Field of the invention

The present invention concerns a packaging for separate storage of two food products, and in particular a packaging wherein the two food products are stored in compartments separated by an intermediate lid.

Background of the invention

Food products pre-packed in portion sizes and without need for cooking are particularly convenient when on the move, such as for a snack to be eaten during a break or for a snack or meal to be eaten during transportation. Such food products require convenient easy to use packaging solutions. A particular case is for meals/snacks consisting of two food products which must be stored separately until consumption to avoid negative effects on consistency and taste of the products.

An example of a packaging for consumption of a meal consisting of a liquid and a solid food which have been stored in separate compartments of the packaging is disclosed in WO 02/05691 . It comprises an inner member for holding a solid food and an outer member adapted to receive the inner member so that a space between the inner and the outer members can hold the liquid food. Openings are provided so that the particulate food and the liquid food can be consumed by tilting the container towards the mouth of the consumer so that particulate food is discharged from the inner cup simultaneously with liquid food being discharged from the outer cup through an aperture in an upper part thereof. This packaging allows for single handed holding of the packaging during consumption. However, it may be difficult to ensure a uniform consumption of both food products. Especially for particulate products which have a shape and stickiness which make them likely to form a coherent substance, it seem to be difficult to discharge a desired amount thereof without discharging too much or too little of the liquid food product. Furthermore, the inner and outer members are disclosed as being cup- or bottle-shaped and having a relatively complex geometry. The material consumption and manufacturing cost is therefore considered to be relatively high in relation to the packaging being for single use.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a packaging which overcomes at least some drawbacks of the above-described packagings. It would be advantageous to provide a packaging for separate storage of two food products to be mixed just before consumption, which packaging has a simple design and is convenient to use. Summary of the invention

There is now provided a packaging for separate storage of two food products to be mixed prior to consumption, the packaging comprising:

a container comprising:

o a lower compartment for storage of a first food product, and

o an upper compartment for storage of a second food product,

an intermediate lid separating the lower and upper compartments, and

a top lid removably fastened to an upper rim of the upper compartment so that the upper compartment is defined by a circumferential wall of the container, the intermediate lid and the top lid,

wherein the top lid comprises opening means for manually removing the top lid to gain access to the upper compartment, and

wherein the intermediate lid comprises pulling means and separation means, so that a section of the intermediate lid partly delimited by the separation means can be removed by manually pulling the pulling means thereby creating an opening between the upper and lower compartments through which the second food product can be dropped into the first food product.

The packaging is in the form of a single container. This provides advantages for inter alia simple manufacture of the packaging, and for convenient use of the packaging and consumption of the food product.

The intermediate lid closes the lower compartment and forms the base of the upper compartment. In a preferred embodiment only a portion of the intermediate lid is removed on pulling the pulling means. An important advantage provided by only a portion of the intermediate lid being removed is to ensure an appropriate flow of the mixed food products out of the packaging. E.g. it is desired to avoid that most of the second food products flow out at the beginning of the consumption.

In an alternative embodiment the separation means in the intermediate lid may be configured to provide a progressive opening of the intermediate lid, to give a final partial or complete opening between the upper and lower compartments. The partial or progressive opening of the intermediate lid advantageously allows to control the addition of the second food product to the first food product, and particularly in the case of a progressive opening helps to provide an even distribution of the second food product on or in the first food product.

The top lid may e.g. be made from a sheet material conventionally used in packaging, such as a plastic, paper material or aluminium foil, and it may be sealingly fastened to the top rim to ensure that the second food product is not influenced by the surrounding air. However, it may also be a thermoformed plastic lid fastened to the rim by mechanical interlocking. If desired, there may also be both a sealingly fastened lid and a re-fastenable plastic lid which can be used to temporarily close the package during a break in consumption.

The pulling means may be a tab formed integrally with the intermediate lid, or it may be a separately produced element, such as a tab, string or ring-shaped element which has been manufactured separately and attached to the intermediate lid e.g. by adhesive or thermo welding.

The separation means may be provided by a zone or line of weakening in the intermediate lid. Such a weakening may be obtained for example by a partial cut-through of the material forming the lid, e.g. scoring, or by a line or zone of thinning of the material forming the lid. The separation means should preferably be so strong and tight that there is no flow of food products there through until the intended opening has been provided by removal of a part of the intermediate lid. Whether or not the intermediate lid needs to be impermeable also to air depends on the nature of the products being stored.

