WO2016184818A1

WO2016184818A1 - Packaging and process for making it

Info

Publication number: WO2016184818A1
Application number: PCT/EP2016/060916
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lai Ching LOW; Babatunde Akindunmoye OYENIYAN; Geoffrey John Radley; Christopher UNSWORTH; Nikolay Marionov ZAGOROV
Original assignee: Nestec S.A.
Priority date: 2015-05-15
Filing date: 2016-05-13
Publication date: 2016-11-24

Abstract

There is described a process (and packs made by the process) for making reclosable packages that can be opened by hand and can be reclosed by hand without tools at least once after opening for the first time optionally containing a foodstuff, more preferably an optionally coated baked foodstuff, most preferably a choco-coated laminated wafer product. The reclosable flow wrap pack is closed by transverse end seals located at two longitudinally opposed ends the pack having at least two opposing sheet surfaces and is made by a process comprising: a) preparing from a sheet web the flow wrap pack with a product located therein; b) forming an opening (7) in and/or an area capable of being opened defined by line(s) of predefined weakness on; at least one of the opposing sheet surfaces along substantially most of the length of an axis of the pack (preferably in the machine direction (MD) also known as the longitudinal direction (LD)) an area of the pack; c) depositing at least one adhesive means located adjacent at least one side of the opening (preferably in the transverse direction (TD) on the sheet surface to form at least one adhesive strip (9, 11) on the pack adjacent to the opening (7); d) applying a closure tape (1) along the MD to the at least adhesive strip (9, 11) to close the opening in the LD, the tape (1) being wider and longer than the continuous longitudinal opening (7) such that each transverse side of the closure tape (1) adheres to the adhesive means located by the longitudinally opening and is fixed to cover the entire opening (7); where during at least one of the steps of: b); c) and/or d) there is at least one guide means to align respectively at least one of the opening (7), the adhesive strip (9, 11) and/or the closure tape (1) along the same or substantially parallel axes at substantially constant perpendicular distances there between.

Description

PACKAGING AND PROCESS FOR MAKING IT

The present invention relates to the field of packaging, especially to packaging which is easy to open and is re-closable after opening to reseal the contents therein.

It is helpful to provide a pack that the consumer can open easily (i.e. without tools and under finger pressure alone) to provide ready access to the pack contents. This is typically achieved by tearing the pack open in an irreversible manner so the pack cannot be reused. In the market for snacking foodstuffs a consumer may often purchase the product on impulse. It would be particularly useful for such products to provide a reclose / reseal solution which encourages healthier consumption habits by providing an option for the consumer not to consume all the product serving in one sitting. This can be achieved by packs that can be reclosed after partial consumption of the contents to maintain the freshness of the partially consumed contents therein (as referred to herein as 'reclose packs').

There are many reclose packs currently on the market. Many of these have significant disadvantages: for example to be produced they may require a high level of capital expenditure; need significant modification of existing processes; result in high additional costs to the packaging material and/or do not work consistently on every pack. Prior art reclose packs are capable of either being easily opened or readily reclosable with a good seal but rarely do both functions well. Many reclose packs are neither easy nor intuitive for the consumer to use and are expensive and/or complex for the manufacturer to implement requiring a complete change of existing processes and machinery with a correspondingly large capital investment.

Prior art reclose solutions are insufficiently stable for high volume production, providing an unreliable experience to the consumer as defects during production result in inconsistent tear propagation and thus wide variety of different modes of opening for the consumer. This can be confusing and frustrating for the consumer when following on pack instructions how to open and reclose the pack. Unstable reclose solutions also increase the proportion of packs that will be rejected by quality control after production.

It has been found to be very difficult to create a reclosable opening on individual packs in an online packaging process that operates at the high speeds required for high volume production whilst also ensuring that each pack reliably and consistently opens in the same way.

It would be desirable to provide an improved reclose-pack that can be easily, consistently and reliably opened and reclosed (e.g. by finger pressure alone, without additional tools) as well as providing a good re-seal of the pack to maintain the freshness of the partially consumed contents therein for a reasonable amount of time and which is cost effective to implement.

It is especially preferred to provide a re-close / re-seal solution suitable for use with a flow wrap pack. An improved reclose pack is particularly desirable to protect certain foodstuffs (such as those described herein) which may have a luxurious, rich or indulgent nature, where overconsumption in one sitting may be undesirable (e.g. to limit fat and/or calorific intake).

Flow wrap packs are well known to those skilled in the art. A flow wrap pack typically is formed in line on a film web (for example having a parallel sides e.g. a pack with a substantially cuboid form), and is closed by end seals located at two longitudinally opposed ends located a regular periodic interval along a film web (the interval corresponding to the size of the product to be packed. The longitudinal direction (LD) corresponds to the machine direction (MD) of the film web from which the flow wrap is made. Prior art flow wrap packs generally also have a fin seal extending in a LD of the pack between the two end seals to complete the seal around the product. The fin seal is provided at (i.e. extends along) a lateral side of the packaging (also parallel to the machine direction where the two transverse sides of the film web are folded together (optionally around to product in situ) form a tube with the lateral fin thereon. A conventional flow wrap pack which also has a tear line thereon for easy opening of the flow wrap pack is described in WO2013/064375 (Nestec).

GB 2295807 (Grace) describes an easy open feature to facilitate tearing open of a shrink wrap pack by the consumer. The packs described are shrink wrap packs, where heat is used to shrink the film around the product inside. Such products are very different from the flow wrap packs used herein.

US 2008-060751 (Arrindell Evan) describes a method for forming predetermined zones of adhesive on a label surface to allow discrete labels to be cut and transferred onto a flow wrap web to form resealable closures on a multi-layer web used to flow wrap products such as wipe sheets or tissues.

US 2013-320019 (Tinoco Juan Carlos) describes use of a laser to form a scored pattern on a packaging material the pattern being smaller than an adhesive label which is subsequently applied to the scored pattern which can thus be opened and resealed.

EP2460739 and EP2147868 (Kraft) describe resealable packs with a tamper evident features that deform or break in a very visible manner once the packs have been opened for the first time. If the tamper evident feature breaks off it may be lost and unavailable for use as a reclose element (as well as being a potential source of extra litter). Even if the tamper evident feature (which may for example be a pull tab) does not break and remains attached to the pack the feature still deforms (e.g. ripples, stretches, bulges or curves) after opening so it is readily apparent that opening has occurred. If the deformed area is reattached to the packs (e.g. using a reversible adhesive) this would not provide a good seal integrity and thus these reclose packs would not keep the product fresh for long once opened. Thus packs described in these documents will waste material if they are to provide an acceptable reseal as for example the pull tab must be larger than otherwise needed so that the deformable area does not form part of the reclosed area that will be reattached to the packs to form a new seal.

WO2012166381 (Kraft) describes flexible packaging that has a reclosable opening. The reclose element is complex to implement and wasteful of material and in practise difficult to open. A tear tape is adhered (using pressure sensitive adhesive - PSA) to flow wrapped pack, the tape being applied to a pre-weakened section of the flow wrap film. Removal of the tape also causes the film underneath to be broken thus opening the pack. However it can be difficult to open such packs by finger pressure alone as two thickness of film (flow wrap plus tape) must be removed and the underlying film must be torn.

If the line of pre-weakening is weakened too much the pack integrity may be comprised and if weakened too little the pack may not be opened. The line of weakening can be difficult to apply to a film web on a packing line as it may require fine adjustment and if the weakening is applied in advance the resultant film roll may be difficult to handle without premature breaking.

It is also difficult to control the propagation of the tear along the film even along a pre-defined line of weakening. Thus the shape of the opening may not reliably be controlled. The tear tape and/or parts of the pack may become detached from the main pack and thus be lost or create extra litter nuisance. All these factors make it difficult to reclose the pack by reapplying the tear tape to the area of the opened pack to which the PSA has been applied. In practise the design of pack described in this document requires a very wide tear tape and a correspondingly wide strip of PSA to make reclose ease for the consumer as a large margin of error must be allowed when reclosing to have a reasonable chance of forming a good seal. This is wasteful of materials (both adhesive and tear tape film).

For these reasons these prior art reclose solutions are not satisfactory.

When flow wrapping product on a packaging line, there is still no satisfactory method to solve simultaneously and in a simple and cost effective manner the related and interlinked problems of:

i) cutting or forming an opening of consistent width along the machine direction of film web to form an opening in one surface of the flow wrap pack along its longitudinal (long axis),

ii) depositing an adhesive sufficiently close to the predefined opening on the pack to adhere a tape thereto in an efficient manner without leaving large areas which are unsealed, wasteful and prone to tearing or requiring an over-sized (over wide) tape;

iii) locating a closure tape over the opening with sufficient precision so the tape can be consistently and reliably close the opening whilst having the optimal size (width) (i.e. being substantially the same size as the opening plus the adhesive strip either side); and/or iv) providing a reclose solution for a pack that is intuitive and easy for the end consumer to use.

A packaging process that does not address some or all of these steps in simple manner results in a flow wrap pack being produced inefficiently and is expensive to produce (the process being prone to error and/or wasteful of material). Also the resultant packs may be difficult to open, reclose and/or reseal. To date there are few solutions that have attempted to address each of these issues and prior art processes (such as those described herein) are unsatisfactory, do not succeed and/or require expensive and/or complex equipment to implement which would be impractical to use on a conventional flow wrap line.

There is a need to provide a means to provide efficient and inexpensive means to apply reclose tapes to a flow wrap pack such that pack is easy to open and can be readily resealed and/or which can be applied to a pack at high speed to achieve the large volumes required for industrial production .

