Examining challenges and opportunities for the future of sustainable packaging

There's no question as to whether sustainable packaging has a future in the fresh produce industry. But as Viktoria Pakhnyuk, sustainable product development manager for global bag closure company Kwik Lok Corp., said, it's more of a question of what the concept of “sustainable packaging” means to the industry.

“Sometimes the market doesn't even know what it wants,” she said. “It just wants to be better, but it doesn't have ideas about how to get there.”

Pakhnyuk said the term “sustainable packaging” can mean recycled content, a reduction in plastics or even eliminating plastics altogether. That means that packaging suppliers often need to offer several different solutions to meet clients' needs.

Sustainable packaging is also a delicate balance, said Rachel Kenyon, senior vice president of the Fibre Box Association. It must serve both the need for packaging — delivering fresh produce — and consumers' interest in reducing waste.

“Good, effective packaging is essential for food quality and convenience — and its role in preventing waste is twofold: one, carrying products from farm to store in perfect condition for purchase and safe consumption; and two, minimizing material waste through effective recovery and recycling,” she said.

It's also easy to assume that substituting one type of packaging for another may be more sustainable at face value, but that may not necessarily be the case, said Karen Reed, global director for marketing and communications with Kwik Lok.

“People want to get away from plastic because plastic has gotten into the environment and is known to cause a variety of issues,” she said. “But moving to a different material may not be the answer, because it may have some unintended consequences. It may require more water to manufacture the base product, or it may have carbon impacts that are really important in terms of global warming."

And, not to mention, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to sustainable packaging, said Iliana Csanyi, sustainability manager for Fox Packaging. Csanyi said it's critical for sustainable packaging to balance environmental benefits with durability.

“Paper-based and corrugated options struggle in high-moisture environments, risking structural integrity and product damage,” Csanyi said. “Finding effective, recyclable alternatives that meet performance and sustainability goals remains a challenge.”

Another major challenge for the packaging industry is cost, said Tal Cloud, president of Paper Pulp and Film Inc.

“There's definitely a higher cost for the packer [for some sustainable options], and there's resistance from the retailers to pay any more money for the packaging,” he said. “Yet, the consumer is demanding the packaging.”

Food waste and packaging

Csanyi said produce packaging is a critical part in protecting produce, preventing spoilage and extending its shelf life throughout the entire distribution process, from grower to retailer to consumer.

“It ensures products remain fresh and undamaged, reducing waste throughout the supply chain,” she said. “Beyond protection, packaging conveys essential information — branding, traceability and handling instructions — helping consumers make informed choices.”

The produce packaging industry faces a significant challenge in balancing food safety needs and preventing food waste, Csanyi said.

“Some eco-friendly materials degrade faster, increasing the risk of spoilage and food waste,” she said. “Packaging must provide the right balance of barrier protection, breathability and durability to keep produce fresh. A sustainability-first approach that ignores food safety can lead to more waste, ultimately undermining environmental benefits. Eco-friendly materials must not only lower environmental impact but also maintain food integrity and safety.”

Kwik Lok's Pakhnyuk said this is why it's so important to find the proper packaging for the proper end-use.

“You want to make sure it gets there fresh and safe, and it stays on the shelves fresh and safe,” she said. “And then when it gets to the consumer's home, it stays that way for the intended life of the product."

Cloud said that, while in attendance at a sustainability-minded event, a representative from a retailer and a fresh produce grower shared how a switch to a corrugated pack helped reduce shrink and helped also increase sales, thanks to a properly labeled organic package.

“By reducing the shrink at 35%, that's a lot of money per $1,000 — $350 per thousand," he said. “And that's a lot of food waste [reduced], because you're packing the fruit individually into a container that's not it's not getting beat up like so many fruits do when they're bulk on the shelf at the market.”

Finding the right packaging for the produce

Those in the packaging industry agree that some produce may be a natural fit for corrugated or paper-based packaging, but other types of produce may not.

“Managing high moisture content is a key challenge for sustainable packaging like corrugated produce packaging,” Csanyi said. “Moisture can weaken the material, risking product damage.”

Pakhnyuk said produce packaging companies must consider the full use and life cycle of the packaging in the conversation around sustainable options

“If [the produce] is going to be in an environment that's wet and humid and that causes issues, too,” Pakhnyuk said. “So, you have to think a lot about your application. Is it going in a freezer? Is it going to be around stuff that needs to be sprayed? Things like that. So that you're actually choosing the right material for the right environment.”

