Fruit and vegetable retailers rely on plastic-free packaging for organic and conventionally grown fruit. As an expert food packaging manufacturer, STI Group offers a wide range of pure paper-based solutions that are tailored to the particular product.
Sensitive and perishable products need to be well protected on their way to the supermarket and onwards to the shopper’s home. With a range of trays designed for different types of fruit, STI Group shows how this can be achieved sustainably without using plastics.
Farewell to film
Following its ‘from plastic to fibre’ philosophy, fibre-based trays have been developed to replace packaging made purely from plastic or from a mix of cardboard and film. The new cardboard or corrugate trays benefit from a large communication area that can be attractively printed using flexographic or offset techniques.
In addition to delivering excellent product protection with easy handling, these fibre-based packaging solutions also score highly on sustainability, being fully and with reduced CO2 emissions from production and transport. Machine-assembled by a large logistics provider, the packs are delivered to Dutch fruit and vegetable growers where they are filled and shipped direct to retailers across Europe.
Circular innovation
For food packaging it is, first and foremost, critical that any inks and coatings used are migration resistant and that all materials and grease and moisture barriers are food safe. To ensure sustainability, avoiding plastics and employing water-soluble lacquers, lighter weight materials, finer flute profiles and alternative materials also play an important role.
STI Group’s Circular Innovation programme offers a holistic approach to sustainable, innovative packaging design. The specially developed Sustainability Scorecard can be used to compare different packaging options and to highlight opportunities for optimising sustainability. Find out more at Circular Innovation (sti-group.com)
More sustainable solutions for food
With its pioneering approach to food packaging, STI Group will be presenting the latest in sustainable solutions – fully recyclable in the standard waste paper stream – at Anuga FoodTec in Cologne from 19-22 March 2024. Highlights include sustainable barrier solutions for greasy or moist foods and best practice packaging design using lightweight materials.
Further details of STI Group’s stand and a free visitor ticket are available at Anuga FoodTec (sti-group.com).