Tag Archives: packaging

What a good tasting packaging!

Some people have a lot of ideas. Inventor and chemical engineer David Edwards chronicles the ones he makes happen on his personal website—everything from text books hes written to new companies hes started.

In the past, he figured out a way to make and sell “breathable” food, but his latest idea, and the startup he founded to commercialize it, is one that actually may change the way we eat.

WikiCells is a form of edible packaging that will attempt to eliminate societys wasteful addiction to packaging—millions of tons worth end up in landfills each year, according to the EPA.

According to the new ventures website, the idea for WikiCells is rooted in the way nature has always delivered nutrients: in a digestible skin “held together by healthy ions like calcium.”

Apples, potatoes, tomatoes: they all have an edible exterior that protects the treat within. Even something that isnt exactly delicious—like a citrus peel—finds its way into the kitchen in the form of zest.”This soft skin may be comprised primarily of small particles of chocolate, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, or many other natural substances with delicious taste and often useful nutrients,” writes the WikiCells team.

“Inside the skin may be liquid fruit juice, or thick pudding.” So far Edwards and his collaborators—chief among them the industrial designer François Azambourg—have experimented with a gazpacho-stuffed tomato membrane, a wine-filled grape-like shell, and an orange juice-laden orb with a shell that tastes like, you guessed it, an orange.

Possibilities like an edible milk bottle or yogurt container are not out of the question. This summer WikiCells plans to market ice cream in an edible shell to a French audience—a high-tech version of something the Japanese have long enjoyed: ice cream-stuffed mochi.

via Packaging Never Tasted So Good: The Brave, New World of Edible Wrappers – Lifestyle – GOOD.

A ScenSational discovery allows you smell the aroma right from the packaging

Patent-pending innovation EncapScent, which has been developed by US-based ScentSational Technologies, will enable food and drink companies to add food grade flavours to packaging to convey the brand aroma, the company has claimed.

The coating, which can be added in-line, can be engineered to release an aroma at different stages; when picked up from the shelf, during handling, opening, use or consumption.

The intensity of the activated scent, which is intended as short-term aroma, can also be adjusted based on the client’s preferences, ScentSational Technologies added.

The company is working closely with flavour houses to make custom flavours for individual applications. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved flavours are then applied to the packaging outer-surface and remain dormant until activated by the consumer.

Scented coating

“A scented micro-encapsulated coating (MEC) is applied to the outside of the packaging, after filling or assembly,” ScentSational chief technological officer Steven M. Landau told FoodProductionDaily.com.

“The aroma is protected by a microscopic cell, that when handled ruptures and releases the scent. There are millions of cells on each packaging application so cells can be ruptured and the scent released over and over again.”

“The coating can be applied on the production line. So with beverages we can apply it to the bottle, the cap, the label. It can be applied to any shape on the filling line.”

The development is safe for use with food, beverage and pharmaceutical products. It is not directly exposed to product ingredients and is compliant with food packaging regulations, Landau added.

“For food we are only using FDA approved flavours. These will not interact directly with food. If applied on the outside of packaging, it can improve and enhance aromatically.”

Client ‘wish list’

The innovation, can also be used to enhance the taste of the product during use or consumption, was developed in response to client requests for an inexpensive way to convey product aroma.

“We had our customers coming to us with a wish list. That was the origin of the development,” Landau said.

“We have been asked for many years to develop technology like this. We have tested it and it can even be adapted to ice cream. It’s a real game changer for frozen foods.”

“Until just recently, the sense of smell has been the most neglected sense in brand marketing strategies. Of the five senses, smell is the most powerful in driving consumer preference, conjuring up memories and creating purchase intent. As a result, our customers have been asking for a lost cost technology to deliver aroma from the shelf,” Landau added.

via ‘ScentSational’ packaging coating delivers food or drink aroma.

Sustainability in Italy: what big retail players are doing.

Italians are virtuous, with a constantly growing attention towards the environment among young people. This is the picture that emerges from the research about Italian Sustainability and emerging lifestyles: 2,500 interviews, a sample of the Italian population aged between 15 and 74 years. Objective: To identify the most common habits among Italians to reduce their environmental impact.