It is an object of the invention to address some or all of the issues described herein optionally in one or more the various embodiments of invention described herein.

Therefore broadly in accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a process for producing a product enclosed in a reclosable flow wrap pack being closed by transverse end seals located at two longitudinally opposed ends the pack having at least two opposing sheet surfaces; where the process comprising the steps of:

a) preparing from a sheet web the flow wrap pack with a product located therein;

b) forming an opening in at least one of the opposing sheet surfaces along substantially most of one axis of the pack;

c) depositing at least one adhesive means located on at least one side of the opening in the sheet surface and adjacent thereto to form at least one adhesive strip on the pack adjacent to the opening;

d) applying one or more closure(s) tape along the machine direction to the at least adhesive strip to close the longitudinally opening, (preferably the tape being wider and longer than the continuous longitudinal opening) such that each transverse side of the closure tape adheres to the adhesive means located by longitudinally opening and is fixed to cover the entire opening.

Optionally in one preferred embodiment of this aspect of the present invention during at least one of the steps of: the opening forming in step b); depositing of adhesive in step c) and/or the applying of closure tape in step d) there is at least one guide means to align respectively at least one of the opening, the adhesive strip and/or the tape along the same or substantially parallel axes (preferably the MD) at substantially constant perpendicular distances (preferably in the TD) there between.

Broadly in accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a process for producing a product enclosed in a reclosable flow wrap pack being closed by transverse end seals located at two longitudinally opposed ends the pack having at least two opposing sheet surfaces; where the process comprising the steps of:

b) forming an area capable of being opened defined by line(s) of predefined weakness on at least one of the opposing sheet surfaces along substantially most of the length of an axis of the pack (opening area);

c) depositing at least one adhesive means located on at least one side of the defined opening area in the sheet surface and adjacent thereto to form at least one adhesive strip on the pack adjacent to the defined opening area;

d) applying one or more closure tape(s) to the at least one adhesive means to be fixed on top of the defined opening area , such that the closure tape adheres to the adhesive means located by defined opening area and is fixed to cover the entire opening area.

Optionally in one preferred embodiment of this aspect of the present invention during at least one of the steps of: the forming step b); depositing adhesive step c) and/or the applying of closure tape step d) there is at least one guide means to align respectively at least one of the opening, the defined opening area, the adhesive strip and/or the tape along the same or substantially parallel axes at substantially constant perpendicular distances there between.

The adhesive means is located to the side of the opening or defined opening area as measured in the transverse direction.

Broadly in accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a process for producing a product enclosed in a reclosable flow wrap pack being closed by transverse end seals located at two longitudinally opposed ends the pack having at least two opposing sheet surfaces; where the process comprising the steps of:

c) applying a self-adhesive closure tape having at least one adhesive means on a surface thereon, so the self-adhesive tape is fixed on top of the defined opening area , such that the closure tape adheres to the defined opening area and is fixed to cover the entire opening area.

Optionally in one preferred embodiment of this aspect of the present invention during at least one of the steps of: the forming step b) and/or the applying of self-adhesive closure tape step c) there is oat least one guide means to align respectively the defined opening area and the closure tape along the same or substantially parallel axes at substantially constant perpendicular distances there between.

The closure tapes as used herein may consist of one tape preferably made from a different material (e.g. PET) stronger than the film web to which it is applied (typically made from

BOPP), the tape suitable for being pulled under finger pressure without breaking (such tapes also known as tear tape). The closure tape when performing the function of a tear tape is pulled from one end on opening (optionally from a pull tab at one end in the LD) to reveal either a pre-cut gap in the pack which becomes the opening or the closure tape propagates parallel tears in the flow wrap film along the predefined line of weaknesses in the MD to form a new opening.

The closure tape may also comprise a further film layer (optionally applied separately) which acts as a label to further protect the tear tape and opening or defined opening area (also referred to herein as a label or label tape) and which optionally may be pre-printed with suitable instructions of symbols to aid opening. The advantage of separate tear tapes and label tapes is they can be made from different materials matched to their purposes (so that the label tape may comprise a surface that is more readily printable that the tear tape). It is also possible that the label tape is cut to form an non adhesively attached finger liftable pull tab at the LD of the pack, with the tear tape being applied as one continuous strip along the full length of the pack, which may be easier to apply in some cases. It is also possible that the adhesive means is applied separately to both tapes or that one or both tapes self adhesive tapes applied from a release liner. However in more preferred embodiments the closure tape is one tape that performs the dual function of both a label with instructions for opening and also a tear tape.

The applicant has found that in a preferred embodiment of the invention in step (b) the opening is formed by a laser and/or the predefined area for opening is defined by lines of weakening created by laser. Optionally one or more of the following parameters are adjusted to have the given values herein, then this will improve the reliability and consistency of the reclose solution of the invention. More preferably the invention comprises two or more, even more preferably three of the parameters described below at a value that is at least at the broadest specified value given herein for each of these parameters, where:

Parameter (1 ) is mean laser power of at least 75%, more preferably at least 76%, more preferably at least 80%, most preferably at least 85% of the maximum power of the laser used to score the pack, such a laser usefully being a carbon dioxide laser having a mean power less than or equal to 60 W;

Parameter (2) is the linear speed at which of the laser is moved relative to the film web in the MD to mark the film web is from 1500 to 3900 ms^"1, preferably from 1500 to 2500 ms^"1 , more preferably from 1900 to 2000 ms^"1.

Parameter (3) is the adhesive strength between the tape and the relevant surface of the film web (or typically film release coating on the web top surface) of from 2 to 20 N. This is also denoted as tape peel strength which can be measured empirically.

The applicant has been found that a tape peel strength of greater than 20N is not desired by the consumer as it is too hard to pull the tape and reveal the opening whereas a tape strength of less than 2N has been found to result in an unacceptable rate of failure (> 50%) where the tape is pulled from the pack without initiating tear propagation due to cohesion failure between adhesive and film release coating. Peel strength must be high enough for the tape to stick securely onto the film. Preferably the adhesive peel strength of the tape (even after being reapplied after the first opening) is from 2 to 15 N, more preferably from 2 to 10 N, most preferably from 3 to 8 N, for example from 3 to 6 N.

The applicant has found that flow wrap packs of the invention have a much reduced rate of defects when being opened compared to when opening flow wrap packs made using conventional tear tape. The total defect rate on opening was reduced from 92.66% in known flow wrap packs with tear tape compared to 0.08% for packs of the invention. Out of a sample of 3400 flow wrap packs of the invention that were inspected, no peel off of the tear tape was observed in any pack and no visual defects were observed. There was an opening failure in only 3 of these packs (0.08% of 3400) where the tear had failed to propagate to the end of the perforation.

As used herein it will be understood that generally width is measured in the TD and length is measured in the LD or MD.

The applicant has found that in one embodiment of the invention where the opening or area of weakness is defined by perforated lines for tear propagation along MD is made much easier if the perforations have a defined tear line length (that part of the perforation along the MD, which is cut or weakened), the defined tear line lengths preferably being from 98 to 106 mm on average and more preferably with much smaller uncut (or unweakened) gaps in between. The gaps between tear lines along the MD increases the resistance to linear tear and are more likely to result in deviation from the desired straight tear along the defined MD line. The smaller the gap between each tear line the better the tear propagation along the defined linear line to produce a clean regular opening which can be readily reclosed. In one embodiment of the invention the length of the gaps are less than 50%, preferably less than 25% more preferably less than 10% of the length of each tear line.

Preferred adhesives for use in another embodiment of the invention are those adhesives available under the trade designation Raflatac C9/RP37/28 and Tesa 64286 which have the desired peel strengths (mean strength approximately 9N and 4 N resp.) and are also suitable for use in contact with foodstuffs.

In yet another embodiment of the invention it has been found that the tear tape lifts and tears the perforation because there is insufficient space around the opening (or area that has been predefined to become the opening). The applicant has found that a minimum clearance of preferably at least 3 mm, more preferably at least 4 mm, most preferably at least 5 mm from each side of the line in the MD (i.e. measured in the TD) which defines the opening or area of weakness 'n' mm wide (such a line being for example perforations) will enable sufficient linear tearing and enable proper reclose. Usefully the TD clearance from the MD edge of opening (or area of predefined weakness) will total from 6 to 10 mm, more usefully from 8 to 10 mm. Even more usefully the tear tape is positioned centrally about the opening or area of weakness, with TD clearance equal both sides. Therefore the tear tape width is preferably at least (6 + 'n') mm, more preferably at least (8 + 'n') mm wide, most preferably at least (10 + 'n') mm wide. It is preferred that the label width which defines the end (pull tab) is slightly wider than the tear tape, more preferably is at least 1 mm wider, thus more preferably the label width is at least (7 + 'n') mm, more preferably at least (9 + 'n') mm wide, most preferably at least (1 1 + 'n') mm wide. As it is desirable to use only the minimum amount of material that is necessary these values for minimum widths may also be the most preferred values for width. Thus in one example of the invention suitable for use on a flow wrapped 4 fingered KitKat®, the pre weakened area of opening (and/or pre-cut opening) is 8 mm wide (which is a width suitable sufficiently to expose one of the fingers so it can be removed). Then in this embodiment of the invention the tear tape width is 19 mm and the label width is 20 mm. (See Figure 12). This compares with the much narrower 12 mm tear tape width used in the conventional four finger flow wrapped Kit Kat® shown in Figure 1 1 .