The intermediate lid may e.g. be applied by conventional means, for example by adhesion, such as gluing, or by thermowelding, or by other known methods to the circumferential interior wall of the container. The outer edge of the intermediate lid may be sealingly fastened substantially horizontally to the circumferential wall of the container. The edge of the intermediate lid may alternatively be inclined at an angle other than horizontal.

The strength of the sealing used to fasten the intermediate lid as well as the strength of the weakening should preferably be determined so that it is ensured that only a section of the intermediate lid delimited by the weakening is removed by pulling the pulling means.

In a preferred embodiment the opening obtained in the intermediate lid may have a size of between a fifth and half of an upper surface of the intermediate lid before opening, such as between a fifth and a fourth, or between a fourth and a third, or between a third and half. The shape of the separation means should preferably be a smooth curve to avoid unintended ripping of the remainder of the lid which could result in impaired pouring characteristics. The separation means could e.g. have a U-shape or a shape as shown in the following figures.

Alternatively the separation means may be configured such that pulling on the pulling means provides a progressively increasingly large opening in the intermediate lid, and may result in a final opening in the intermediate lid of as much as a half to all of the upper surface of the intermediate lid. This may be achieved, for example, by a weakening line in the intermediate lid having a substantially spiral form starting from the outside edge of the intermediate lid and extending in a spiral form towards the central portion of the intermediate lid. Other suitable forms for the weakening line are envisaged. This progressive opening of the lid advantageously provides a controlled addition of the second food product onto the first food product, and helps to provide an even distribution of the second food product on or in the first food product. Such a configuration is particularly useful for a solid or semi-solid first foodstuff, such as a frozen confectionery or spoonable yogurt, to which it is desired to add inclusions or toppings, such as cereal pieces, chocolate or sugar confectionery pieces, which may be coloured or have coloured coatings, by means of example. Whereby the packaging makes it possible to get an attractive and even distribution of the inclusions/topping pieces on the surface of the first food product and maintains the crispy texture of inclusions/topping and/or prevents leakage of colours, and/or degradation of flavours.

The intermediate lid would typically be arranged at a height of from about 60 to about 95%, of the height of the container, for instance from about 60 to 80%, such as at around 2/3, of the total height of the container.

The packaging of the invention is particularly advantageous for storage and consumption of food products comprising a first high moisture content or liquid food product and a second food product that readily absorbs water or dissolves. For instance in some embodiments the first food product may be a liquid or flowable semi-solid product such as a water or water based liquid such as fruit juices or other beverages, milk or milk-based product such as cream, drinking yoghurt, or a milk-based beverage, for example. In alternative embodiments the first food product may be a high moisture content spoonable solid or semi-solid product, such as a frozen confectionery, e.g. ice-cream, sorbet, or a yoghurt or fromage frais for example. In a preferred embodiment the first food product has a viscosity which enables it to flow out of a tilted container by gravity after mixing with the second food product. Hereby it is possible to consume the mixed food products by drinking directly from the packaging. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the first food product is a liquid having a viscosity in the range of from about 1 to about 500 centipoises at room temperature. In certain preferred embodiments the first food product has a viscosity in the range of from about 150 to about 500 centipoises, preferably from about 150 to 300 centipoises, for example as may be the case for many drinking yogurt type products. In certain other preferred embodiments the first food product is a liquid having a viscosity in the range of from about 1 to about 150 centipoises, such as from 1 to 50 centipoises, preferably from 1 to 30 centipoises at room temperature. One example of a first food product is milk which has a viscosity of around 3 centipoises at room temperature.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a first food product selected from the group consisting of: milk, yoghurt, fromage frais, cream, fruit juice, ice cream, healthcare drink, soup, or other beverage product, is stored in the lower compartment, and a second food product selected from the group consisting of: cereals, nuts, dried fruit, morsels of baked foodproducts such as bread, cake, biscuits, crackers, wafers, extruded snacks, or sugar or fat-based confectionery pieces, which optionally can be coated, or combinations thereof is preferably stored in the upper compartment. In one preferred embodiment the second foodstuff is selected from the group consisting of: cereals, nuts, dried fruit, and combinations therefof. The second foodstuff may be enriched with supplemental ingredients for food fortification such as minerals (eg: iron). In some embodiments the second food stuff may be a healthcare or nutritional ingredient that is not stable in liquid form (e.g. glutamine). In some embodiments the second food stuff may be powdered flavors, stored in a dry powder form to avoid their degradation.