“The majority of Italians, 50.9%, is sensitive to issues related to sustainability, 48.6% said they buy environmentally friendly products. There is a 36.4% claiming to not care and a 12.7% which is almost hostile to the subject”, “explains Monica Fabris, sociologist, currently president of the Episteme institute of research. “Sustainability is primarily a response to unconscious needs: fear, for example. And the international crisis in this sense was crucial because it demonstrated the unsustainability of many behaviors, limited resources and has spread the importance of having more conservative attitudes. ”

This explanation of Fabris, that the sensitivity of the Italian added: “We are not the most attentive of Europe, but we have a different kind of sustainability. In the research we have identified four types of “green” attitudes. There are “promoters of a shared involvment” (10.9%) who practice a sort of militant environmentalism, they think that everyone can do something and that sustainability is a value. Then there are the “those who judge” (10.4%), people who feel the need to see polluters and waste producers being legally punished. The vision of “eco-nostalgic” (14.8%) is about a return to the past and considering saving and reducing consumption real goals. Finally, there is “the vanguard of sustainable consumption” (63,9%) who have a key to modern, pragmatic and are willing to pay for more virtuous behaviours” This last category direct their purchases mainly to products of the big market, identified as guarantors of attitudes ecofriendly.

“All the big brands have sustainable programs. The projects are very varied and range from research to packaging more easily disposable and recyclable materials to reduce water consumption, the increasing presence of photovoltaic systems to supplement the energy needs of the factories to the use of new production technologies with low environmental impact ” says Ivo Ferrario, director of communications Centromarca, the association of the most important companies active in Italy brand. “Huge efforts are also undertaken to provide consumers with a better information, and to educate companies’employees thanks to specific activities regarding the environmental and sustainability issues.” In this direction is the Total Quality Day organized by Coca-Cola HBC Italy: each year, employees spend a day and a half attending comprehensive educational programs about safety and environment. “We talk about the correct control of raw materials, top quality production processes, optimization of cargo handling and a more effective waste management,” says Alessandro Magnoni, Communication and External Relations Manager. “About sustainability, last June we put into operation a large cogeneration plant in Nogales (Vr), which has already reduced CO2 emissions by 66% and increased energy efficiency up to 83%. But this is just the beginning, we plan to equip all eight Italian plants with photovoltaic systems, an operation that will avoid the emission of 11,500 tons of CO2. ”

Another international brand is following the same path, Heineken, which in 2010 presented a ten-year plan Brewing a better future. “The aim is to reduce CO2 emissions resulting from production processes by 40% and to fall by 25% on water consumption. All by 2020 “explains Alfredo Pratolongo, Communication and Institutional Affairs Manater at Heineken Italy. A strong commitment to social responsibility is also the mission of Procter & Gamble, a leader in consumer products which collects 300 brands: “We have halved the production of waste and CO2 in our plants and use alternative energy generated by wind and photovoltaic systems “says the head of Italy’s sustainability policies, Renato Sciarrillo. He adds: “For those of us who handles many products – we have 140 factories in 80 countries -logistics is crucial: we want to move 30% by rail transport. But that’s not all. “Concentrated” products ensure reductions in packaging up to 45% and the research is aiming at finding new materials to replace plastics. ”

About packaging, Nestlé has a dedicated team that study sizes and materials to reduce environmental impact. “In 2010, in Italy we have avoided the use of 147 tons of materials including metal, paper and plastic. Our objective is to optimize weight and volume, to use materials that you can recover properly, to develop materials from renewable sources and to support initiatives to recycle and recover energy from used packaging “explains Manuela Kron, Nestlé Group Italy Corporate Affairs manager. “To do this we have added a cogeneration and regeneration power plant in San Sisto (PG) and Moretta (CN), which allow us to cut the emission of around 13 000 tonnes of CO2 per year.”

Investments in the study of eco packaging and using alternative energy are also key points for L’Oréal. “We have been working on green chemistry for over ten years and thanks to our research we have recently discovered cosmetic effects of natural sugars. This year we launched a major center for predictive evaluation in Gerland (Lyon) where more than 99% of our ingredients are animal-free tested. Our packaging use a high percentage of recyclable material, we only use wood fiber from certified forests. The Garnier brand, for example, in 2012 will cut the weight of packaging by 15%, “says Giorgina Gallo, managing director of L’Oréal Italy. And the future? “The global goal for 2015 is a reduction of 50% in CO2 emissions, 50% of water consumption and waste generated per unit of finished product. In particular, our factory in Settimo Torinese, in the forefront on sustainability issues, is finalizing two projects that use alternative energy to become, by the end of 2012, a zero emissions plant. ”

Always in Italy, another brand which is very attentive to sustainability is Barilla. “Over 92% of our packaging is recyclable and now we want to exceed 95% in advance to target set for 2014. In recent years we have supplied cogeneration pasta plants, developed energy saving projects and replaced the electricity used in the production of Mulino Bianco products by Renewable Energy Certificate System certificates. This has reduced by about 10% the CO2 emissions for each unit of finished product, “explains Barilla’s Head of Communications and Media, Giuseppe Cocconi. This anticipates the future: “We want to reduce the impact of our products in a timely manner ensuring production processes throughout the supply chain.”