It will be appreciated that in one embodiment of the invention the adhesive strip or strips may be applied in the MD within the areas of clearance so that it is easier to re-adhere the tear tape to reclose the pack once the opening has been revealed. In one embodiment of the invention the closure tape is self-adhesive (so applying an adhesive means in a separate step is unnecessary), preferably self-adhesive closure tapes have an adhesive layer across the whole of one surface. Self-adhesive tapes may be usefully applied from a release liner (e.g. silicone coated paper) onto the pack surface as described herein.

In a further aspect of the invention the applicant has also found that if tearing is started from the side (offset from the tear tape in TD) for example using a pull tab or label which has a finger lift area that is offset in the TD from the tear tape, this will be less likely to produce acceptable tearing in the MD along the pre-defined tear lines resulting in a higher proportion of unacceptable openings (e.g. Mode 1 or 2). Such a 'side opening' pack is shown in Figure 1 1. In test opening of many packs the applicant has found only 10% of openings were acceptable when initiated from the side. In yet still other embodiment of the invention, illustrated for example by the pack shown in Figure 12, the applicant has found that positioning the finger lift area of the pull tab in a position to be aligned in the MD with the tear tape (and underlying opening and/or area of weakness) will better guide the tearing towards the perforation path along the MD for a clean opening which will improve the ability to reclose the pack. In tests 83% of pull tapes initiated from a position aligned in MD with the tear tape were acceptable. Therefore it is a preferred feature of the invention that the tape / label gripping area is positioned not from side (i.e. offset from tear tape to TD) but aligned with MD of tear tape so that pull proceeds in the MD.

Preferably in one embodiment of the invention, as used herein finger pressure means applying force of less than or equal to 10 N is required to pull that part of the pack (e.g. an end tab of a tear tape) to open the pack to reveal the contents inside. Preferably in another embodiment of the invention for the pack to be recloseable means that the portion of the pack which is used to create a reseal (e.g. the freed tear tape) has an adhesion (as measured by peel strength) of at least 2 N or more when reapplied to the pack to reclose it for the first time after opening.

It would also be desirable to have a pack reclose solution which can applied to packs reliably and consistently to allow for simple and clear on pack and other communication to the consumer so they have confidence how to use the feature reliably in the same manner on each pack consumed.

As used herein the term 'machine direction' (also abbreviated herein by 'MD') denotes an axis parallel to the direction of travel of the web of film from which the pack of the invention is made (so includes forward and reverse directions). As used herein the term 'longitudinal direction' (also abbreviated herein by 'LD') denotes an axis parallel to the longest axes of the flow wrap pack which typically is cuboid and has approximately parallel long sides. Unless the content dictates otherwise the MD and LD are the same. As used herein the term 'transverse direction' (also abbreviated herein by 'TD') denotes an axis perpendicular to the MD, and therefore TD is also usually perpendicular to the LD and thus is this parallel to the shorter (end sealed) sides of the larger flat surfaces (e.g. top and bottom) of a flow wrap pack of typically cuboid shape.

STEP A) (Flow wrap pack)

Preferably in step a), the product is inserted in the pack in the MD.

STEP B) (Opening)

The opening formed in step b), which is also referred to herein as the predefined opening, may be formed along any suitable axis of the pack so for example along the TD or LD, the LD being preferred as this is less complex to achieve with existing packaging machinery. Therefore usefully in step b), the opening is formed along the longitudinal axis of the pack (i.e. parallel to the longest side of the pack in the machine direction of the web) to form a longitudinal opening thereon.

More usefully in step b), the longitudinal opening is formed in at least one of the large opposing sheet surfaces (i.e. top or bottom surface) along substantially most of the longitudinal axis of the pack, optionally leaving a small region intact adjacent the

longitudinally opposed ends to support and retain the transverse end seals of the pack.

Adhesive means

Desirably in step c), the at least one adhesive means is deposited substantially continuously adjacent the opening along substantially all the length thereof.

Conveniently in step c) the at least one adhesive means is located along and adjacent to one or both sides of the opening for substantially all of the length of the opening with one the end of the pack being sufficiently free of adhesive means such that one end of the closure tape is free of adhesive (the free end).

More conveniently in step c), the opening is a longitudinal opening and the at least one (preferably two) adhesive means is deposited in the MD to form at least one (preferably two) longitudinally deposed adhesive strip on the pack. Advantageously in step c), two adhesive means are deposited, each one adjacent opposing sides of the longitudinal opening on the same surface of the pack to form two adhesive strips on the same surface of the pack to fix the closure strip in place either side of the opening. More advantageously two longitudinal are deposited in the MD, each one adjacent respective opposing transverse sides of a longitudinal opening to form two longitudinal adhesive strips on the pack to fix the closure strip in place transversely either side of the longitudinal opening.

CLOSURE TAPE)

Usefully in step d) (or equivalent) the closure tape is located on the adhesive strip(s) to close the opening formed in step b), the tape being wider and longer than the opening such that at least one side of the tape perpendicular to the direction of the opening adheres to the at least one adhesive means located adjacent to at least one side of the opening along its long axis, the closure tape being thus (releasably) fixed in place to cover the entire opening. Conveniently one end of the closure tape is not attached to the pack at one end to form a free end which can be grasped to pull the tape away from the adhesive means and expose the opening (also referred to as 'pull tab').

In one embodiment the closure tape can be cut from the pack, preferably as part of formation of the opening, in which case the opening edges may be repositioned (e.g. by manipulating, folding and/or bending the pack and/or its surfaces to narrow the width of the opening so that the closure tape is wider than the narrowed opening and can be fixed to the sides thereof to close the opening. In this embodiment where the closure tape is cut from the pack optionally it is cut along three sides (two MD sides and a short edge in the TD so the tape is still attached to the pack by at least one short edge).

More usefully in step d) the closure tape is separate from the web which forms the pack and is applied thereto (e.g. from a tape roll). Preferably the closure tape is applied to the pack in the MD in a position located over the longitudinal opening formed in step b) to close it, the tape being wider and longer than the longitudinal opening such that the one or both transverse side of the closure tape adheres to the one or both adhesive means located on one or both transverse sides of the longitudinally opening and is fixed to cover the entire opening.

Preferably during at least one of: the opening forming in step b); depositing of adhesive in step c) and the applying of closure tape in step d) there is at least one guide means to align respectively at least one of the opening, the adhesive strips and/or the closure tape along the same or substantially parallel axes at substantially constant distances perpendicular from the axis of the opening so that the closure tape closes the opening and is adhered to the pack surface in a reliable and consistent manner. The guide means allows the tape width to be only slightly wider than the opening due to the accuracy of its application thus saving tape material.

Conveniently the guide means aligns each of the opening forming in step b);

depositing of adhesive in step c) and the applying of closure tape in step d) substantially simultaneously and in real time.

The guide means may be a laser (used as a guide and/or cutting means), and/or sensor (e.g. optical or mechanical means) which provides feedback to a means which controls how the opening is formed; and/or how the tape and/or adhesive means is applied to the pack. The control means may adjust the position of the web and/or pack relative to a fix cutter or application means and/or adjust the position of the cutter or applicator. The control means may be a mechanical means such as a frame or guide rail to keep a constant distance between the opening, adhesive strip and/or closure tape during the process of the invention. The web, laser and/or adhesive depositor location may for example be controlled by a computer. The guide means may be the same in each of the cutting step b); the depositing step c) and/or the applying step d), or in any two of them or the guide means in each step may be different.

The present invention uses a single closure tape to achieve the easy-open and reclose functionality.

The packaging film is etched and scored along the length of the pack with a suitable controlled cutting means (such as a laser beam). This makes it easy for the tape to lift-off the etched area to create an easy-open feature for the consumer. This can be done in situ immediately before creation of the flow wrap pack by using a conventional laser or other cutter. When an opening is formed the film is cut through the entire thickness of the film the adjustment is less critical then when creating a line of weakness where the film must remain weakened but intact under a tear tape. The line of weakness can be formed by any suitable methods such as perforations (a line formed from cut sections separated by uncut gaps) or can be laser scoring when the film is scored or weakened without being cut (e.g. by heating to destroy or reduce the orientation of the polymer chains within an orientated polymer film such as BOPP).

A reclose (finger-lift) tape may be laid on top of this etched area outside the flow wrap pack, this is used to both open the pack and then reclose after the consumer had taken a portion of the product. The finger lift tape may corresponds to the label tape referred to herein. Alternatively the tear tape and finger lift tape and/or the label tape may be the same single closure tape,

The present invention combines both laser etching and a unique finger liftable closure tape on the pack and optionally means for locating the same precisely on the pack to cover the opening pre-cut by laser. The reclose (finger-lift) tape consists of an adhesive portion in the middle and an adhesive-free area at the edge of the tape. This tape is laid on the outer part of the pack during filling on a horizontal form-fill-seal (HFFS) machine in such a way that the adhesive-free portion of the tape is hanging free at the edge of the pack, resulting in a finger-lift portion that enables the release tape to be removed from the pack, taking with it the etched area on the outer part of the pack. The tape can then be used to reclose along the length of the pack can folded (following part consumption of the content), making a seal with the adhesive band and forming the reclose feature on the pack.

The present invention is better than existing pack reclose methods or devices in a number of ways.

One embodiment of the present invention provides a stable, high volume reclose solution that allows establishment and reinforcement of very clear, similar (preferably identical) product opening rituals consistently over large number of packs repeatedly over time.

