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| Flour packaging has always been important for millers, and has changed greatly over time – had it not progressed alongside other milling improvements, the industry would not have been able to keep up efficiency.To trace the development of modern flour packaging, we have to go back to the wooden barrel. For years this was the standard container of the industry in the USA, and whilst today it is almost non-existent, its influence is still shown by the use of ‘barrel’ as a unit of measurement. |
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| Flour packing in the heyday of the wooden barrel. |
| A miller’s mark of origin was applied to a barrel as a sign of ownership. This was done with a ‘branding iron’. The miller’s name, mill location and the intended weight of a filled barrel would be burned into one or more of the barrel staves. This practice quickly gave way to stencils for inking the information on to the barrel staves or the flat surface of one or both ends of the barrel. The final stage was the use of paper labels on one end only. The circular design on the end of the barrel was continued for trademarks and logos on cloth and paper sacks. |
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| Flour advertisments from the Northwestern Miller. |
| During the period of its greatest popularity, the barrel served its purpose well and efficiently. Conditions in the milling industry were entirely different than they are today. Shipments were slow and hazardous, consumers bought supplies of flour for months in advance. Merchandising practices were comparatively simple, and the barrel was exactly what it was supposed to be – a container. |
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| The demise of the barrel as an approved flour container came primarily from two causes, the development of other forms of packaging, such as jute, cotton and paper, and altered purchasing habits by American consumers where much smaller units of flour were wanted. |
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| At the outset of the change, flour presented many difficult packaging problems. It was easily contaminated, absorbing odours with which it came in contact in shipping and warehouses. Furthermore flour often receives rough handling in being transported from the mill to the place of destination, so to avoid losses new ways of transporting and packing had to be found to eliminate the strain. This resulted in the complete revolution of flour packaging methods. |
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| In an upcoming blog we will explore the history of cloth and paper packaging. |
