DuoSmart® is a modern packaging solution that combines the advantages of paper with the functionality of plastic. It contains up to 50 % less plastic compared to standard injection molded packaging, and with a “zip”, the inner cup and paper banderole can be easily separated into different waste streams. The brand addresses concerns about the environment with a sustainable biopolymer option, and offers PP, PET and barrier PP or more demanding shelf-life requirements. The packaging is the perfect choice to protect the nutritional value, color, aroma, and taste of food products, including those stored in ambient, chilled, or frozen conditions. Hot filling and microwaving are also options. Available in a wide range of sizes, DuoSmart® runs on standard food industry filling lines, with fast and smooth performance.

Already available are varied shapes and sizes of cups in standard and light versions to store different products for dairy, convenience food, dry food, food service and pet food. The DuoSmart® standard version design provides an efficient location for the product’s bar code, it being at the bottom. Therefore, ensuring easy scanning, advantageous position, and above all, does not disturb the outer artwork. Together with the various intriguing design layout opportunities, DuoSmart® offers customizable see-through windows giving the consumer a view of what they will be purchasing. PACCOR’s designs come in many shapes and sizes, as well as allowing the customers to determine how they want to showcase their products.

Three innovative variants now expand PACCOR’s DuoSmart® portfolio.

RecycleDuo is in progress to be implemented first on all PP DuoSmart® Light references. This development without using glue allows customers to separate the plastic inlet and the cardboard segment more easily without any paper remains on the plastic cup and therefore improves recyclability.

DuoSmart® with rPET inlet responds to the market request of recycled content increase which today is mainly possible with rPET reincorporation up to 100%.

DuoSmart® with foamed PP inlet makes up to 16% less CO2 emissions possible and 15% less plastic needed compared to the production of traditional DuoSmart® cups.

The new generation of DuoSmart® solutions allow having the Digimarc barcode printed on the paper outer layer and engraved on the plastic cup. It can be scanned with any smartphone camera and will provide the consumers as well as the disposable companies with information about the respective packaging. Therefore, the combination of DuoSmart® and the Digimarc Barcode will provide everyone with relevant packaging information anywhere and anytime.

“These new products are supporting PACCOR’s CARE strategy by providing leading circular offers to our customers,” adds Nicolas Lorenz, CCO of PACCOR. “We are constantly striving to not only achieve our ambitious sustainability goals, but also focus on helping our customers to reach their environmental targets as well. We want to act together responsibly as an entire industry,” concludes Nicolas Lorenz.

WestRock (NYSE: WRK), a leading provider of differentiated paper and packaging solutions, has announced it is partnering with Heinz UK to implement WestRock’s Cluster-Wing™ paperboard multipack design to continue to remove single-use plastic packaging from supermarket shelves. Heinz is first to market with WestRock’s new, patent-pending packaging innovation which offers a sustainable, robust and convenient alternative to single-use plastic shrink wrap packaging.

The move advances Heinz’s sustainability initiatives. According to Heinz, it will eliminate 550 tons of plastic packaging from its supply chain. The innovative, glue-free design uses 50 percent less paperboard material than a fully enclosed box and 10 percent less material than a traditional sleeve design. Made with WestRock’s PEFC-certified CarrierKote® paperboard, the new sleeve comes from sustainably managed forests and is recyclable.

Dow (NYSE: DOW) announced today that INNATE™ TF Polyethylene Resins for Tenter Frame Biaxial Orientation has been chosen by Amorepacific, a global beauty company from South Korea, in its new recyclable packaging. The commercialization of tenter frame biaxially oriented polyethylene (TF-BOPE) films is a breakthrough moment in the future of sustainable packaging, providing high performance, excellent shelf appeal, reduced plastic weight and recyclability, enabling leading brand owners like Amorepacific to adopt fully recyclable packaging. This is in line with Dow's new sustainability target of having all of its products sold into packaging applications to be reusable or recyclable by 2035.