Wax has been a common barrier used in corrugated produce packaging, but the wax often reduces the ability of the consumer to recycle that package, said Kenyon of the Fibre Box Association.

“Today, there are 72 commercially available replacement coatings for wax,” Kenyon said. “These coatings are more readily recyclable and have led to a drop in waxed box production below 2% of total U.S. corrugated industry shipments.”

A challenge with seeking paper-based alternatives to plastic packaging is finding the proper grade that works well in those high-moisture environments, Cloud said.

“I've had great success with grades that are similar to beverage-grade packages where it doesn't have an expensive coating on it per se, but it repels the moisture and it holds the board together without driving the cost up,” he said.

However, Cloud said the fresh produce industry shouldn't just switch entirely to corrugated- and paper-based packaging.

“I don't think with today's technology, it's for everyone and it's for everything,” he said. “And there's not enough paper. There's not enough paper mills in the world to cover the demand if we eliminate plastic overnight. I think there's some very unique options that I've been working on and others that really can help grow the market and make paper more sustainable and more accepted by the consumer as well as the retailers and the packers.”

Increased cost

Pakhnyuk said added cost can be a consequence of moving toward more sustainable packaging.

"The reality is that a lot of these solutions do require an extra cost," she said. "If you think about recycled plastic, it has to go through extra steps to become usable again after it's been tossed rather than just something new."

But companies like Kwik Lok look to options to help keep costs manageable while also help packers meet sustainability benchmarks.

"What you might think of as the most sustainable could be the most expensive in some cases, depending on what we're looking at," Pakhnyuk said. "Sometimes the best approaches are a little bit more incremental. So, maybe not something that tries to address all of the sustainability concerns but is better than what we had before."

Reed said before Kwik Lok introduces any new closures, it must be compatible with machines its customers already own, with the assistance of an adapter kit if needed. This way, a packer does not have to invest in a new machine.

Csanyi said Fox Packaging also looks to R&D to help develop cost-effective solutions for its customers.

Cloud also said he's challenged to try and uncover sustainable packaging options that are close to current price points but still meet the needs of the consumer and the retailer.

"I'm really chasing that clamshell replacement with paper solutions, whether it be corrugated or some form of board — URB, CRB, coated recycled board, folding box board — just a number of different grades," he said, "I could do coatings that would be bulletproof, but the problem is it drives the cost up to where the packaging is just too expensive. I think there's a happy medium."

Need for education

Reed said another major challenge the produce packaging industry faces is regulations made without an understanding of the fresh produce industry.

"These regulations are put in place by lawmakers who may or may not have the best information," she said. "They're trying to do a good thing for the planet and for their community, but if they don't understand the science behind it all, there could be unintended consequences."

Reed and Pakhnyuk said the packaging industry must take a proactive approach to communicating the challenges, and benefits, of sustainable packaging.

"You really need to have all the stakeholders involved," Pakhnyuk said. "There might be some kind of packaging component that may seem useless to, say, a consumer, but there's a reason it's included, and it might be somewhere along the process where it's really important before somebody really even gets to know how it impacts how your product gets there."

What's next

As for the future of sustainable packaging, Cloud said the conversation will change as the industry makes successful transitions.

"If there's good sales, there's good turns, there's good movement on it, other people will follow," he said. "I think it's finding, so to speak, the lowest-hanging fruit to look for big wins within the packaging space to improve."

He said some fresh produce, such as apples, oranges and avocados, will naturally find a fit with more sustainable packaging. However, transitioning to sustainable solutions for salads and softer fruits will be more of a challenge.

"I think the mentality that it has to be 100% paper with no poly, that is a challenge as well," he said, noting packaging that reduces the majority of plastic with a small window will help the consumer see the produce. "The fruit has to be visible; it has to be able to breathe. So, it's just finding the right combination and 100% paper may not be perfect every time."

Pakhnyuk said the move toward sustainable packaging also needs to be an industrywide effort. Organizations like the Sustainable Packaging Coalition and the Plastics Pact Network play a critical role in establishing common approaches and design guides. In the immediacy, though, she sees a piecemeal approach to regulations.

"So far, it's looking like it's going to be different solutions in different spaces, which is its own challenge," she said. "You have to be everything to everyone, which is a little hard."

Csanyi said as the industry moves toward paper-based packaging, moisture resistance and durability present opportunities for future innovations in sustainable packaging.

"Coated papers and fiber-based solutions show promise, but their success hinges on balancing cost, functionality and recyclability," she said. "Until these challenges are fully addressed, hybrid solutions combining paper with flexible materials present the most practical approach for the packaging industry."