Providing consumer with the information to repeatedly and reliable use a reclose solution allows the on pack messaging and design to be intuitive and impactful. This provides an important tool further to educate and embed consumer behaviour so that they can learn to use a reclose pack in a new way, different from how conventional one use packs have been used (immediately discarded after opening).

For example another embodiment of the invention allows a consistent clearly indicated reclose opening ritual indicated on pack to encourage consumers to consume a

recommended portion size and then reclose the pack. In contrast reclose solutions that are unstable will have inconsistent or unclear on pack instructions which work as designed only intermittently. This is more likely to discourage consumers from using the reclose feature in the desired manner and thus notwithstanding the reclose option, consumers may still open the pack discard the wrapper and consume the whole contents in one sitting. The ability of this embodiment of the present invention to provide a consistent opening experience for each pack and thus allow associated strong on pack messaging to reinforce consumer behaviour is thus a further advantage over the prior art reclose methods. Thus in a still further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of applying visible indications on the reclosable flow wrap packs of the present invention as described herein to indicate to the consumer how to open the pack.

Thus in a yet further aspect of the present invention there is provided use of visible indications on the reclosable flow wrap packs of the present invention as described herein to indicate to the consumer how to open the pack.

In a yet still further aspect of the present invention there is provided a reclosable flow wrap pack of the present invention as described herein having visible indications thereon to indicate to the consumer how to open the pack.

Preferably the visible indications referred to above are located on a finger liftable pull tab which is located at the LD end of the closure tape in line with the MD of the opening or predefined opening area.

The invention does not require a very high level of capital expenditure to existing machines or processes, the main additional equipment cost being the laser cutter and coder. This is significantly cheaper than other reclose options.

The only additional material cost would be the reclose tape, which is an acceptable cost compared to many other reclose solutions and can be prepared off site as tape rolls which can then be applied in situ on an existing packaging line set up to flow wrap product. The present invention provides a good reseal when the pack is reclosed after initial opening due to engagement of tape with the precisely deposited adhesive strips. As the closure tape remains attached to the pack on one end, it is not lost or discarded on initial opening of the pack and can be readily reattached in the correct location to re-engage with the adhesive strips. Thus produces an improved seal and longer product freshness after initial opening which encourages the consumer to eat the contents over multiple sittings and a longer time resulting in healthier consumption habits.

The invention enables more consumer engagement with the packaging and therefore the product. The reclose solution keeps the same opening ritual as for many current products (such as the KitKat® product) as the pack is opened by tearing longitudinally along the main (longer) product axis which for in parallel with the fingers of a KitKat® four or two fingered product.

The present invention is easy and intuitive for consumers to use (which can be readily communicated graphically on the pack), thus creating easy access to the product and simple reclosability (capable of being reclosed simply).

As packs of the invention can be reclosed and resealed to maintain product freshness this gives the consumer control of the portion size as they can reseal the pack without consuming its whole contents in one setting as product quality will remain acceptable if consumed later.

Flow wrap packs of in the present invention may be prepared from any suitable sheeting material(s) well known to those skilled in the art. Suitable sheeting materials may comprise any of the following: paper, synthetic paper, woven fabric, non-woven fabric, ceramic sheet, metallic fibre sheet, metallised sheet or film, metallic foil, metallic plate; cellulosic films (e.g. microbial or regenerated cellulose film), thermoplastic films; polymeric films (for example films comprising: polyolefins [e.g. polypropylene and/or polyethylene] polyurethanes, polyvinylhalides [e.g. PVC], polyesters [e.g. polyethylene terephthalate - PET], polyamides

[e.g. nylons] and/or non-hydrocarbon polymers); and/or multilayer and/or composite sheets formed by any suitable combinations and/or mixtures of thereof.

Preferably the sheet comprises a cellulosic material, polymeric material and/or thermoplastic polymer, conveniently comprising polymers of low surface energy. More preferably the sheet comprises a homopolymer, a crystalline polymer and/or a polymer of randomly oriented amorphous non-crystalline polymer chains. Most preferably the sheet comprises: polyolefins [e.g. polypropylene and/or polyethylene] polyurethanes, polyvinyl halides [e.g. polyvinyl chloride (PVC),], polyesters [e.g. polyethylene terephthalate - PET], polyamides [e.g. nylons]. and/or non-hydrocarbon polymers). Conveniently the polyolefin films to be used with the present invention may comprise one or more polyolefins [e.g. polypropylene homopolymer, polyethylene homopolymer (e.g. linear low-density polyethylene - LLDPE) and/or polypropylene / polyethylene copolymer(s);

optionally in one or more layers]. The constituent polymers and/or layers in a film of the present invention may be oriented, blown, shrunk, stretched, cast, extruded, co-extruded and/or comprise any suitable mixtures and/or combinations thereof. Preferred films comprise a major proportion of polypropylene and/or an olefin block copolymer containing up to about 15% w/w of the copolymer of at least one copolymerisable olefin (such as ethylene). More preferred films comprise polypropylene homopolymer, most preferably isotactic polypropylene homopolymer. Films may optionally be cross-linked by any suitable means such as electron beam (EB) or UV crosslinking, if necessary by use of suitable additives in the film.

The definition of polyolefin, as intended herein, is a polymer assembled from a significant percentage, preferably≥50% by weight of one or more olefinic monomers. The definition of copolymer herein, is a polymer assembled from two or more monomers. Such polymers may include, but are not limited to, polyethylene homopolymers, ethylene-oolefin copolymers, polypropylene-a-olefin copolymers, polypropylene homopolymers, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymers and their salts, ethylene-styrene polymers and/or blends of such polymers. The polymers may be produced by any suitable means, for example one or more of free radical polymerisation (e.g. peroxy compounds), metallocoene catalysis, coordination catalysis (e.g., Ziegler or Natta catalysts or variation thereof).

A film used in the present invention may be oriented by stretching at a temperature above the glass transition temperature (T_g) of its constituent polymer(s). The resultant oriented film may exhibit greatly improved tensile and stiffness properties. Conveniently a film comprising a propylene homopolymer is oriented at a temperature within a range of from about 145° to 165°C. Orientation may be along one axis if the film is stretched in only one direction, or may be biaxial if the film is stretched in each of two mutually perpendicular directions in the plane of the film. A biaxial oriented film may be balanced or unbalanced, where an unbalanced film has a higher degree of orientation in a preferred direction, usually the transverse direction (TD). Conventionally the longitudinal direction (LD) is the direction in which the film passes through the machine (also known as the machine direction or MD) and the TD is

perpendicular to MD. Preferred films are oriented in both MD and TD.

The sheet of the present invention may consist of only one layer, or the sheet may be multi- layered i.e. comprise a plurality of layers. The layers can be combined by lamination or co- extrusion. More preferably the sheet comprises at least three layers where at least one layer(s) are sandwiched between other layers such that none of such sandwiched layer(s) form either surface of the sheet.

One or more of the layers of a sheets of the invention (such as films) may conveniently contain any of the additives and/or coatings conventionally employed in the manufacture of sheets and such additives and/or coatings may be added for more than one effect and/or for similar purposes such as one or more of the following.

dyes; pigments, colorants; metallised and/or pseudo-metallised coatings; lubricants, antioxidants, surface-active agents, stiffening aids, gloss-improvers, prodegradants, UV attenuating materials (e.g. UV light stabilisers); sealability additives; tackifiers, anti-blocking agents, additives to improve ink adhesion and/or printability, cross-linking agents (such as melamine formaldehyde resin); adhesive layer (e.g. a pressure sensitive adhesive); and/or an adhesive release layer (e.g. for use as the backing material in the peel plate method for making labels). Broadly another aspect of the present invention provides a pack obtained or obtainable by the process of the invention described herein.

Preferably the pack of or prepared according to the invention has a substantially cuboid form, preferably having two large opposing surfaces (usefully denoted top and bottom surfaces) spaced by two opposing narrower surfaces along the MD (usefully denoted side surfaces).

Optionally the flow wrap pack of or prepared according to the invention also has a fin seal extending in the LD of the pack between the two end seals to complete the seal around the product. Usefully the fin seal is located in one or the large (top or bottom surfaces).

The material used for the flow wrap packs of the invention may preferably comprise mono layer film or multilayer laminated film, which could be heat sealed to itself (inner layer-to- inner layer and outer layer-to-outer layer). Depending on requirements, polyethylene (PE) and/or polypropylene (PP) could be used. For laminated film, the inner layer film could be PE or non-oriented PP film, and the outer layer film could be oriented PP film. Metalized film can be used to achieve required barrier properties. Any other conventional packaging materials may also be used.

In an embodiment of the invention an endless tube of packaging film is formed which optionally may have fins or pleats thereon. The pack is closed either on one of the corners or by way of a centre seam. In one alternative the film tube is applied to a forming shoulder (former) and four fins are formed corresponding to each corner of the pack by folding and heat sealing the fins on the former. Alternatively heaters can be used to create an endless tube of the packaging film with pleats already formed thereon. The film tube is indexed to a pre-determined length at which point it is sealed across the width of the TD to form a bag and product is deposited into the bag and a further transverse seal applied to form a product contained within a flow wrapped pack.

PREDEFINED OPENING

In one embodiment of the invention a film tube is formed and then a predefined opening is formed by cutting an opening along the MD into one face of the pack, using two parallel cut lines which remove a strip of film. The cutting can be performed either before or after the transverse sealing of the ends that define the (filled) pack. As an alternative to cutting other weakening means (e.g. perforation and/or heating) can be used to define the edges of strip to be removed from the film later to form the opening.