In a tripartite collaboration between Dow, Amorepacific and Flair Flexible Packaging, luxury cosmetic brand Sulwhasoo, clean beauty brand primera, as well as derma cosmetic brand illiyoon, will now use all-polyethylene (PE) recyclable stand up pouch for its liquid products. Dow's INNATE™ TF resins were selected due to its valuable benefits that include excellent toughness, outstanding appearance, superior pin-hole resistance, manufacturing efficiency and complete recyclability in existing recycle streams; while Flair Flexible Packaging was responsible for designing and creating the stand-up pouch.

"We are proud to partner with Amorepacific, a leading brand owner in the cosmetics industry, to redefine the possibilities for packaging. Collaboration is key in advancing a circular plastics economy, thus it is important for players across the value chain to act on eliminating plastic waste and optimize our sustainability efforts together," said Bambang Candra, Asia Pacific commercial vice president of Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics. "Our role as one of the leading materials science solutions providers is to support local regulators and brand owners in delivering their sustainability commitments. South Korea has several policies to promote a zero-waste society, such as the Resource Circulation Performance Management Program which encourages manufacturers to improve products recyclability, and these all-PE packaging can address the country's need for plastic packaging to be fully recyclable and drive a positive change in the circular economy."

"Brand owners like us have a vital role to play in offering recyclable packages and we need to be cognizant and present when it comes to deciding the materials for our packaging. We are stepping up in meeting the needs of our consumers who are increasingly eco-conscious with innovative and sustainable packaging materials," said Yu Minho, Packaging manager at Amorepacific. "Our target of reducing 700 tons of plastic consumption by 2022 is made possible through strategic partnerships, such as embracing Dow's best-in-class solutions. We chose to introduce INNATE™ TF-BOPE resins in our brands – Sulwhasoo, primera, and illiyoon because of its unique, fully-recyclable feature that also demonstrated strong properties and great appearance."

"We work closely with our customers to not only provide them with packaging solutions, but to help develop and communicate their product's identity. This partnership with Dow and Amorepacific reiterates the brands' commitment to sustainability, and we are proud that Flair's engineering and development capabilities support their vision of a waste-free environment in South Korea," commented Hanil Lee, senior vice president of Technology at Flair Flexible Packaging Corp. "The stand-up pouches are designed to be functional, appealing and entirely recyclable. With Dow's INNATE™ TF resins, we were able to develop a packaging solution that support a circular economy where recyclers receive useful materials and consumers are empowered to recycle more."

Dow recently announced the innovative and revolutionary INNATE™ TF-BOPE and its applications with a variety of value chain members. The resins offer distinctive physical properties which enable material substitution, film layer elimination and/or downgauging to reduce overall packaging materials. It is the prominent choice for brand owners as it can help deliver lighter, stronger and more durable packaging films for numerous applications. INNATE™ TF boasts a variety of benefits that include higher mechanical properties, material rigidity, better optical and printing performance, hence addressing the many needs of the packaging value chain.

INNATE™ TF has been recognized as a 'design for recyclability' solution, enabling more plastic packaging to be recycled and not end up in the environment or lost to landfills. With most companies focusing their sustainability initiative on increasing the recyclability of their packaging, Dow's TF-BOPE film allows brands to design for recyclability right from the start, choosing materials that work together to create packaging that satisfies needs throughout its lifecycle.

INNATE™ TF-BOPE resins provide converters, brand owners and retailers with an innovative packaging solution that can achieve desired properties while being completely recyclable. This is possible because of the resins' unique molecular architecture that demonstrates outstanding physical properties as compared to traditional polyethylene products. 

While the technology to use edible biopolymers and biodegradable films and sachets from macroalgae or seaweed in the food industry isn’t new — it was famously used for the first time in the 2019 London Marathon, when runners going past Mile 23 were handed out edible sachets containing a Lucozade energy drink which they could either swallow or discard — this is arguably the first time this revolutionary technology has been developed in India. The environmental advantages of using edible sachets can be gauged from the fact that while these sachets biodegrade in four to six weeks, a plastic water bottle takes approximately 450 years to biodegrade completely.

