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.

1 . A packaged food product comprising:
 (1) a tray comprising:
 (i) a tray main body comprising a proximal tray end and a distal tray end, and 
 (ii) a cushioning space at the distal tray end; 
   (2) a plurality of stackable molded chip snacks arranged in the tray main body; and   (3) a tubular container comprising a wall body, a closed container end adjacent to the wall body, and an openable container end adjacent to the wall body and opposed to the closed container end, the tubular container comprising the plurality of stackable molded chip snacks and the tray therein,   wherein the tray is slidable along the wall body, and the tray is aligned so that the cushioning space is oriented adjacent to the closed container end.   
     
     
         2 . The packaged product according to  claim 1 , wherein the tray is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of plastic, a biodegradable material, metal, rubber, and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The packaged product according to  claim 1 , wherein the stackable molded chip snacks have a concave shape. 
     
     
         4 . The packaged product according to  claim 1 , wherein the tray main body further comprises a cushioning space on the proximal tray end. 
     
     
         5 . The packaged product according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of stackable molded chip snacks are selected from the group consisting of a molded potato chip, a rice snack, and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The packaged product according to  claim 1 , wherein the deformation distance is from about 2 to about 15 mm. 
     
     
         7 . The packaged product according to  claim 1 , wherein the tray comprises an edge shelf. 
     
     
         8 . The packaged product according to  claim 1 , further comprising a pulling tab at the proximal end. 
     
     
         9 . The packaged product according to  claim 1 , wherein the tray comprises a bottom which is substantially round. 
     
     
         10 . The packaged product according to  claim 8 , wherein the tray comprises at least one pair of supporting members at the bottom. 
     
     
         11 . The packaged product according to  claim 7 , wherein the pinching member comprises a width, W, from about 5 mm to about 40 mm. 
     
     
         12 . The packaged product according to  claim 2 , wherein the biodegradable material is selected from the group consisting of corn starch, rice starch, flour starch, potato starch, cellulose, polylactide, polycaprolactone, polyvinylalcohol, casein, and a mixture thereof. 
     
     
         13 . The packaged product according to  claim 1 , wherein the stackable molded food snacks have a snack height, and wherein the tray has a tray height, and wherein said tray height is more than about 50% of the snack height. 
     
     
         14 . The packaged product according to  claim 13 , wherein the tray height is from about 60% to about 100% of the snack height. 
     
     
         15 . The packaged product according to  claim 13 , wherein the tray further comprises an edge shelf and wherein the edge shelf is higher than the midpoint of the stackable molded chip snack.