In another alternative embodiment of the invention the opening may be formed as follows. A film web is bent transversely about an axis in the MD to form an almost complete tube having a narrow gap between the edges of the film web in the MD, the gap defining an opening. After the index length that defines the pack length, the transverse ends can be transversely sealed across the web to enclose the product as described above, forming a flow wrap pack having a longitudinally deposed opening located along most of the long side of the pack. This embodiment has the advantage of no wastage as no material is removed to form the opening.

In a still other embodiment of the invention a film tube is formed and then a predefined opening is formed by cutting a single line along the MD into one face of the pack, either before or after the transverse sealing of the ends that define the (filled) pack.

The opening is defined by folding the film in the TD away from the cut line to define an opening having a pre-determined width. This embodiment has the advantage that there is no material removed to form the opening which otherwise must be deposed of or recycled during the packing process.

In one embodiment of the invention an adhesive may be applied as one or two lines or strips transversely close to the opening and each parallel to it located near respective longitudinal edges of the opening along the MD for a substantial length of the long axis of the flow wrap pack. In another embodiment of the invention the adhesive may also be applied within the area of predefined weakness or along the longitudinal edges thereof. The adhesive can be applied before, during and/or after the opening has been formed. If the adhesive is applied before the opening is formed the adhesive lines can be used as a guide for formation of the opening (e.g. if applied to a pre-defined area weakness).

The adhesive may be any suitable adhesive which is sufficiently tacky and has the cohesive strength (cohesion) to hold a closure tape securely to the pack to close the opening but also is sufficiently low cohesion so the closure tape is detachable once one end of the closure tape is pulled in the LD (e.g. as shown in Figure 2).

Optionally the reclosing adhesive may be applied on the machine in a continuous manner in the MD and if the packs are also orientated such that the opening lies along the MD the complete length of the pack is provided with adhesive either side of the entire length of the opening, which provides improved protection when reclosed and a better seal of the contents after reclosing.

The adhesive may be deposited as a liquid (e.g. through a nozzle, optionally heated to reduce the viscosity of the adhesive being applied) and/or applied as a film e.g. from a release liner. If the adhesive is applied as a liquid heating or other means may be used to rapidly dry the strip in situ. If the adhesive is applied from a release liner it may be applied on the machine by an adhesive strip applicator in a continuous manner, which will not affect the machine speed.

The two adhesive strips may be applied in a sufficient amount to have a mean thickness of adhesive on the film surface of from 0.5 to 3 microns, more preferably from 0.8 to 2 microns.

The two adhesive strips may each independently have different mean widths (though conveniently they have same width) measured in the TD perpendicular to the MD (i.e.

perpendicular to the direction of the strip). The mean width of one or both the adhesive strips may be from 0.1 to 5 mm, preferably from 0.2 to 3 mm, more preferably from 0.5 to 1.5 mm, most preferably from 0.8 to 1 .2 mm. If applied as one strip the adhesive may have the same mean widths to those described for two adhesive strips.

The adhesives described herein may also applied in a separate step and/or be pre-applied as an adhesive layer onto one or more of the tapes described herein so the tapes are self- adhesive and a separate step to apply adhesive is not needed. Typically self-adhesive tapes are applied from a release liner (e.g. paper coated with a low surface energy coating such as a silicone based polymer) and the tape / adhesive / liner laminate may be wound onto a drum from which the self-adhesive tape can be directly applied to the flow wrap pack in the process of the present invention.

Suitable adhesives include gums or low tack pressure sensitive adhesives, for example those comprising an acrylic polymer having a Tg from -100°C to 50°C, preferably water borne acrylic PSAs formed from a mixture of a hydrophobic component (I), a hydrophilic component (II) and/or a partially hydrophilic component (III).

Examples of suitable PSAs are given below and unless otherwise indicated (e.g. for amounts of aryl arylalkylene within Component I) all of the weight amounts described herein for the following monomers are given as weight percentages by the total weight of monomers (Components I, II & III).

The hydrophobic monomer (Component I) may comprise, conveniently consist essentially of, at least one hydrophobic polymer precursor comprising at least one activated unsaturated moiety (conveniently at least one hydrophobic (meth)acrylate monomer) and/or arylalkylene polymer precursor. Preferably the hydrophobic (meth)acrylate comprises C>4hydrocarbo (meth)acrylate(s) and conveniently the C>4hydrocarbo moiety may be C4-2ohydrocarbyl, more conveniently C₄-i4alkyl most conveniently C4-ioalkyl, for example C4-salkyl. Suitable hydrophobic (meth)acrylate(s) are selected from: isooctyl acrylate, 4-methyl-2-pentyl acrylate, 2-methylbutyl acrylate, isoamyl acrylate, sec-butyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, isodecyl methacrylate, isononyl acrylate, isodecyl acrylate, and/or mixtures thereof, especially 2-ethylhexyl acrylate and/or butyl acrylate, for example n-butyl acrylate. Preferably the arylalkylene comprises (optionally hydrocarbo substituted) stryene and conveniently the optional hydrocarbo may be Ci-iohydrocarbyl, more conveniently Ci-4alkyl. Suitable arylalkylene monomers are selected from: styrene, omethyl styrene, vinyl toluene, t-butyl styrene, di-methyl styrene and/or mixtures thereof, especially styrene. The arylalkylene monomer may be present in Component I (the total hydrophobic monomer) up to about 30%, preferably from about 1 % to about 20%, and more preferably from about 5% to about 15% by total weight of Component I. Component I may be present in a total amount from about 70% to about 90%, preferably from about 75% to about 85% by weight.

Suitable hydrophilic polymer precursors of Component II are those that are co-polymerisible with the hydrophobic polymer precursors(s) of Component I and are water soluble. Preferred hydrophilic monomers comprise, advantageously consist essentially of, at least one ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid. More preferred acids have one ethylenic group and one or two carboxy groups. Most preferably the acid(s) are selected from the group consisting of: acrylic acid (and oligomers thereof), beta carboxy ethyl acrylate, citraconic acid, crotonic acid, fumaric acid, itaconic acid, maleic acid, methacrylic acid and mixtures thereof; for example acrylic acid, methacrylic acid and mixtures thereof. Component II may be present in a total amount of up to 10%, preferably from about 0.1 % to about 5%, more preferably from about 0.1 % to about 3%, most preferably from about 0.5% to about 2.5% by weight.

The partially hydrophilic polymer precursor(s) of Component III may also be referred to as partially water soluble monomers and conveniently may comprise at least one activated unsaturated moiety. Preferred partially hydrophilic monomers comprise, conveniently consist essentially of, at least one Ci-2alkyl (meth)acrylate. More preferred partially hydrophilic monomers are selected from the group consisting of: methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, ethyl acrylate and mixtures thereof; most preferably ethyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, and mixtures thereof. Component III may be present in a total amount of at least about 5%, preferably from about 5% to about 20%, more preferably from about 5% to about 18%, most preferably from about 10% to about 16% by weight.

The closure tape comprises a narrow strip of a polymeric film adhered to a surface of the packaging film. Preferably a tab of the closure tape is left free on the outside of the pack to facilitate opening of the pack. Previously tear tapes have typically been adhered to the internal surface of the packaging film to protect the tape and the pack is then be opened by pulling the free tear tape tab through the packaging film.

Usefully the closure tape comprises a flexible polymer which may be selected from any of those materials described herein as suitable for preparing the flow wrap pack. Optionally the closure tape and the sheet or film which forms the pack comprise, more usefully consist of the same material. In the present invention the closure tape is attached to the outer surface by the adhesive strips which are sufficiently cohesive and tacky that they can be reused to reattach the tape to the pack.

Optionally in one embodiment of the invention the adhesive strip is attached at least in part to the closure tape after the tape is pulled from the pack to initially reveal the predefined opening. The residual amounts of adhesive present on the underside of the closure tape may then useful be used to reattach the tape to the pack to seal the opening after reclosing. Preferred foodstuffs suitable for being packaging by flow wrap packs of the invention may be selected from the following non limiting list of: baked foodstuffs, biscuits, cakes, candies, cereals (and/or cereal bars), chocolate, condiments, confectionery products, count lines, frozen food, gummies, ice cream, moulded products, pizza, pasta, pellets, pet food, solid sauces, sweets, treats; wafers, combinations thereof and/or mixtures thereof; preferably from biscuits, cakes, candies, cereals, chocolate, confectionery, gummies, ice cream and/or sweets, more preferably from biscuits, candies, chocolate, confectionery products, gummies, sweets and/or wafers, most preferably from candies, chocolate, confectionery, gummies, sweets; and/or wafers for example from chocolate and/or wafers.

Fat-based confectionery products such as chocolate confectionery products (also referred to herein as chocolate products) can be produced by any suitable method such as, moulding or enrobing, especially where the product is chocolate coated. Other moulding processes are typically used to manufacture confectionery products such as gummies.

Gummies are also referred to herein as gummy sweets or gummy candies (hereinafter referred to as "gummies", or "gummy" or "gummi" in the singular). As used herein 'gummies' denotes confectionery products that exhibit at least in part a deformable, non rigid, plastic, rubber, chewable and/or gelatinous consistency. Gummies may be prepared from a composition that comprises gelling agent(s) (such as gelatine), sugar(s), flavouring(s) and/or colorant(s).

