Page 17 - Food&Drink Business Magazine July-August 2020

Ready-to-go in eco packaging
Ready meal company Dineamic is making the shift from plastic to eco-cardboard packaging for its tray meals. CEO Michael Starke spoke to Ian Ackerman.
DINEAMIC, an Australian ready-to-eat meal provider, is moving to eco-cardboard packaging for its tray meals, sold at Coles and IGA. The new packs use 92 per cent less plastic than its previous plastic tray and lid, saving 20 tonnes of plastic per year.
Available in Australia for the first time, the Halopack was developed and is produced by Dutch company Packable. It consists of a cardboard tray, sealed with a plastic film on top.
Dineamic CEO Michael Starke says the pack keeps food fresher for longer by using modified atmosphere packaging technology. The Halopack board ismadefrom70percent
recycled and 30 per cent virgin board, sourced via an FSC- certified supply chain in Europe.
“Doing business in a way that’s better for the planet is something our team lives and breathes, and from close connection with our customers, we know it’s something they care deeply about too,” he says.
“It’s our aim to provide nutritious meals that make Australians healthier, and doing it in a way that helps every person or place along the way – by choosing locally sourced food, cooking to order to minimise waste, operating out of a one hundred per cent carbon neutral kitchen and now switching to eco packagingthatwillcutatleast
two tonnes of plastic a year.” While Dineamic presently
sea-freights the packs from Europe for filling in its Melbourne facility, Starke said there are plans to bring pack production to Australia to “improve the environmental footprint even more”.
“We’re working with a company here to bring the pack manufacturing to Melbourne; we expect to be making the packs here within six months,” he said.
Using the new eco packaging is simple. Once the meal has been eaten, consumers will peel the thin film, separating it from the cardboard tray. The tray can then be placed in a recycling bin andthefilmisplacedinsoft
plastics (if accessible) or waste. Starke says the packaging
change has helped the Dineamic team with changes brought by the pandemic.
“It’s keeping us sane working on innovation at this time,” he says. “Even in the face of adversity, we need to forge aheadwithinnovation.” ✷
www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | July/August 2020 | Food&Drink business | 17
READY MEALS