It has been shown that seaweed can be converted into edible and biodegradable edible film for food applications. Globally, polysaccharides extracted from seaweed such as agar, carrageenan and alginate, have been used to develop edible film and have excellent film-forming properties. However, the possibility to develop an edible film directly from seaweed has not yet been explored in India. Seaweed, also known as macro algae, are heterogeneous plants that live in either marine or brackish water environments and grow at a depth of up to 180 metre on rocky solid substrates.

Debbarma, who has been researching on seaweed for over three years at CIFT, believes that “seaweed-based film can replace the aluminum foil/plastic packaging that is now used”. “Seaweed-driven technologies help in seaweed utilisation and opens up opportunities for algae or seaweed-based entrepreneurship,” she said. Debbarma and her colleagues at CIFT used dried, powdered seaweed and added sodium alginate or polysaccharide extracted from seaweed along with minute quantities of natural plasticiser to prepare the edible seaweed film. Red seaweed and local green seaweed were used.

A constituent of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the CIFT in recent years has also developed alternatives such as fortification in fish seaweed sausages, seaweed cookies and seaweed-based health drinks. Seaweed are rich in minerals, most prominently calcium, copper, iodine, and iron. They are also rich in protein, fibre and vitamins, especially vitamin K and folic acid.

The BIO radishes are marketed in a 100% R-PET container, designed with a minimum micron size, which can be recycled for reuse. In addition to innovating with the material used, Agromediterránea has picked a format that had so far never been used for radishes: a 200-gram cup with a lid - instead of the usual bag or flowpack - which keeps the product fresh for longer and facilitates its consumption.

“We continue to innovate to always find the best ways to bring our products directly from the field to our customers. We are constantly testing various alternatives and we are able to offer a wide range of more sustainable options adapted to current consumer demands,” says Jesús Gómez, general director of Agromediterránea.

Through its alliance with Prevented Ocean Plastic, the company is contributing to the circular economy and helping avoid the environmental pollution of the oceans. The initiative - promoted by the packaging manufacturer Grupo Gullin - is also having a positive economic impact in those areas where plastic is collected, since local communities are directly involved in a process certified by the independent organization OceanCycle.

The introduction of POP certified plastic is expanding the range of sustainable packaging options offered by Agromediterránea. It already has products with zero plastic and 100% recyclable options, such as kraft cardboard banding for zucchini, or cellulose trays for corn.

his renewable plant material that can be continually replenished and that absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It also helps Nestlé reduce its use of fossil-based plastics. Nestlé Nutrition’s NAN infant formula packed in the new packaging materials was introduced in Hong Kong in 2020 and will be available in other markets globally from 2021, including for other brands such as BEBA and GUIGOZ.

Wyeth Nutrition is launching the new bio-based packaging for its brands SMA, LITTLE STEPS, S-26 and ILLUMA.

Nestlé Health Science is also introducing the new packaging material for its Althéra, Alfaré, Alfamino, Modulen and Peptamen Junior brands, which are part of its global range of pediatric food for special medical purposes.

The lids and scoops are made from 66% and 95% sugar cane respectively. They are certified as plant-based packaging and are recyclable in countries that have recycling facilities for polyethylene (PE). They have the same properties and functionalities as conventional plastic ones, without compromising the high level of hygiene and freshness required. The bio-based lids and scoops complement the tin can which is metal-based and is the most recycled material in the world. This innovation is one of the many solutions Nestlé is working on to address the issue of packaging waste.

Ryan Carvalho, Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer for Nestlé Nutrition said, “The development of innovative sustainable packaging solutions plays an important role in our journey to net-zero. Bio-based packaging from sugar cane is an excellent example of how we can make good use of plant-based raw materials that are renewable to develop better alternatives to traditional plastic while ensuring that our products maintain a high level of safety and quality.”

Nestlé is a founding member of the Bioplastics Feedstock Alliance that aims to encourage production of bioplastics feedstocks in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable manner.