And as we have already informed you about, another worlwide known Italian company, Illy, have been awarded for its sustainable approach during the production processes, receiving the DNV Green Coffee Responsible Supply Chain Process certification. A certificate that emphasizes respect for the ecosystem through the use of recycled packaging and non-polluting practices.
In Danone are applying a very tight control system too. “In 2011 we will reach the goal of being the only company in this market segment to use thermoformed plastic, a new generation made much lighter and with less plastic, for the entire range of products ” explains Gianluca Mormino, director of Danone factory in Casale Cremasco . “This system also allows you to sell the pots which are welded together, avoiding the secondary packaging. And we are studying biodegradable packaging. ”

There is another sector which is very eco-friendly, and Philips is one of the brands involved. “We have to meet annual targets tied to packaging, water and energy savings,” explains Sergio Tonfi head of communications. “In 2010, the” green “products accounted for 38% of our total revenues, in 2007 were 20%: this is the result of three years long investment in innovation worth about 1 billion euros” (Source: Manuela Croci -Corriere.it)

ECOFFEE at the next goGreen for packaging conference

We are happy to inform you that ECOFFEE is one of the partners of the next goGreen for packaging conference, that is going to take place in Rome next June 28th and wants to act as a catalyst for all those market players who believe sustainability is the future.
In a 20 minutes speech, ECOFFEE founder, Norman Cescut, will talk about the role of sustainability in the Retail business and why it is necessary for Retail to become greener.
Please contact us directly at info@ecoffee.it  for further information about the speech and for scheduling a meeting.

Cosmetics industry faces sustainability

We always talk about sustainability in the retail sector dealing with products such as food and apparel, but what about cosmetics? There has been increased interest from the cosmetics industry toward sustainability, the reason why a  Sustainable Cosmetics Summit, is going to be held in New York from May 12 – 14.

In the cosmetics business too, sustainability has become very important to help companies to steer their way out of the recession and tap into the big opportunities that are likely to arise over the next five years.

As stated by Irina Barbalova, head of beauty and personal care for Euromonitor, the four key trends in the cosmetic industry include focusing on the ever-growing emerging markets, new media in western markets, offering better value for money to consumers who continue to be hard hit by the economic downturn in western markets and communicating sustainability through brands.

As stated by Aveda‘s VP, Chuck Bennet “The environmental footprint of a cosmetic, or any product, must account for the full ‘life cycle’ of the product. This includes many factors such as energy and water consumption, emissions to the environment. It can significantly misrepresent the actual footprint of a product if the focus is limited to, for example, manufacturing only.”

According to market researcher Accenture, co-operation with packaging suppliers in efforts to reduce the overall carbon footprint of products. Pressure to reduce environmental impact, and to reduce costs generally, is forcing companies to take sustainable packaging seriously. A supply chain view of packaging provides the breadth of vision required to develop optimal solutions: for example, the recycling of some packaging materials and the switch to reusable packaging. To address sustainability, Accenture recommends companies scan their supply chains to determine the true value proposition of different strategies to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

The research firm estimates that companies can save 3 to 5 percent in supply chain costs by adopting green packaging initiatives, in addition to the revenue uplift from green consumers.

In the US, L’Oreal for example made inroads to reduce the environmental impact of its beauty product packaging by introducing two new assessment tools to its package design process, while Unilever has looked to reduce the amount of waste used in the packaging of a product, yet maintain protection. Unilever has minimised the packaging on its stick deodorants as well as making them more lightweight, to reduce the impact of transporting the goods.

In France, Clarins has built an alternative model, such as agreeing long term Fairtrade contracts with producers of katafray in Madagascar, offering 5% of the sales price from relevant brands to help local communities. “I believe consumers today are more knowledgeable than before, thanks to the media, so they can see through companies that greenwash,” said Yvette James, head of Clarins‘ responsible development division. (Source: CosmeticDesign.com, warc.com. Picture credits: Americanspamag)

Greenburgers guide: Greenopia

EVOS, Le Pain Quotidien and Pizza Fusion received the highest marks of any fast food restaurants in the latest ratings issued by Greenopia.
 