As used herein the term 'chocolate' denotes any products that meet a legal definition of chocolate in any jurisdiction and also include product in which all or part of the cocoa butter is replaced by cocoa butter equivalents (CBE) and/or cocoa butter replacers (CBR). The terms 'chocolate compound' or 'compound' as used herein (unless the context clearly indicates otherwise) denote chocolate analogues characterised by presence of cocoa solids (which include cocoa liquor/mass, cocoa butter and cocoa powder) in any amount, notwithstanding that in some jurisdictions compound may be legally defined by the presence of a minimum amount of cocoa solids. The term 'choco-material' (or also 'choco') as used herein denotes both chocolate and compound. The term 'chocolate coating' as used herein also refers to a chocolate shell and denotes coatings made from any choco-material. The term 'chocolate confectionery' as used herein denotes any foodstuff which comprises choco- material and optionally also other ingredients and thus may refer to foodstuffs such confections, cakes and/or biscuits whether the choco-material comprises a chocolate coating and/or the bulk of the product. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise it will also be appreciated that in the present invention any one choco-material may be used to replace any other choco-material and neither the term chocolate nor compound should be considered as limiting the scope of the invention to a specific type of choco-material.

Non limiting examples of choco-material products (which may comprise choco materials optionally with one or more inclusions therein such as fruit or nuts therein) suitable for being packed according to the present invention may comprise one or more of the products available commercially from Nestle (often in various versions) under one or more of the following registered trademarks: Aero®; Animal bar ®; Callier®; Caramac®; Crunch®, Milky Bar®, Toffee Crisp®, Wonka® and/or Yorkie®. As used herein the term 'wafer' denotes a baked foodstuff (which may be sweet or savoury) with a crisp, brittle and fragile consistency that are prepared from baking a wafer batter which is a flowable liquid suspension under ambient conditions and comprises mainly flour (typically 30 to 60% by weight) and water to which other minor ingredients may be added. Wafers are thin, with an overall thickness usually from 1 to 4 mm and typical product densities range from 0.1 to 0.4 g / cm³. Wafers may be flat or shaped (for example into a cone or basket for ice-cream. Wafers may also be laminated together with suitable filings between the layers (such as fruit; cream and/or caramel based fillings) to form a multilayer product, which optionally may be choco-coated using a suitable method (such molding and/or enrobing).

Non limiting examples of choco-coated laminated wafer products suitable for being packed according to the present invention may comprise one or more of the products available commercially from Nestle (often in various versions for example as 2 or 4 finger versions) under one or more of the following registered trademarks: Blue Riband®; Drifter®; Galak®, Lion® and/or KitKat®.

As used herein biscuits denote unleavened baked foodstuffs (which may be sweet or savory and also referred to as cookies in the US) that may exist in many different shapes, and are prepared from a viscous biscuit dough which is substantially non flowable under ambient conditions, the dough comprising flour, water and fat. Unlike cakes, biscuits go softer when stale.

Non limiting examples of biscuit products suitable for being packed according to the present invention may comprise one or more of the products available commercially from Nestle (often in various versions) under one or more of the following registered trademarks:

Amor®; Negresco® and/or Passatempo®.

Non limiting examples of other confectionery products (which may or may not fall into any of the other categories described herein) that may be suitable for being packed according to the present invention may comprise one or more of the products available commercially from Nestle (often in various versions) under one or more of the following the registered trademarks:

After Eight®, Balaton®; Boci®; Garoto®; Lifesavers®; Munch®, Nestle®; Orion®; Perugira®; Poccur®; Polo®, Quality Street®, Rowntree ®, Randoms®; Rolo®, Savoy®; and/or Smarties®.

There are many different types of food products, some of which (moulded food products) can be made from moulds. For example, various moulding processes are typically used to manufacture confectionery products such as those described herein. Suitable moulded food products that may be prepared by a method as described herein may be selected from any of those food stuffs described herein.

An example of a confectionery product especially suitable for being packaged as described herein is the chocolate coated laminated wafer bar available commercially from Nestle under the registered trade mark KitKat® as these products are readily portioned into readily detachable sub units (fingers) existing as two or four fingered versions. The four finger version of the KitKat® product (also abbreviated herein as 4 finger KitKat® or 4F KitKat®) is especially suitable for packing within a reclosable resealable flow-pack of the present invention as larger products may be more likely to be consumed over more than one sitting.

Broadly in accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a pack obtained and/or obtainable by a method of the invention as described herein. Preferred packs of the present invention can be opened by hand without tools (easy opening), is reclosable, flexible, and have a substantially rectangular cross section. More preferred packs of the invention are easy opening, reclosable, flexible, packs, with rectangular cross section as described in the description with reference any of the examples herein.

A further aspect of the invention also provides a filled reclosable pack prepared by a method of the present invention.

Other aspects of the invention broadly comprise use of any reclose feature as described herein (e.g. in any embodiment herein) to reclose a pack of the invention as described herein (e.g. in any embodiment herein) after initial opening where the pack contains some product and the reclose feature reseals the product therein sufficiently to improve product freshness compared to an open pack.

Reclosed means the pack is closed to prevent the product exiting the opened pack.

Resealed means that the pack is closed sufficiently to act as a barrier to moisture (and optionally air) to keep the contents fresher for longer after initial opening and increase the length of time the product remains fresh to a degree acceptable to the consumer.

Other aspects and preferred features of the present invention are described in the description and/or claims herein.

The term "substantially" as used herein may refer to a quantity or entity to imply a large amount or proportion thereof. Where it is relevant in the context in which it is used "substantially" can be understood to mean quantitatively (in relation to whatever quantity or entity to which it refers in the context of the description) there comprises an proportion of at least 80%, preferably at least 85%, more preferably at least 90%, most preferably at least 95%, especially at least 98%, for example about 100% of the relevant whole. By analogy the term "substantially-free" may similarly denote that quantity or entity to which it refers comprises no more than 20%, preferably no more than 15%, more preferably no more than 10%, most preferably no more than 5%, especially no more than 2%, for example about 0% of the relevant whole.

One embodiment of the present invention comprises a flow wrap pack (and a process for making it) where the pack has lateral fin (as described herein) in one large surface of the pack (also referred to in this embodiment as the bottom side), where the longitudinal opening is formed on the large side of the pack opposite the fin (also referred to in this embodiment as the top side) and where the adhesive strip(s) and closure tape are applied during manufacture of the pack to the top side of the pack to close and seal the longitudinal opening in the top.

The opening in the pack of the invention as described herein may be formed in various ways. The opening may be formed by positioning the film web (e.g. by bending or folding) to form a gap between the transverse edges of the film web or webs from which the pack was made and/or by removing material (e.g. by cutting, heating or ablating) from the part of the surface of a pack to create an opening that did not previously exist or had been closed.

Another embodiment of the present invention comprises a flow wrap pack (and a process for making it) where having a lateral fin (as described herein) that forms one surface of the pack (also referred to in this embodiment as the bottom side), and where the longitudinal opening is formed or created on the same side of the pack as the fin and where the adhesive strip(s) and closure tape are applied during manufacture of the pack to the bottom side of the pack to close and seal the longitudinal opening in the bottom. As with the previous embodiment the longitudinal opening may either be formed from a gap and/or created by removing material. A still other embodiment of the present invention comprises a flow wrap pack (and a process for making it) where there is no lateral fin and one of the large surfaces of the pack is incomplete as the edges of the film web when wrapped around the product in the TD do not meet but leave a small gap that defines and forms the longitudinal opening. The adhesive strip(s) and closure tape are applied during manufacture of the pack to the side of the pack with this lateral gap to close and seal the longitudinal opening. Thus in this embodiment the pack does not have a fin seal, which has the advantage of not wasting material as the transverse overlap needed to apply the tape to the opening is less than the overlap between the web edges that is needed to form the fin. In this embodiment the large surface designed to face the consumer (also referred to in this embodiment as the top side and which for example may be indicated as the top side by suitable printing of logos, designs and/or similar) has the longitudinal opening (and hence adhesive and closure tape thereon) so that the pack is opened from the top. This embodiment has the advantage that the consumer follows the same ritual to open the pack from the top and the reclose feature is readily visible to the consumer (which can also be emphasised by further visual clues and/or instructions printed onto the pack).

In a yet still other embodiment of the present invention comprises a flow wrap pack (and a process for making it) largely as described in the immediately preceding embodiment with the alternative that the surface designed to face away from the consumer and be hidden (also referred to in this embodiment as the bottom side and which for example may be indicated as the bottom side by suitable printing of information, instructions recipes and/or similar) has the longitudinal opening (and hence adhesive and closure tape thereon) so that the pack is opened from the bottom. This embodiment has the advantage of retaining a clean looking uniform (top) surface with good visual appeal, useful where the aesthetic appearance of the top of the pack is important for the consumer (e.g. for luxury or high end products or products having a very particular look or style where the tape would be too visually intrusive).

In a yet further other embodiment of the present invention comprises a flow wrap pack (and a process for making it) largely as described herein (for example where appropriate as described in any of the embodiments described herein with or without a fin seal) where the longitudinal opening (and thus corresponding adhesive and tape) is located along one of the narrow long surfaces of a flow wrap pack (preferably being substantially cuboid in shape), i.e. along one of the long side surfaces rather than on either the top or bottom surfaces.

In a further another embodiment of the invention packs of the present invention may be prepared by a method in which the opening is substantially straight and parallel to the sides of the flow wrap pack in the MD.

Optionally the closure tape is weakened (e.g. perforated) along one or both edges along the MD to facilitate easy of opening.

Usefully the adhesive strips are applied continuously to the flow wrap pack in the MD.

Preferred packs of the invention comprise flow wrap packs which can be opened by hand without tools (easy opening), is reclosable and is substantially resealable, for example an easy opening, reclosable, resealable flow wrap pack, as described herein with reference any of the embodiments and/or examples herein.

