Sealed Air Corporation's CRYOVAC brand food packaging has introduced ZeroPrep, a pre-filled flexible hand-dispensing pouch engineered to replace squeeze bottles and rigid condiment containers in foodservice back-of-house operations. The product, unveiled September 22, targets the recurring labor cost of filling, cleaning, and maintaining conventional condiment dispensers across restaurant shifts.
The Product Design
Each ZeroPrep pouch features a patented easy-open seal and semi-rigid spout that allows one-handed dispensing without tools, then reseals to prevent dripping. The pouches are hermetically sealed until first opening, a design intended to limit contamination risk by removing the transfer step — the moment when condiments typically move from bulk containers into secondary squeeze bottles. Sealed Air says the format achieves product yield of up to 97%, reducing the residual waste that accumulates in the shoulders and bases of traditional bottles.
The pouches are produced on a new CRYOVAC brand ZeroPrep vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) machine, which combines two specialized CRYOVAC films to create the pouch's shape and seal geometry. The system supports package sizes from 8 to 16 fluid ounces and operates at speeds of up to 80 packs per minute — a throughput figure that positions the equipment for mid- to large-scale condiment co-packing and foodservice distribution supply chains.
Why It Matters for Operators
Back-of-house labor efficiency has become a focal point for restaurant operators facing sustained wage inflation and workforce constraints. Condiment prep — filling, capping, labeling, and sanitizing squeeze bottles — is a repetitive, low-skill task that nevertheless consumes meaningful shift time. By shifting that burden upstream to a packaging line, ZeroPrep follows a broader industry pattern of pre-portioned and ready-to-use formats that reduce kitchen prep complexity.
"ZeroPrep reflects this ongoing commitment by removing the tedious task of squeeze bottle prep and cleaning, helping restaurants improve efficiency and the employee experience while supporting food safety," said Joe Lambert, Sealed Air's North America vice president of food. The food safety angle is substantive: hermetic sealing until first use limits the contamination vectors associated with open-top refilling, an area of recurring scrutiny in health inspection protocols.
What Comes Next
Sealed Air will exhibit the ZeroPrep pouches and the companion VFFS machine at PACK EXPO International 2026 at McCormick Place in Chicago, running October 18–21, booth S-2844. The trade show appearance is likely the first opportunity for equipment buyers, contract packagers, and broadline distributors to evaluate the system at scale. The ZeroPrep launch extends Sealed Air's foodservice packaging portfolio alongside its Liquibox brand liquid-dispensing systems, which already serve bulk beverage and dairy applications in foodservice and hospitality channels.
Pricing and commercial availability were not disclosed in the announcement. Additional product specifications are available at sealedair.com/zeroprep.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
