Packaging and shelf-life support for specialized cookies

Cynthia Riddle (PI), Conestoga Food Research & Innovation Lab

Le Dolci & Juli’s Cookie Co, a bakery company specializing in cookies for breastfeeding mothers, aimed to expand their product line to include items for children and women in perimenopause and menopause. They sought CFRIL's support for packaging design and shelf-life extension to improve their current offerings and accommodate new products. 

For the lactation cookies, which come in date and chocolate chip versions, CFRIL addressed packaging needs by providing design ideas for bulk/value packs for Costco and reviewing the barrier properties of the current film, which could influence shelf-life. A review of shipping packaging, including pallet patterns, was also conducted.  

CFRIL provided design ideas for retail and bulk/value packs, focusing on secondary packaging and necessary barrier properties to prevent oxidation, especially due to the inclusion of ground flax seeds. Retail-ready boxboard packaging for 50-gram pouches and shipping packaging reviews, including pallet patterns, were also provided. 

CFRIL also offered packaging design ideas for secondary packaging and recommendations for barrier properties to ensure product integrity for the menopause cookie line. 

Additionally, CFRIL reviewed the ingredients of the lactation cookies to suggest improvements for extending shelf-life and maintaining flavor quality. Analysis of aged cookie samples was planned to inform ingredient recommendations and enhance the shelf-life performance of the cookies. 

Funding for this project was provided by the National Research Council Canada.