Page 63 - Packaging News Magazine Sep-Oct 2021

September-October 2021 | www.packagingnews.com.au
| AIP CONFERENCE REVIEW 63
Eco-design to the fore
Sustainability was the key theme at this
year’s AIP Australasian Packaging virtual
conference, as brand owners and packaging professionals took attendees through the technical and creative processes of packaging design. PKN reports.
THE conference, held over 17 and 18 August, saw leading experts gather to share their insights and innovations, and provide delegates with the opportunity to be inspired by the develop- ments in key industries and
markets. Themed around ‘rethink- ing packaging design’, the sessions also provided a platform to show- case best-practice and award-win- ning packaging designs, recognised through the Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards.
FOOD-SAVING PACKAGING
Food waste equates to a staggering 7.3 million tonnes of food a year, a discussion that provided a compel- ling kickstart to the conference as Edgell, Southern Fresh Foods, Junee Lamb and Brookfarm brand owners demonstrated how tenacity and cre- ativity were key drivers to design- ing packaging to reduce food waste, meet sustainability targets and sat- isfy consumer expectations.
Simplot packaging technolo- gist Michael Van Dord shared the astounding statistic that Covid-19
saw an uptick in consumer spending on home delivery by 258 per cent. Perhaps not surprising was the fact 50 per cent of those orders included chips. Simplot’s brand Edgell was faced with the biggest of challenges – a package that would keep chips crispy for up to 40 minutes.
After around 50 prototypes, its sustainable pack with a raised and ventilated floor entered the market.
While the pandemic saw the growth of home delivery, it caused a major business headache for fresh produce company, Southern Fresh Foods. It was growing 27 dif- ferent products and supplying 30 tonnes of salad to the restaurant market, which essentially dried up in an instant.
The company enlisted NAVI Co Global to help it repurpose its fresh produce destined for hospitality to a retail product.
NAVI Co managing director Gilad Sadan said it was a great project, delivered under pressure in the delta of food waste, packaging waste and food safety requirements and expectations.
Edgell’s sustainable pack keeps chips crispy for up to 40 minutes.
The resultant
pack design made the
produce clearly visible in packaging that was recyclable and extended shelf life, with a cardboard sleeve that featured a recipe.
Meanwhile, Junee Lamb was look- ing for a solution to its vacuum seal packaging that was not robust enough to cope with sharp bones and rough transit. Working with Sealed Air, its Cryovac brand Total Bone Guard delivered a solution that not only reduced stock loss but met many of the targets now implicit on the pack- aging industry.
Premium cereal and snack com- pany Brookfarm has had sustainabil- ity at its core since it began more than 20 years ago and recently partnered with O F Packaging to redesign its cereal pack.
The shift from a metallised multi- laminate structure to a high-barrier mono-polymer pouch that can be recycled through kerbside earned Brookfarm the 2021 Packaging Innovation & Design Awards Gold for Food Packaging Design of the Year.
CPP CERTIFIED PACKAGING PROFESSIONAL