It also doesn’t use any single-use plastic in their secondary packaging, such as plastic bags, shrink wrap, or excessive tape. The labels, too, are printed using food grade, biodegradable ink.

The brand believes in 100% transparency with its consumers, testament to which is the disclosed ingredient lists of product labels on their website, explaining where they come from, what they do, and how each formula is made, so that consumers can make the informed and right choice.

Launched in February 2018, Arata is the first Indian brand to be EWG-certified. It is a community-led lifestyle brand with an entire ecosystem built around the core philosophy of clean formulations, responsible practices, and sustainability. The company was founded by Dhruv Madhok, a former strategy consultant in the US and UAE, and Dhruv Bhasin, a former finance executive in the UK and India.

The digitally native brand has received this certification recently, for its Refreshing Face Wash. The brand’s entire product range has been developed using plant-powered, clean, safe and effective natural ingredients; sourced sustainably, produced ethically, and packaged in upto 100% recycled packaging from ocean and land waste.

All Arata products are completely free from parabens, sulphates, mineral oil, and harmful synthetic preservatives which may pose potential risks to the human neurological, hormonal & reproductive system. Arata is also a Cruelty-Free & Vegan Brand.

Fry’s, which is part of the LiveKindly Collective of plant-based brands, has removed the plastic wrappers from seven of its main products, including its bestselling Chicken-Style Burgers, and other lines including its Chicken-Style Strips, Traditional Burgers and Sausage Rolls.

It means the South African brand’s range – which is sold in Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Ocado – will now be packaged straight into the brand’s fully recyclable cardboard boxes. The brand said the move would help it reduce plastic use by 1.5 tonnes per year.

The packaging revamp also includes a new look and feel, with a stripped-back, modern design featuring Fry’s new logo – which it said built on its “iconic” red triangle – alongside new food imagery.

As well as a vegan standard endorsement, ‘meat-free’ had been replaced with ‘plant-based’ throughout the packs to acknowledge the wider consumer understanding of the category, Fry’s added.

“The vegan shelves are becoming a more and more competitive space by the day, so it is important to us to give our products the fresh new look and feel that they deserve,” said Fry’s international marketing director Tammy Fry.

“We’re excited to be taking one more step towards more sustainable packaging with the removal of plastics where we can, with lots more developments to come across this year,” she added.

“This new brand look and feel gives us great motivation to continue our commitment to creating the best tasting, best looking, most innovative, ethical, and plant-based meat alternatives for our customers.”

The revamp comes ahead of a major investment in both above the line and below the line marketing for the brand in 2021, in a bid “to reach a wider audience of meat reducers and flexitarians”, Fry’s said.

It follows a major round of acquisitions by the Livekindly Collective since it launched in March 2020, including the purchase of the Fry’s brand from its founding family, alongside Swedish brand Oumph and UK retailer Iceland’s No Meat frozen vegan brand in January.

Livekindly also raised $335m (£242.5m) in its most recent funding round last month, as part of an aggressive expansion plan designed to make it the fastest-growing plant-based food company in the world.

Technically, the film performance matches that of the fossil-based equivalent, which can be used in high-speed horizontal flow-wrap and overwrap applications. The film is also fully food contact compliant.

‘With a growing focus on carbon footprint and a desire to reduce the impact on our environment through global warming, we are introducing Encore REF30cn into the market,’ commented Paul Watters, product development manager for packaging at Innovia Films. ‘This film addresses these issues by having a high certified renewable content which in turn reduces the film's carbon footprint to the position of being carbon neutral.

REF30cn will be the first of several Encore products we will bring to the market. The focus will not only be on certified renewable materials and carbon footprint but also on the use of certified recycled materials.

REF30cn has been classified as Made for Recycling by Interseroh.  

‘The Interseroh certification further enhances the sustainable benefits of this film, it can be classified as recycle ready or recyclable in countries which have the infrastructure to recycle polypropylene,’ concluded Watters.