As can be seen from the examples, the second food product is typically a solid dry food product. In some embodiments the second food product may be in the form of a plurality of discrete pieces/morsels, such as for example cereals (e.g. in the form of flakes, or expanded cereals pieces), morsels of baked food (e.g. cake, biscuit/cookie, wafer, bread for example), pieces of extruded cereal based food, dried fruits, nuts, sugar or chocolate confectionery pieces. One advantage of storing such second products separately from a liquid or semi- liquid first food product is that the second food product stays dry and crispy during storage, until consumption, and provide the desired texture and organoleptic properties upon consumption together with the first food product. Alternatively or in combination therewith, at least a part of the second food product may comprise a nutritional supplement ingredient such as minerals e.g. iron, vitamins, glutamine for instance, or even a pharmaceutical product. Such nutritional ingredient may be provided for instance in particulate, powder or granulate form, or alternatively may be provided incorporated with a solid dry food product, such as enriched cereal pieces for example. Accordingly, in some embodiments the second food product may be in the form of a plurality of discrete pieces/morsels, such as for example cereals, enriched with a nutritional supplement such as iron, vitamins, glutamine. The packaging of the present invention is particularly advantageous for enrichments that are non-stable in liquid form and e.g. develops a bad taste or degrades if stored in liquid form.

The volume of the lower compartment may be 100 to 400 ml, such as 150 to 300 ml or 150 to 250 ml. Such volumes are appropriate for containing a typical size of a meal, such as breakfast. However, any volume thereby also portion size is intended to be covered by the present invention.

In a typical embodiment the volume of the upper compartment may be 50 to 200 ml, such as 50 to 100 or 75 to 150 ml, such as 75 to 100 ml. This volume is chosen to be adapted for storage of a typical amount of second food products for a meal, such as 10 to 20 g of crispy cereals. In other embodiments, the volume of the upper compartment may be smaller, such as from 10 to 100ml or 10 to 50ml. This smaller volume may be selected adapted for storage of a second product having smaller volume, such as a nutritional supplement in powder, particulate, granular form. In a packaging according to the present invention, the container may be made from conventional packaging materials, such as paper/board based materials, a plastic material or from a multi-layer composite material. Such a container may e.g. be manufactured by conventional methods such as mechanical forming/folding, injection moulding or thermoforming. In some embodiments the container may e.g. be made from polypropylene (PP) or from a multi-layer composite of PP with EVOH. E.g. a laminated material made from PP/EVOH/PP is considered to be particularly suitable for aseptic filling of the container. Any hygiene, including from clean to aseptic, may be applied for such packing, and therefore any product shelf life may be applied as long as all the process requirements needed for the product is followed and a satisfactory separation of the dosing of first and second food products is applied. The filling and sealing of the packaging container might be done with two separate filing stations and two sealing stations. So, the processing line remains flexible, i.e. it might be use to fill and seal traditionnal packaging containers. In a second aspect the invention relates to the use of a packaging container as described above, the use comprising the steps of:

removing the top lid,

- pulling the pulling means of the intermediate lid to remove the part of the intermediate lid delimited by the separation means and an edge of the intermediate lid thereby providing the opening between the upper and the lower compartments,

ensuring that the second food product drops through the opening and into the first food product, and

- consuming the mixed first and second food products

To make a hot beverage, the food products in the packaging may be heated in a microwave oven, before or after mixing of the first and second food products. Brief description of the drawings

Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and will be apparent from, the description of the presently preferred embodiments which are set out below with reference to the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a cross sectional side view of a packaging according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a three dimensional view of a fully closed packaging according to one embodiment of the invention.

Figure 3 shows the packaging in figure 2 after removal of the top lid.

Figure 4 shows the packaging in figures 2 and 3 after removal of a part of the intermediate lid so that an opening therein has been obtained.

Figure 5 schematically illustrates the use of a packaging according to one embodiment of the invention.

