Eco-Friendly Packaging: Designing Better with Less

Short-lived, sometimes bulky, packaging has been an integral part of our daily lives for many years now. And it hasn’t stopped changing! The agri-food industry, the largest user of packaging, is also the primary vector for innovation in the sector.

Packaging is not useless!

Often criticized and accused of being a source of contamination and pollution, we often forget that packaging serves many purposes. The main function of packaging is to preserve and protect the product as it moves down the chain, from producer to consumer by way of transportation and intermediate storage. It helps to prevent spoilage and damage, which would result in economic and ecological loss! Good packaging also helps to guarantee the health and safety of consumers. Packaging serves several other purposes, such as displaying information, marketing, and diversifying and presenting products in various portions.

Packaging and over packaging: the confusion

When we think of the environment and packaging, we inevitably think of waste. The problem often arises from over packaging, rather than the packaging itself. This problem is costly for manufacturers and is very annoying for consumers. In Québec, the adoption of new environmental standards, which come at the same time as regulations 102 and 130, may well bring on a new era in packaging design. That’s good news!

Eco-design: reconciling the environment with packaging

For all businesses in the agri-food sector, “producing better with less” is becoming an urgent matter. The solution may lie in eco-design, an innovative approach that focuses on prevention as a means of minimizing the impact of packaging on the environment throughout its life cycle. It involves reducing at the source, reusing and recycling, and promoting the use of renewable materials in the designing process. This approach is often advantageous for companies since, in most cases, it helps to increase profits, through increased sales and a reduction in production costs. It reinforces the brand image, demonstrating a true commitment to environmental responsibility, which is also an excellent way to set yourself apart from the competition.

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Emballages Écoresponsables : Concevoir Mieux avec Moins

Je partage avec vous mon post intitulé: « Emballages Écoresponsables : Concevoir Mieux avec Moins » publié sur le Blogue vert de Cascades.

Éphémères, parfois encombrants, les emballages font partie intégrante de notre quotidien depuis de nombreuses années. Ils n’ont cessés de se transformer! L’industrie agroalimentaire, première utilisatrice d’emballages est aussi le principal vecteur d’innovation pour le secteur.

L’emballage n’est pas inutile!

Souvent critiqué et accusé d’être une source de contamination et de pollution, on oublie que l’emballage remplit de nombreuses fonctions. La principale fonction de l'emballage est de conserver et de protéger le produit tout au long de la chaîne allant du fabricant au consommateur en passant par le transport et le stockage intermédiaire. Il évite ainsi qu'une partie du produit ne se perde ou ne s'abîme, ce qui impliquerait une perte économique et écologique! Un bon emballage constitue aussi une garantie pour la santé et la sécurité des consommateurs. Enfin, l'emballage a encore d'autres fonctions telles que la mise à disposition d'informations, le marketing, la diversification et la présentation des produits en portions adaptées.

Emballage et suremballage : la confusion

Lorsque l’emballage et l’environnement sont évoqués, surgit inévitablement le problème des déchets. Le problème vient davantage du suremballage que de l’emballage lui-même. Un phénomène qui coûte cher au fabricant et agace énormément le client. Au Québec, l’adoption de nouvelles normes environnementales, en l’occurrence les lois 102 et 130, sont susceptibles d’amorcer un changement dans la conception de l’emballage, bonne nouvelle!

Éco-conception : réconcilier l’environnement et l’emballage

Pour toutes les entreprises du secteur agroalimentaire, il devient donc urgent de « produire mieux avec moins ». La solution pourrait venir de l’écoconception, une démarche novatrice et  préventive, qui vise à minimiser l’impact des emballages sur l’environnement tout au long de leur cycle de vie. Il faut privilégier la réduction à la source, encourager la réutilisation et le recyclage et promouvoir la mise au point de matériaux renouvelables. Cette démarche est fréquemment profitable pour l'entreprise puisque, dans la majorité des cas, elle contribue à augmenter les profits, soit par une augmentation des ventes, soit par une réduction des coûts de production. Elle renforce l’image de marque, témoignant de son réel engagement dans la voie de la responsabilité environnementale et c’est un excellent moyen pour se différencier de la concurrence.