The three chains each received four green leafs, meaning they met at least 90% of the criteria across five categories: green building design, supply chain, recycling/take-back programs, stock and sustainability reporting.
 
Greenopia said EVOS is the “greenest burger chain in the US.” The company sells a variety of organic and fair trade products; incorporates green building design into its locations; uses recycled-content items; and purchases wind credits to offset its energy footprint.
 
Bakery and sandwich shop Le Pain Quotidien uses organic and local ingredients; incorporates green building design; composts food waste; and uses its spent food oil for biodiesel.
 
Pizza Fusion “tackled an incredible amount of green projects for a food chain” Greenopia said. All of its projects are LEED certified; their pizza is made with organic ingredients and delivered by hybrid delivery vehicles; employees wear organic cotton uniforms; and they have a take back incentive for their used pizza boxes.
 
Further down in the rankings Chipotle and Starbucks received three leafs, and McDonald’s improved to two leafs this year. With more than 32,000 stores worldwide other major chains should look to McDonald’s to see how to properly begin to incorporate green initiatives, Greenopia said.
 
Below is the full description of the company’s efforts and shortcomings, as cited by Greenopia:
 
Green Efforts:
McDonald’s has begun to incorporate some green elements into its culture. McDonald’s has 2 green stores, with more on the way. In fact, McDonald’s has been one of the more aggressive chains in incorporating green building designs into its locations. McDonald’s uses some recycled content in their packaging and has a comprehensive waste diversion program. It also only gets its beef from responsible sources (especially in regard to rainforest degradation) and has taken steps to green its seafood and coffee sourcing. Finally, McDonald’s has begun analyzing and scoring its supply chain to search for environmental efficiencies (as well as conducting audits) and publishes one of the better sustainability reports in the industry.
 
Green Issues:
In the green spectrum, McDonald’s is at least light green in every category. What we have listed above is good, but there is still room for improvement. For starters it would be nice to see natural and/or organic products offered and some more widespread and consistent green building design elements as well as some renewable energy sourcing. McDonald’s deserves to be applauded for what it has done (especially when compared with other major burger chains) and we hope to see improved commitment as time goes on.

Sustainable supply chain: how to build it?

At the beginning of March 2011, McDonald’s announced its Sustainable Land Management Commitment (SLMC), a long-term plan to ensure the corporation only serves food (and uses packaging) certified as sustainably sourced. The initial focus is on five high impact products: beef, poultry, coffee, palm oil and packaging.  McDonald’s certainly have all the power to be able to win negotiations with suppliers and reach its goals, but what about small retailers who are buying from overseas?

Shirahime, a UK based ethical fashion consultancy, has published a guide to responsibly sourcing textiles and clothes from India.

Despite its narrow country and industry focus, the guide is packed with advice for any business looking to find responsible goods or services suppliers from overseas. Here’s an excerpt of the Shiraname’s guide.

Be clear about the outcomes you want to achieve
Define aims clearly and build a strategy around the outcomes you want to achieve. Don’t look exclusively for suppliers who have certification. Certification is a costly process and may not guarantee the specific outcomes youwant.

Instead, visit potential suppliers and examine their operations for yourself. If you do this, make sure you have a suitable translator and cultural liaison who can guide your decision making process. In addition, start networking, even if it’s with your competitors. If you do this up front it can vastly increase your chances of success in finding the right supplier.

Consider company size alongside business practices
There can be a correlation between a supplier’s size, the goods or services it provides, and its ability to operate responsibly.

As a broad rule of thumb, the larger the company the more comprehensive their offering will be. Yet the larger the company, the more likely it is that their business is focussed upon financial efficiency, not responsible practice. Therefore, if you’re looking for a responsible supplier it may be worth choosing smaller producers rather than bulk providers as your partners.

Consider alternatives to your preferred goods, service or country
In order to get the most responsible procurement deal, businesses have to change their mindset and be open minded about both the country of origin and the goods or service they’re looking to procure.

Be prepared to invest as well as purchase
Businesses need to think about how they can contribute long term value to their suppliers’ enterprise beyond a simple commercial deal. This is where the value of being clear in your outcomes and partnering with other companies can yield substantial benefits. (Source: Guardian.co.uk)

The colors of Ikea Italy: blue, yellow and.. green!

Ikea Italy announced an environmental investment of € 20 million: 150,000 solar panels to be installed by the end of August 2011in each store so that to create a small solar power station. Clean, renewable, sustainable.