Figure 6 shows a possible design of an intermediate lid according to one embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of the invention

An example of a packaging 1 according to the present invention is shown in a cross sectional view in figure 1. The packaging 1 comprises a container 2 having a lower compartment 3 for storage of a first food product 5, and an upper compartment 4 for storage of a second food product 6. The packaging 1 is e.g. useful for easy preparation and consumption of a breakfast meal when on the move, such as on the way to work. The first food product 5 may then typically be milk or drinkable yoghurt, and the second food product 6 may typically be cereals, nuts, dried fruit or the like including combinations thereof. In this example, a main reason for the separate storage of the first and second food products 5,6 is to make sure that the second food product 6 stays dry and crispy until consumption. Another or additional reason for the separate storage can be that at least a part of the second food product 6 comprises a product which will degrade or develop a bad taste if stored in liquid state, such as is the case for certain nutritional supplements e.g. iron, vitamins, or glutamine.

The container 2 may typically be made from a paper-based material, plastic material or from a multi-layer composite material. Exemplary plastic material sinclude polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene (PE), Polystyrene (PS), Polyethylene Terephtalate (PET), and which may be used as such or in maulti-layer materials, such as for example a multi-layer of PP with EVOH. Where paper-based materials are used at least the inner walls of at least the lower compartment are preferably treated or coated to provide moisture resistance or impermeability to water depending on the nature of the food products to be stored therein. Depending on the nature and desired storage shelf-life of the products to be stored the walls of the upper and/or lower compartment of the container can be made from known materials that are impermeable to air and/or light as required. The lower and upper compartments 3,4 are separated by an intermediate lid 7 which will be described in further details in the following paragraphs. A top lid 8 is removably fastened, preferably removably sealed, to an upper rim 9 (see figure 3) of the upper compartment 4 so that the upper compartment 4 is defined by a circumferential wall 10 of the container 2, the intermediate lid 7 and the top lid 8. In certain embodiments preferably at least the lower surface of the intermediate lid may be resistant to moisture or impermeable dependent on the nature of the food products to be contained in the packaging.

As shown in figure 2, the top lid 8 has opening means 1 1 for manually removing the top lid 8 to gain access to the upper compartment 4. The container 2 is shown as having a circular cross section in the figures. This conveniently provides the packaging with a cup-like form from which it is very easy to directly consume the food products after mixing. However, any suitable cross section, such as, for instance, square, rectangular, oval, polygonal, is also intended to be covered by the present invention.

In the embodiment shown in figure 2, the opening means 1 1 is a tab provided at and extending from an edge of the top lid 8, so that the top lid 8 can be removed by manually pulling the tab. The top lid 8 is typically made from a sheet material, such as a paper based material, a plastic or aluminium foil. It may typically be manufactured by punching, and it may typically be fastened to the upper rim 9 of the container 2 by adhesive, thermo-welding, high- frequency welding, or any other way of sealing. However, embodiments comprising other types of lids and fastening methods are also covered by the present invention, such as thermoformed plastic lids fastened by mechanical interlocking. The top lids may be re-fastenable if desired, e.g. to avoid spilling during a temporary interruption of the consumption. The material from which the top lid 8 is made may either be opaque or transparent, e.g. dependent on whether or not the second food product should be protected from light or dependent on whether or not it is desired to make it possible see the second food product 6 through the top lid 8. The top lid 8 may also be provided with printing, such as decoration or nutritional information.

Figure 3 shows the packaging 1 in figure 2 after removal of the top lid 8. The intermediate lid 7 has pulling means 12 and separation means 13, so that a part of the intermediate lid 7 partly delimited by the separation means 13 can be removed by manually pulling the pulling means 12. This action will result in creation of an opening 14 between the upper and lower compartments 3,4 through which the second food product 6 can be dropped into the first food product 5. The opening 14 is shown in figure 4. The separation means 13 is typically provided by a weakening zone or line in the intermediate lid 7, which weakening may e.g. have been obtained by a partial cut-through of the intermediate lid 7, or an intermittent or continuous line of thinning in the material of the intermediate lid, or other means. For instance separation means can alternatively be in the form of a tear-strip delimiting a section of the lid or by other suitable means. The intermediate lid 7 is typically sealingly fastened to an inner edge 15 of the circumferential wall 10 of the container 2. The fastening may be provided by conventional means, such as by adhesion, by thermo-welding, or by high- frequency welding. In a preferresd embodiment the intermediate lid may be made from one piece of sheet material comprising the pulling means 12, typically formed as a tab; figure 6.