Packs of the invention may containing a product, preferably a foodstuff, more preferably an optionally coated baked foodstuff, most preferably a choco-coated laminated wafer product.

Broadly in accordance with yet another aspect of the invention there is provided use of a closure tape and predefined opening as reclose features as described in any of process of the invention to reclose after initial opening a pack of the invention as described herein, where the pack contains some product (optionally selected from those products described herein) and the reclose feature reseals the product therein sufficiently to improve product freshness compared to an open pack.

The following methods were used in the present invention.

Test methods

Measure tear propagation resistance

Equipment: Ruler (sensitivity: ±1 mm)

Method - Open the pack and measure the distance between tip of the arc and the shortest point where the tear propagation starts deviating using ruler.

Measure peel strength:

Equipment : Lloyd Tensile Tester (Sensitivity: ±0.00001 N)

Method - Prepare the test samples by following ASTM method F88 two hours after production. Measure the peel strength by using the program template 'Peel Strength F88 15mm'. Record 'Average Load between Calculation Limits (N)'.

Further aspects, preferences and embodiments of the invention are described in the claims herein.

The invention will now be illustrated by the following non limiting Figures 1 to 5 that show an example of the present invention, in which:

Figure 1 shows a pack in one embodiment of the invention with a closure tape (1 ) located thereon, the closure tape having perforations (3) therein.

Figure 2 shows the pack of Figure 1 being by opened by finger pressure, where fingers grasp and pull a free end (5) of the perforated closure tape (1 ) along lines of weakening located along the longitudinal axis of the pack to reveal an opening therein.

Figure 3 shows the pack of Figure 1 partially opened with perforated closure tape (1 ) partially removed from the pack to revealing a predefined opening (7) underneath the closure tape, the opening being also deposed along the longitudinal axis of the pack, the opening providing access to the contents of the pack.

Figure 4 shows another view of the partially opened pack of Figure 3 which shows the lines of adhesive (9, 1 1 ) located either side of the predefined longitudinal opening, the lines being used to reversibly fix the closure tape to the pack above the opening to seal the pack before opening.

Figure 5 shows the pack of Figure 1 , which has been reclosed after opening to access the contents therein as shown in Figures 2 to 4, where the closure tape (1 ) has been resealed to the pack along the lines of adhesive (9, 1 1 ) to form a resealed tape (13) that re-closes the longitudinal opening to reseal the partially consumed contents therein.

LEGEND FOR FIGURES 1 to 5

Ref no. Element Name

1 'closure tape'

3 'perforations'

5 'free end [of closure tape]'

7 'pre-defined opening'

9 & 1 1 'lines of adhesive'

13 'resealed tape'

Figure 6 is a photograph of a flow wrapped pack (Comp A) containing the four finger chocolate coated wafer bar available commercially from Nestle SA under the registered trademark KitKat® (also abbreviated herein as 4-finger KitKat®) using a conventional the tear tape, in an unacceptable mode where the tear tape has completely failed to open the pack due to cohesive failure of the adhesive between the tear tape and the underlying pack, such that the tear tape comes away from the pack when the tape is pulled.

Figure 7 is a photograph of a conventional pack for a 4 finger KitKat® (Comp B), the pack shown in the open position, where the pack exhibits another unacceptable failure mode, the conventional tear tape having teared the pack but failed to propagate the tear along the tear line.

Figure 8 is a photograph of the same opened pack (Comp B) of Figure 7 shown with the tape moved to a nominal reclose position, where it can be seen that because of the opening failure the pack cannot be readily reclosed to reseal a partially consumed 4-finger KitKat® left therein.

Figure 9 is a photograph of a conventional pack for 4 finger KitKat® (comp C), the pack shown in the open position, where the pack has opened acceptably using the tear tape and the tear has propagated along the tear line for the length of the pack.

Figure 10 is a photograph of the mode of the same opened pack (Comp C) of Figure 9 with the tape moved to a nominal reclose position, where it can be seen that the pack can be reclosed to seal the partial contents therein.

Figure 1 1 is a photograph of a pack for 4 finger KitKat®, the pack shown with a narrow tear tape width of 12 mm.

Figure 12 is a photograph of a pack for 4 finger KitKat®, the pack of the invention shown with an optimum tear tape width of 19 mm and label width of 20 mm.

Figure 13 is a photograph of a pack for 4 finger KitKat®, the pack shown with the end tab of the tear tape which is free of adhesive for gripping by a finger and is located offset from the tear tape in the transverse direction (TD) of the tear tape.

Figure 14 is a photograph of a pack for 4 finger KitKat®, the pack of the invention shown with the end tab of the tear tape (free of adhesive for gripping by a finger) and is located in the machine direction (MD) at the end of tear tape.

Figure 15 is a plot comparing the unsuccessful opening of PP self-adhesive tear tapes using different adhesives, denoted A to D in the table below; where the ordinate counts the number of unsuccessful openings if Yes (successful opening if No).

The self-adhesive tear tapes described in A, B and C may be advantageously used in the present invention as it can be seen that they successfully opened 30 out of 30 times (compared to 16 successfully openings out of 30 for tear tape D)

Sample Available Trade Comments

commercially from designation

A Tesa 64826 denotes a tensilised polypropylene strapping tape with a synthetic rubber adhesive system.

B UPM Raflatac JJ / PP37 / 28 denotes a biaxially oriented, cavitated PP film with pearlised shade, with RP37 acrylic adhesive and HD70 glassine liner;

C UPM Raflatac C9 / PP37 / 28 acrylic clear adhesive for food contact

D Essentra Essentra Finger lift tape used in prior art packs

In this context in the table above A and B and D describe the self-adhesive tear tapes (the tape and adhesive components). C denotes the adhesive only which in these tests was applied to a standard PP tear tape.

Figure 16 shows the perforated shape and dimensions in mm defining the area of opening (weakness) created on each pack of the 4F KitKat® of Example 2 and 3.

Figure 17 shows the dimensions (in mm) and position of the tear tape on the 4F KitKat® pack of Example 2 and 3 relative to the area of weakness in Figure 16.

Figure 18 shows the dimensions (in mm) and position of the label tape relative to the area of weakness on the 4F KitKat® of Example 3.

The figures are described in more detail below with reference to the Examples below.

Example 1

A reclose pack was prepared by the method described herein in the form shown in Figures 1 to 5.

Comp A, B and C (Figures 6 to 10) Prior art flow wrap packs that use conventional tear tapes are shown in Figures 6 to 10, which illustrate various acceptable and unacceptable modes of opening for ease of reclose. Comp A, B and C are representative examples of packs during different modes of failure or success in opening.

Comp A - FAILURE MODE 1 (Figure 6)

Figure 6 shows failure of opening of prior art pack Comp A, with a conventional tear tape where a tear tape has detached from the pack (due to cohesive failure of the adhesive) attaching it to the pack. In this pack the tear tape is only attached to the pack with adhesive.

Comp B - FAILURE MODE 2

Figure 7 shows Comp B a pack which has been opened but the conventional tear tape failed to propagate along the defined perforation (when open). Figure 8 illustrates the same failure mode shown in Figure 7 after opening, where the tear tape has been repositioned in a nominal reclose position to show the pack, Comp B, cannot be effectively reclosed in failure mode 2.

Comp C - SUCCESS - MODE 3

Figure 9 shows a successfully opened pack (Comp C) after opening where the tear tape has successfully propagated a tear along the defined perforation to create an opening and reveal a KitKat® finger. Figure 10 shows the same success mode of Figure 9 as after opening the pack, Comp C, with the tear tape moved back into a position to successfully reclose the pack. Mode 3 is a desired mode of opening.

Comp D - conventional tear tape flow wrapped pack

Four fingered KitKat® were flow wrapped on a conventional flow wrapping production machine to which a conventional tear tape was applied from separate drum to the flow wrap web in the MD, with a narrow tear tape (12mm width shown in Figures 1 1 and 13) opened from the side (see Figure 13 where pull tab circled and direction of opening is shown by arrow).

After inspecting a representative sample of 170 of these flow wrap packs the applicant found that 95 (56%) of these packs did not open and reclose as expected (i.e. failed in a manner such as Modes 1 or 2 as shown in Figures 6 and Figures 7 and 8 respectively). Only 75 (44%) of the flow wrap packs were found to have opened correctly in Mode 3 (as shown in Figures 9 and 10). The applicant found that the pack film was not tearing along the tear tape because the tear tape and opening indication were misaligned and the tear tape was separated from the film during the opening.

This illustrates that conventional methods of applying tear tape to flow wrap packs are far from ideal and do not always allow the pack to be reclosed. Current methods for opening flow wrap packs are not robust to produce repeatable and reliable opening and reclose, especially on an industrial scale when flow wrapping products at very large volumes on a high speed line.

Example 2 (see Figures 14, 16 to 18)

Four fingered KitKat® were flow-wrapped on a conventional flow wrapping production machine using current packaging film web (metallised BOPP - biaxially orientated polypropylene) a carbon dioxide 60W laser was used to score perforations along the film web (laser power set at 75 to 80% of max power of 60W) aligned to be underneath the tear tape, with a mark speed of from 1900 to 2000 m / s and vector length of 0.3 to 0.4 mm, to create a pre-defined area of opening along the film web in the MD having a width (in the TD) of 8 mm. The shape of this area of opening is shown in Figure 16 which shows the perforations (with dimensions in mm) that the laser created on each pack of the 4F KitKat® of Example 2) that defines the area of weakness in the BOPP film which will be opened by pulling the tear tape along the LD at the free tab end. In this pack the part of the defined area of weakness adjacent non free end (non tab end) of tear tape remains attached to the body of pack.

