Sustainable packaging is no doubt the hot topic among produce industry professionals in 2021. Globally, sustainability overtook personal health as consumers' biggest issue this year, according to Innova Market Insights. The massive push to be environmentally friendly has garnered more questions than answers. Ninety-percent of consumers say sustainability in produce packaging is very important. Meanwhile, consumers and growers differ on the definition of sustainability.
What is the next big thing in packaging?
August 16
Tom Karst
Sustainability and plastic-free will be two packaging trends to watch in 2022, industry leaders report.
The Packer asked several industry leaders to give their perspective on what will be the top packaging trend of 2022, and sustainability was often mentioned.
Innovations in technology making sustainable packaging more realistic
Aug 26
Tom Karst
Innovations in material availability and handling technology are making the quest for sustainable packaging more realistic, several industry leaders say.
“I think that the ability to heat-seal paper on a vertical form, fill-and-seal machine are breakthroughs since paper is both recyclable and compostable,” said Steve Greenfield, director of sales and marketing for NNZ Inc., Lawrenceville, Ga. “The current problem, which I think will be fixed over time, is the weight limits that this technology has.”
Sustainability and the supply chain
Sept 17
With consumer demand rising for the more responsible use of plastic, berry giant Driscoll's recently signed on to the New Plastic Economy Global Commitment to drive more reuse of plastic and advance other packaging materials. Sandor Nagy, group vice president of supply chain, shares the company's vision and dives deep on a critical part of the process: leveraging partnerships and incentives throughout the supply chain to make that vision a reality.
How returnable packaging can work — sometimes
Sept 17
Amy Sowder
It doesn't matter how durable your returnable packaging is if the cost to return it is too high.
“At the end of day, it needs to get a ride back with the truck that delivered it, or you need to do an aggregate collection,” said Mike Newman, CEO of Returnity, a company that replaces single-use shipping and delivery packaging by designing, manufacturing and implementing reusable packaging and circular logistics systems.
Communicating sustainability with your packaging
Sept 17
You've researched more sustainable packaging solutions, developed prototypes, tested them in market ... but how does the consumer know they're more sustainable? Here's how companies are communicating their sustainability stories with packaging to get "credit" for all that effort.
Produce companies turn heads at The Packer's Best of SPS Marketing Awards
Sept 16
The first annual Best of SPS Marketing Awards, presented by The Packer, were awarded at the 2021 Sustainable Produce Summit. The awards recognized excellence in the categories of websites, social media, packaging, and food waste messaging.
The goal of these new awards is to showcase how companies are using different tactics to tell their general sustainability stories, and also how they're communicating about their efforts to combat food waste.
Consumers, growers differ on sustainability leadership
Sept 20
Tom Karst
Growers and consumers disagree markedly on who is most responsible for leading and promoting sustainability practices and policies.
While growers say they should be responsible for leading and promoting sustainability, consumers said the federal government should have the lead role.
More than half of consumers (51%) said the federal government is most responsible for leading and promoting sustainable practices and policies, while 36% of consumers said that growers are most responsible.
France puts in place a progressive ban on plastic packaging
Oct 18
Tom Karst
The government of France announced it put in place a ban on plastic packaging on many fresh unprocessed fruits and vegetables as of Jan. 1, with a progressive ban after that for the most fragile cases such as peaches and berries.
Eco-friendly packaging key to help define sustainability, consumers say
Nov. 12
Tom Karst
More than half of consumers polled about sustainability by The Packer earlier this year said that eco-friendly packaging helps them define whether a product is sustainable.
The survey of 550 consumers, performed in July, asked “Which of the following labels/product features help you define a product as sustainable?”
They were also asked what packaging solutions they preferred, if they are willing to pay more for bio-based packaging and how much more they were willing to pay for bio-based packaging.
Type of packaging important, but consumers say price holds sway over decisions
Nov. 14
Tom Karst
Nearly two in 10 consumers polled by The Packer this year say the biggest influence on their produce purchasing decisions is the type of packaging used.
A survey found that the biggest consumer influences on produce purchasing decisions were topped by price (46%), followed by how the produce was grown (37%), the origin of the produce (22%), the packaging used (17%), and other (2%).
Costs and sustainability represent key dynamics in produce packaging, industry leaders say
Nov 16
Tom Karst
What will be the number one produce packaging trend in 2022?
Global industry professionals polled about the top produce packaging trend for 2022 point to both sustainability and cost as competing factors in driving next steps.
Answers spoke both to sensitivity to costs and the desire for more sustainable packaging.
90% of consumers say sustainability in produce packaging is very important
Nov. 16
Tom Karst
The importance of sustainability in packaging is somewhat important or very important for close to 90% of consumers. A Packer survey found that 44% of consumers rated sustainability in packaging as very important, with 43% rating sustainability in packaging as somewhat, and 13% as not important. The survey also found that recyclable, reusable and biodegradable are trigger words that indicate sustainable packaging.
Increased government labeling favored by those who consider sustainability a top priority
Nov 16
Tom Karst
Six out of 10 consumers who say sustainability is a top priority for them support increased government-mandated labeling for food.
By way of contrast, 63% of consumers who say sustainability is a top priority say they are in support of increased government-mandated labeling requirements. Thirty-two percent of those consumers said they have no opinion on the issue, and 5% said they were not in support of increased labeling.