An appropriate size and shape of the opening 14 in the intermediate lid 7 may be easily determined e.g. by experimentation and/or by computer simulation. It will depend largely on the type of food products 5,6, the average and maximum size of second food product 6 when on particulate form, and on the overall size of the packaging 1 . For typical portion sizes, the size of the opening 14 may e.g. be between a fifth and half of the surface of the intermediate lid 7 before opening, such as between a fourth and a third. A possible shape of the opening 14 is shown in figure 4 but other shapes, with dimensions and forms that allow the second foodstuff to pass there through, such as U-shaped, slot shaped, are also possible. The partial opening in the intermediate lid allows the second food product to pass there through and provides controlled passage of the second foodstuff out of the packaging with the flow of the first food product. This provides for an improved eating experience, and avoids that too large amounts of the second food product exit the container at once on pouring.

The position of the intermediate lid 7, and thereby the relative volumes of the lower and upper compartments 3,4 may be carefully chosen to match the desired volumes of the contents both before and after mixing as well as the possible additional volume needed to ensure a satisfactory mixing of the food products 5,6. In a typical embodiment the intermediate lid 7 may e.g. be arranged at a height of from about 60 to 80%, such as at around 2/3, of the total height of the container 2. If the second food product has a small volume, such as a nutritional supplement in powder/particulate/granulate form e.g. glutamine, then the volume of the upper compartment may be smaller, for instance the intermediate lid may be arranged at a height of from about 70 to -95%, e.g. 80 to 95%, of the total height of the container 2. To obtain that the prepared, i.e. mixed, meal can be easily consumed without the need for using e.g. a spoon, the first food product 5 must be liquid enough to easily run out of the opening 14 due to gravity alone while carrying the second food product 6. Hereby it is possible to drink directly from the container 2. If desired, it will be alternatively be possible to pour the mixed food products 5,6 into another container, such as a bowl, before eating or to eat by use of a spoon provided that the opening 14 is large enough.

One intended use of a packaging 1 according to the invention is illustrated in figure 5. Figure 5. a shows the unopened packaging 1 , and the arrow indicates the direction to pull the opening means 1 1 , embodied as a flap in figure 5. a, in order to remove the top lid 8. Figure 5.b shows schematically an example of a second food product 6 stored in the upper compartment 4. The arrow indicates the direction to pull the pulling means 12 in order to remove a part of the intermediate lid 7, the part being delimited by the separation means 13 and a part of the circumferential edge 16 of the intermediate lid 7. Figure 5.c shows how the second food product 2 can drop into the lower compartment 3 through the opening 14 provided in the intermediate lid 7. This movement of the second food product 6 from the upper compartment 4 to the lower compartment 3 may be assisted by manually shaking the container 2. Figure 5.d shows how the mixed food products 5,6 flow out of the opening 14 when the container 2 is tilted. It can also be seen how the edge of the opening 14 in the intermediate lid 7 prevents all of the second food product 6 from flowing out all at once.

Advantageously the packaging of the present invention permits convenient consumption of a meal consisting of a mixture of two food products directly from the packaging without the use of a spoon. Furthermore the packaging of the present invention makes it possible to provide an advantageously uniform flow of the two food products out of the packaging on consumption, permitting a more even consumption of the mixed food products than with the known packaging.

Advantageously the packaging of the present invention to allows the easy preparation of a meal from two separately stored food products without the need for adding further components or food products. Examples of embodiments of the invention include:

- congee (rice porridge or gruel) is stored in the lower compartment, and dry pieces such as rice grains or condiments are stored in the upper compartment;

- milk or yogurt is stored in the lower compartment, and chocolate beverage powder, such as MILO® or NESQUIK®, is stored in the upper compartment;

- ready-to-drink coffee is stored in the lower compartment, and coffee enhancement powder, such as powdered creamer, or foaming powdered creamer, is stored in the upper compartment

- water is stored in the lower compartment, and powdered coffee or coffee mix (powdered coffee with powdered creamer for instance);

- fruit drink is stored in the lower compartment, and dry fruit pieces are stored in the upper compartment;

- tea is stored in the lower compartment, and a vitamin mix is stored in the upper compartment. As used in this specification, the words "comprises", "comprising", and similar words, are not to be interpreted in an exclusive or exhaustive sense. In other words, they are intended to mean "including, but not limited to".

Although the invention has been described by way of example, it should be appreciated that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. Furthermore, where known equivalents exist to specific features, such equivalents are incorporated as if specifically referred in this specification.