Vacuum skin packaging: Reduce Food Waste and Enhance Shelf Life

Vacuum skin packaging seals meat portions between base film and a heat-softened top film, which is vacuum drawn onto the meat surface to give a skin tight pack. Vacuum skin packaging Advantages:

• Attractive presentation and maximum shelf life
• Enables vertical and hanging presentation
• The perfectly contoured upper film displays high-quality products to their best advantage 
• Use of films with barrier properties extends the product shelf life and minimizes leakage
• Easy opening options
• Wide choice of packaging materials including glossy and metallized surfaces
• Secures products in place

Linpac aids inshift from MAP to vacuum skin packaging

Europe’s leading multi-material packaging manufacturer, LINPAC Packaging, has worked in partnership with machine manufacturer Mondini and film manufacturer Bemis to create a pack which combines the extended shelf life benefits of vacuum skin film technologies with the presentation and protection benefits of rigid preformed trays for Booths Fresh.

After admiring VSP solutions on offer at other retailers, Booths decided to move from modified atmosphere packaging for some of their meat products and asked LINPAC to develop a solution for them.

LINPAC Packaging’s continual innovation programme has enabled the company to develop a competitive alternative to the standard sheet skin packs traditionally used in vacuum skin packing.  To suit the various cuts of meat currently on sale LINPAC had developed three application styles for use with rPET, PP and EPS trays. 

1. Normal vacuum skin pack (below the flange protrusion)
2. Protruding vacuum skin pack (slightly above the flange protrusion)
3. Super-protruding vacuum skin pack (High protrusion above the flange)

Chris Elliott Technical Sales Manager at LINPAC Packaging, said: “Our innovative vacuum skin pack rigid solutions provide enhanced consumer appeal, shelf space efficiency and maximum protection to products during transit and in store. The preformed tray gives a higher quality look and feel to packs and this, combined with the extended shelf life provided by these packs, means our customers are getting the very best from their packaging.

Within the first three months, sales of meat had increased by 80% on some premium products and food waste was down significantly due to the extended shelf life qualities offered by VSP.

MapleLeaf Farms Introduces Innovative Vacuum Skin Packaging

Maple Leaf Farms, North America’s leading producer of quality duck products for retail and foodservice markets announced today that it is transitioning to vacuum skin packaging for all retail raw duck breast and duck leg products. The new packaging, the culmination of a three-year research and development effort, offers a myriad of benefits to consumers and retailers.

Research conducted by Brand Amplitude shows strong consumer acceptance for the new packaging. Seventy five percent of consumers preferred the visibility of the new vacuum skin pack in a side-by-side comparison with the existing carton. These results were consistent across age group, gender, duck purchase frequency and Maple Leaf Farm customer versus non-customer. The vacuum skin packaging outperformed the carton on all positive descriptors - taste, health, premium product, gourmet product.

Escalating consumer interest in preparing duck at home led to the packaging transition. “The new packaging provides a means for consumers to examine the entire product, which is an important factor when purchasing raw food, particularly high-end proteins,” explained Cindy Turk, Director of Duck Marketing for Maple Leaf Farms.

The new packaging technology, which has been on the market for several years, offers numerous benefits including:

• A clear view of the entire product so consumers can inspect quality and size
• “Easy peel” corner for convenient package opening
• Cooking instructions under the flip up label
• Reduced packaging materials by 17%

For retailers, the new packaging creates a more appealing presence on the shelf and offers multiple display options. The products can be displayed upright in customized trays or on a pegboard for multiple display possibilities. The new vacuum skin pack duck products can offer retailers a point of differentiation and excitement for their customers.

Cool new packaging helps consumers with common frustrations

We’ve all been there—fighting to get a package open. Or trying to get the last drop out of a bottle. When you consider that manufacturers spend more than $150 billion a year on packaging, you might wonder why more products aren’t user-friendly. Consumer Reports has some good news! Here is some innovative packaging that’s solved some problems. (Source)