The food company turns the industry around with the launch of a new way to produce, package and consume tuna.
Result of the company’s industrial transformation plan with an investment of 30 million euros over the past four years.
The project has involved the development of the company’s own Real Peel® technology and the comprehensive redesign of the manufacturing process at its plant in Europe, located in Carballo (Coruña).
The new container revolutionizes the way tuna is consumed by facilitating the release of the entire product and adjusting the amount of oil, thereby adapting to growing consumer demand for simplicity, healthy options and sustainability.
This is a new milestone in Calvo’s history of innovation, following the introduction of novelties such as the round can, the three-can pack and light tuna.
Grupo Calvo presented the “Easy Flip” (Vuelca Fácil) innovation project with which it introduces to the market a new form of tuna production, packaging and consumption. The new method is more efficient, sustainable, and adapted to consumer demands. Grupo Calvo’s senior management explained the new project, its future development and their commitment to innovation as a strategic lever for the company at an online event aimed at the entire food distribution sector.
According to Enrique Orge, Grupo Calvo’s managing director in Europe, “Through this launch, we have literally broken ‘the mold’ with a new way of producing, presenting and eating canned tuna. But it’s much more, because the new “Easy Flip” can and the Real Peel® technology that makes it possible is Grupo Calvo’s most important wager in the last 20 years on reinventing the canned fish category.”
“Easy Flip” (“Vuelca Fácil”) joins the other innovations introduced by Grupo Calvo into the market over the course of its 80-year history, including the round can and the three-can pack. “We are always looking for opportunities to add quality, differentiation and novelty. “Easy Flip” is our latest innovation and I daresay that it is among the most important in the history of the company,” stated Mané Calvo, CEO of Grupo Calvo.
In its first phase, the new can will be available in the Spanish market to progressively extend it to the other markets in which the company operates. “The short-term future involves the launch of the first tuna product references with the new packaging and presentation thereof to our customers. In the medium term, we are working on the extension of the skills acquired at our plant in Europe to the company’s facilities in America,” said Mané Calvo.
The best tuna in the best packaging
The new container is the most visible result of an industrial transformation project backed by a 30-million-euro investment over the last four years. The following are the four principle features of the new can: easy emptying, which allows 100% of the product to be easily extracted; simpler and safer can opening using a flexible aluminum lid; a reduction in the amount of oil while maintaining the amount of tuna; and maximum product juiciness. To this end, Grupo Calvo developed Real Peel® technology.
“Making the release of the entire product easier was the main consumer demand throughout the development of the product, and we managed to achieve truly differentiating packaging: “Easy Flip”. Our consumers will no longer have to break up the product in order to extract it. With a flip, the tuna now comes out easily and in one piece, which brings advantages in terms of presentation, serving and consumption,” explained Martín Barbaresi, Marketing Director for Grupo Calvo.
The improvements also translate into the realm of sustainability, with a 35% lower contribution to climate change compared to the traditional product. The use of just the right amount of oil is one of the key environmental advantages that amounts to a reduction of 15 net grams per can, while maintaining tuna quality. “We know that 3 out of every 4 consumers do not add the oil that comes from the cans to their plate, and at least 37% of them say they throw it down the drain. It was therefore essential to reduce the oil that was not adding value for consumers,” stated Mariví Sánchez, Grupo Calvo’s Director of Sustainability and Communications. In addition, “Easy Flip” meets the sustainability objectives of the 2025 Responsible Engagement plan, whereby all tuna marketed by the company will be sourced from responsible and sustainable fishing by 2025.
Industrial transformation
From an engineering standpoint, the project has entailed the comprehensive redesign of the manufacturing process and the transformation of the Carballo plant where 600 employees currently work. Thus, changes have been made throughout the production chain. “It has been a major industrial challenge that has involved a wide range of technology suppliers and a total transformation of our industrial equipment and computer tools. They have been designed exclusively and uniquely,” emphasized Enrique Mandado, Chief Operating Officer of Grupo Calvo.
Further information: See this technical video
