Companies constantly innovate with technology and redesign their packaging to get better performance, improve marketability and enhance sustainability. Here’s a look at five recent revamps, innovations and sustainable packaging solutions on Packaging Dive’s radar.
3D boxboard packaging
Two Finnish groups — Metsä, a forest industry group, and Fiskars, known for its scissors — are partnering to develop new fiber-based, plastic-free packaging. The Muoto 3D packaging, currently in its demonstration stage, will involve folding boxboard made from recycled material to encase scissors.
Wet wood fiber pulp is the main material for the packaging, which the company said allows for “lightweight yet stiff” designs with protective properties. “Muoto 3D fibre packages can be shaped in many ways: they are pressed into their final form using new 3D technology that enables the production of rounded, complex shapes familiar from the plastics industry,” said Tarja Heikkilä, product manager at Metsä Group’s innovation company Metsä Spring. In this case, the Muoto 3D inner packaging mimics the shape of the scissors.
Tea time for happy hour
New York City-based beverage startup Sayso is rolling out different packaging for its craft cocktail tea bags. The company is replacing the boxes that the tea bags come in with flexible pouches made from an unspecified amount of postconsumer recycled material. The tea bags themselves are described as being biodegradable.
Sayso is simultaneously lowering the price for eight tea bags from $24 to $16, which it says is a result of the packaging redesign.
Bamboo shift
U.K.-based Celebration Packaging recently launched a new line of bamboo-fiber hot cups as part of its EnviroWare category, as reported by Packaging Gateway.
The cups have Forest Stewardship Council certification and are certified as commercially compostable under European standards.
The new line comes in three sizes: eight, 12 or 16 ounces. The company also offers FSC-certified wooden drink stirrers, kraft coffee sleeves and “compostable domed lids.” Celebration described the cups as a way to cater to growing demand for plastic alternatives amid shifting regulatory and consumer preferences.
Premium cheese packaging with a built-in grater
New Jersey-based specialty food importer Atalanta is set to roll out “Twist and Grate” packaging for its Il Villaggio brand cheese, Supermarket Perimeter reported from the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association show this week. The company describes this as a way to offer greater convenience in the “premium cheese” category. A similar product design exists for at least one other category of economy parmesan cheese made by a different company.
Novolex adds more recycled content to plastic totes
Packaging manufacturer Novolex has boosted to 40% the level of recycled content in its ProWave tote bags, which are meant to be used for hot, cold or frozen deliveries as well as carryout from restaurants, grocery stores and other retailers. The South Carolina-based company said the totes are durable enough to be reused and may be accepted in store drop-off programs for potential recycling.
Novolex said the tote’s flat bottom allows efficient packing of product, while a double-ply top and folded handles ensure it remains open for loading. It is made in gauges of either 1.7 or 2.5 millimeters. The company touted the product’s compliance with requirements laid out in California’s SB 270, which bans thin plastic carryout bags in favor of reusable plastic or recycled paper bags.