About 150,000 solar panels modules will be placed on a aluminum structure resting on the Ikea store roofs, and in Catania (Sicily), also on the bus shelters in the parking lot. An area as big as 16 football fields to cover about 10% of the electricity needs of Ikea Italy. The first floor (showroom) of all stores will be then lightened with this renewable energy. A total of 10,000,000 kWh of electricity, equal to the average consumption of 3,300 households will be produced each year with a reliable and innovative technology.

This will prevent the annual emission of approximately 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the quantity of CO2 absorbed annually by 400 acres of tropical forest and the emissions of 3,300 cars travelling an average of 10,000 km. Another key point of the Company policy is to reduce waste and an effective use of raw materials, recycled materials or easy to recycle ones, natural and renewable energy, CO2 emission reduction thanks to a clever consumption, the optimization of facilities’operational activities and electricity from renewable sources (in 2010 equal to 83% of the total consumption).

When dealing with waste management, the goal is to reduce it thanks to the development of a less bulky packaging and a careful waste disposal collection so that to assure their almost full recycling. Ikea is bio too. In restaurants, the group includes more than 58 recipes and organic products from biological origin. In 2010, Ikea Italy purchased 2,080 tons of organic products (+38% compared to 2009). Ikea Italy is now the third third largest Ikea supplier company in the world after China and Poland, as stated by the managing director of Ikea Italy, Lars Petersson during a meeting in Milan. (Source. Greenbiz.it)

Eco packaging: are biodegradable Cans the future?

A few info:
– 4 million tonnes of aluminium is produced annually
– the production of aluminium disrupts the landscape where bauxite ore is mined, consumes large amounts of electricity and produces waste.
– More than 75% of all the aluminium ever produced is still in use
– In the UK 51,000 tonnes of which ends up as packaging  If all cans in the UK were recycled, we would need 14 million fewer dustbins.
– £36,000,000 worth of aluminium is thrown away each year.

We are not condamning aluminium itself, also because it can be 100% recycled, and its use in the automotive industry can help reduce the oil consumption and CO2 emissions. But we would like to point out that consumers must understand that their refusal to recycle aluminium cans impact negatively the environment and create great social costs.

Retailers first should have to explain to their customers the added value in purchasing recycled aluminium packaged goods and/or offer alternatives to the traditional aluminium can.

Right now, the only product we found are these PLA Studio’s biodegradable Tin Cans, whose price does not make them suitable for nowadays industry use, but we are sure that in the future they will. (Photo courtesy of PLA Studio)

Green packaging: here’s some news

Fresh Worldwide Press, packaging, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In our ECOFFEE experience, Green Packaging and waste management are two of the most difficult to handle issues for a retailer who wants to approach a greener and more sustainable business. Just a couple of years ago, it was very difficult to find packaging that could be both resistant, green and easy to recycle or compost. Now life has been made easier by smart companies which are offering to retailers plenty of products to satisfy the most demanding client: from corn cups to sugar-beet takeout containers, degradable packaging is forecast to expand an impressive 13.6 percent annually to $685 million in 2014.

Now let's talk about two very different kind of packaging, coffee cups and pizza cardboard. Coffee cups are not that common in Italy, where coffee is still serverd in the traditional ceramic "tazzina", but everywhere else in the world, it is a must for those who want to sip the hot drink while driving to office. The Repurpose One Cup  is a new insulated hot cup that is 100 percent certified compostable. The design requires no sleeve, uses 65 percent less CO2 than a disposable coffee cup to produce, and can be composted in 90 days in an industrial facility. If the cups are thrown away with regular trash, they will degrade in the landfill just like food waste. Traditional insulated cups are made by adding additional layers of paper; however, the One Cup keeps coffee (and other beverages) hot by applying patented insulation material to a single wall cup made of FSC-Certified paper.

Talking about pizza, here's the "Salvapizza", a prototype developed in Italy by a pool of experts. Salvapizza is made of white cardboard printed with food ink and this prototype allows consumers to heat the pizza in the microwave. Thanks to the side slots, the pizza "breathes", ensuring the right kind of ventilation during the heating process, hence preserving the pizza fragrance. In the prototyping of Salvapizza, special attention was paid to the possibility of recycling the used container. The cardboard can be in fact easily divided in two parts: the upper part can be detached and easily recycled in the paper waste container. A simple idea, but that can help recycling a lot of waste material, thinking that each year, the Italian production of cardboards for pizza sums up to almost 620 million units. (Source: Crispgreen and Marrai A Fura)