A PET tear tape was applied from separate drum to the flow wrap web in the MD using the clear acrylic adhesive Raflatac® C9 / PP37 / 28 to attach a tear tape of width 19 mm to the pack (see Figure 17). The adhesive was not applied in a small area (approx. 3 mm in length) at one end (in MD) of the pack and thus once the pack has been sealed, the tear tape forms an end tab, that is free to be lifted by a finger for gripping and pulling along the LD. The end tab was also cut to have a curved top at the free tab end. The tear tape was pre-printed with indication means on the finger liftable end tab to instruct the end consumer to pull the tape from the top of the pack in the LD (see Figure 14 where the pull tab is circled and direction of opening in the LD is shown by arrow). The dimensions (in mm) and position of the tear tape on the 4F KitKat® pack of Example 2 are given in Figure 17 also relative to the opening area. The horizontal arrow in Figure 8 denotes the MD (when on the film web) or LD (when on the pack).

Once pulled to reveal the opening the tear tape remains adhesively attached to the pack via the film at non free end of the opening across the TD where the film is not perforated. The adhesive remains sufficiently tacky after use to reclose the pack at least once after opening. The line of perforation shown in Figure 16 has slight inwardly curve line ends to discourage the tear from propagating all the way to the end of the pack but to leave a neck in the TD, as otherwise on pulling the end tab the tear would separate the tear tape from the pack completely on opening. This has the advantage that the consumer is less likely to lose or discard the tear tape and also is more likely to use the tear tape to reclose the pack.

The applicant has found that flow wrap packs of the invention have a much reduced rate of defects when being opened compared to the flow wrap packs of Comp D (error rate of 56% opening in Mode 1 or 2). A sample of 3400 of Example 2 flow wrap packs of the invention made as described above were opened by pulling the end tab along the LD to open the area of weakness. The opened packs were then inspected for opening defects. No peel off of the tear tape was observed in any pack and no visual defects were observed. There was an opening failure in only 0.08% of these packs (3 of 3400) where the tear had failed to propagate to the end of the perforation, 99.12% of these packs (3397 of 3400) had opened successfully in Mode 3 and thus were easy to reclose.

Example 3

An alternative embodiment of the invention is prepared analogous to Example 2, in which after the tear tape has been applied (without an finger releasable end tab) a further separate pre-printed self-adhesive label tape of BOPP film of width 20 mm (wider than the tear tape) is applied from a release liner wound onto another drum on to the pack on top of the tear tape and aligned with it in the MD. The dimensions (in mm) and position of the label strip overlying the tape on the 4F KitKat® of Example 3 are given in Figure 18. The horizontal arrow in Figure 18 denotes the MD (when on the film web) or LD (when on the pack).

The label tape is adhesively fixed onto the pack using stronger adhesive and the label tape has a small adhesive free area (approx. 3 mm) at one end (in MD) which is free to be lifted by a finger. This area acts as a pull tab which when pulled along the LD on the pack causes the tear tape to which it is (strongly) attached also moves in that direction open the pack along the perforations (shown in Figure 16). The label strip was pre-printed with indication means to instruct the end consumer to pull the tape from the top of the pack in the LD (analogous to Figure 14 where the pull tab is circled and direction of opening in the LD is shown by the arrow).

The advantage of using a separate label strip is this can be pre-printed with a different design and also different films can be used from the tear tape (e.g. to match the flow pack web should a more uniform surface texture be desired). Example 3 avoids the need to form an end tab in the tear tape and the tear tape can be applied in a continuous manner and cut to length as the flow wrap pack is formed.

However because of simplicity and reduced material costs it is preferred to use a tear tape which also serves as a label (as in Example 2) and not applied a separate label tape as in Example 3.

Claims

1 A process for producing a product enclosed in a reclosable flow wrap pack being closed by transverse end seals located at two longitudinally opposed ends the pack having at least two opposing sheet surfaces; where the process comprising the steps of:

b) forming:

(i) an opening in; and/or

(ii) an area capable of being opened defined by line(s) of predefined weakness on; at least one of the opposing sheet surfaces along substantially most of the length of an axis of the pack;

c) depositing at least one adhesive means located on at least one side of the opening and/or defined opening area in the sheet surface and adjacent thereto to form at least one adhesive strip on the pack adjacent to the opening and/or defined opening area;

d) applying a closure tape to the at least adhesive strip either to close the longitudinal opening or to lie within the opening and/or defined opening area , such that each transverse side of the closure tape adheres to the adhesive means located by the opening and/or defined opening area and is fixed to cover the entire opening; and

during at least one of the steps of: the opening forming in step b); depositing of adhesive in step c) and/or the applying of closure tape in step d) there is at least one guide means to align respectively at least one of the opening, the defined opening area, the adhesive strip and/or the tape along the same or substantially parallel axes at substantially constant perpendicular distances there between.

2. A process for producing a product enclosed in a reclosable flow wrap pack being closed by transverse end seals located at two longitudinally opposed ends the pack having at least two opposing sheet surfaces; where the process comprising the steps of:

3. A process as claimed in claim 2, in which during at least one of the steps of: the opening forming in step b); depositing of adhesive in step c) and/or the applying of closure tape in step d) there is at least one guide means to align respectively at least one of the opening, the adhesive strip and/or the tape along the same or substantially parallel axes (preferably the MD) at substantially constant perpendicular distances (preferably in the TD) there between.

4. A process for producing a product enclosed in a reclosable flow wrap pack being closed by transverse end seals located at two longitudinally opposed ends the pack having at least two opposing sheet surfaces; where the process comprising the steps of:

b) forming an area capable of being opened defined by line(s) of predefined weakness on at least one of the opposing sheet surfaces along substantially most of the length of an axis of the pack (opening area); c) depositing at least one adhesive means located on at least one side of the defined opening area in the sheet surface and adjacent thereto to form at least one adhesive strip on the pack adjacent to the defined opening area;

5. A process as claimed in claim 4 in which during at least one of the steps of: the forming step b); depositing adhesive step c) and/or the applying of closure tape step d) there is at least one guide means to align respectively at least one of the opening, the defined opening area, the adhesive strip and/or the tape along the same or substantially parallel axes at substantially constant perpendicular distances there between.

6. A process as claimed in any preceding claim in which the adhesive means is located to the side of the opening or defined opening area as measured in the transverse direction.

7. A process for producing a product enclosed in a reclosable flow wrap pack being closed by transverse end seals located at two longitudinally opposed ends the pack having at least two opposing sheet surfaces; where the process comprising the steps of:

8. A process as claimed in claim 7, in which during at least one of the steps of: the forming step b) and/or the applying of self-adhesive closure tape step c) there is at least one guide means to align respectively the defined opening area and the closure tape along the same or substantially parallel axes at substantially constant perpendicular distances there between.

9. A process as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the axis of the opening;

adhesive strip and closure tape is parallel to the machine direction of the sheet web.

10. A process as claimed in any preceding claim where the tape is wider and longer than the opening and/or defined opening area.

1 1 . A process as claimed in any preceding claim where the tape is narrower than the opening and/or defined opening area.

12. A process as claimed in any preceding claim, where the guide means aligns each of the opening forming in step b); depositing of adhesive in step c) and the applying of closure tape in step d) substantially simultaneously and in real time.

13. A process as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the opening is substantially straight and parallel to the sides of the flow wrap pack in the machine direction.

14. A process as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the closure tape and/or pack is weakened (e.g. perforated) along one or both edges along the machine direction to facilitate easy of opening.

15. A process as claimed in claim 14 in which the weakening defines at least part of the perimeter of the defined opening area.

16. A process as claimed in claim 14 or 15 in which the weakening is substantially continuous or has discontinuities in the weakening of no more than 0.1 mm in length and/or that total no more than 1 % of the perimeter of the defined opening area.

17. A process as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the at least one adhesive strip is applied continuously to the flow wrap pack in the machine direction adjacent to at least one transverse edge of the opening.

18. A process as claimed in claim 7, in which two adhesive strips are applied to the pack one each to respective transverse edges of the opening.

19. A pack obtained and/or obtainable by a process according to any preceding claim.

20. A flow wrap pack as claimed in claim 19, which is can be opened by hand without tools (easy opening), is reclosable and is substantially resealable.

21 . An easy opening, reclosable, resealable flow wrap pack, as described in the description with reference any of the examples therein.

22. A pack as claimed in any of claims 19 to 21 containing a product, preferably a foodstuff, more preferably an optionally coated baked foodstuff, most preferably a choco- coated laminated wafer product.

23. Use of a closure tape and predefined opening as reclose features as described in any of process claims 1 to 18 to reclose after initial opening a pack as claimed in any of claims 19 to 22, where the pack contains some product (optionally selected from those products described in claim 22)

24. Use of the reclose features as claimed in claim 23 where the reclose features reseal the product therein sufficiently to improve product freshness compared to an open pack without the reclose features.

25. A method of opening a reclosable pack as claimed in any of claims 19 to 22 where the pack contains some product (optionally selected from those products described in claim 22), the method comprising the steps of:

pulling a closure tape to reveal a predefined opening as described in any of process claims 1 to 18 to reveal the contents of the pack;

removing part of the contents of the pack; and

reclosing the pack using the closure tape to seal the pack at least in part.

26. Use of visible indications on a reclosable flow wrap pack as claimed in any of claims 19 to 22 to indicate to the consumer how to open the pack.