movement of the lateral arms members.
9. A blank according to any preceding claim, wherein the inner panel comprises opposing longitudinal crease lines configured to allow the inner panel to form a flat io portion between the opposing crease lines when the inner panel is moved out of the plane of the adjacent panels.
10. A blank according to any preceding claim, wherein the inner panel comprises a first set of opposing crease lines configured to allow the inner panel to be moved out of the plane of the outer panels, and a second set of opposing crease lines configured to allow formation of a flat portion of the inner panel when the inner panel is moved out of the plane of the adjacent panels.
11. A blank according to any preceding claim, wherein the opposing slots are created from slits or cut-outs.
12. A blank according to any preceding claim, wherein the inner surface of the inner panel comprises at least one of: cooking instructions associated with the food contained in the food package; and product information.
13. A blank according to any preceding claim, wherein the blank comprises crease lines configured to allow for repeated movement of the inner panel out of the plane of the outer panels and for repeated formation of a flat portion of the inner panel.
14. A blank according to any preceding claim, wherein the two opposing slots are parallel to one another.
15. A blank according to any preceding claim, wherein the two opposing slots are V shaped.
16. A blank according to any preceding claim, wherein material of the sheet comprises a combination of one or more of HIPS (High-Impact Poly-Styrene), Polypropylene, Nylon, Polystyrene1 metal, foil, plastic, paper and cardboard.
17. A food package sleeve, created from a blank, the blank formed from a sheet of material and comprising: two opposing slots configured to define an inner panel and respective adjacent outer panels; wherein the blank of material is dimensioned, and the two opposing slots are configured, such that inner panel can be moved out of the plane the adjacent outer panels to provide for the food package sleeve such that the inner panel can be placed on a first side of the food package and the respective adjacent outer panels can be placed on the second opposing side of the food package, wherein the inner panel is moved out from the plane of the adjacent outer panels.to
18. A food package sleeve according to claim 15, and a food package for the food package sleeve.
19. A method of creating a blank, the method comprising culling two opposing slots in a sheet of material to define an inner panel and respective adjacent outer panels; wherein the blank of material is dimensioned, and the two opposing slots are configured, such that inner panel can be moved out of the plane the adjacent outer panels to provide for the food package sleeve such that the inner panel can be placed on a first side of the food package and the respective adjacent outer panels can be placed on the second opposing side of the food package
20. A method of forming a food package sleeve from a blank, the blank formed from a sheet of material and comprising: two opposing slots configured to define an inner panel and respective adjacent outer panels; wherein the blank of material is dimensioned, and the two opposing slots are configured, such that inner panel can be moved out of the plane the adjacent outer panels to provide for the food package sleeve such that the inner panel can be placed on a first side of the food package and the respective adjacent outer panels can be placed on the second opposing side of the food package; the method comprising moving the inner panel out of the plane of the adjacent outer panels to provide for the food package.
21. A method comprising forming the food package sleeve according to the method of forming a food package according to claim 18, and inserting a food package into the food package sleeve.s
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the method is carried out using an automated machine.