Packaged Food Product

Abstract

A packaged food product has (i) a tray, (ii) a plurality of stackable chip snacks aligned on the tray main body, and (iii) a tubular container. The tray contains (1) a tray main body comprising a proximal tray end and a distal tray end, and (2) a cushioning space at the distal tray end. The tubular container contains a wall body, a closed container end adjacent to the wall body, an openable container end adjacent to the wall body and opposed to the closed container end, the tubular container comprising the plurality of stackable chip snacks and the tray therein. The tray is aligned so that the cushioning space is oriented adjacent to the closed container end.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)[0001]This application claims the benefit of PCT China Application No. PCT / CN2009 / 001314, filed Nov. 25, 2009.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to a packaged food product. More specifically, the present invention relates to a packaged food product containing stackable chip snacks such as molded chip snacks.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Chip snacks such as potato chips are normally filled in a flexible bag or in a tubular container. A flexible bag may be used for naturally cut potato chips. The flexible bag may protect such naturally cut potato chips from external shock by filling the bag with gas. Such a flexible bag requires space to transport and display because of the extra space taken up by the gas. A tubular container may be used for molded potato chips. The tubular container may be useful for cramming the molded potato chips which have substantially the same shape by stacking them.[0004]But chip snacks in a tu...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]One of the benefits of the present invention is to further protect stackable molded chip snacks from external shocks such as dropping, bumping, and other shocks derived from storage, transportation, etc. because the cushioning space reduces the transmission of force to the snacks and thereby reduces breakage. Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the tray serves to protect the stackable molded chip snacks from cracks resulting from the transmission of an external shock to the snacks. As less force is transmitted to the snacks with the tray of the present invention, fewer snacks are broken during shipment, storage, etc.

Problems solved by technology

Such a flexible bag requires space to transport and display because of the extra space taken up by the gas.

But chip snacks in a tubular container may crack or break during shipping, stacking, storage, etc.

The chip snacks are sometimes fragile that consumers find some cracked or broken chips when they open the container.

Furthermore, when such chip snacks are filled in a tubular container directly, a consumer may need to reach his / her hand into the tubular container to remove the snacks.

This can sometimes be messy because such an action may soil the consumer's fingers and / or hand with oil, cracked chips and / or flavoring.

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