Page 12 - Food & Drink Magazine April 2021

THE COLD CHAIN
THE humble beginnings and rise to prominence of Planet Protector Packaging (PPP) have already been well documented in the pages of Food & Drink Business. In the four short years since its establishment, the company has been the recipient of a series of funding grants and numerous national and international awards for its packaging innovation. Founder and managing director Joanne Howarth, a passionate protagonist for her cause – eradicating polystyrene from the chilled distribution supply chain – has also gained global recognition for her ingenuity and leadership.
Now the company is expanding its footprint across Australia and into Asia, has embarked on a capital raise to fund its expansion, has inked a distribution partnership for Woolpack with ASX-listed Pro-Pac Packaging (PPG), and
is continuing to fuel its Woolpack innovation pipeline.
NEXT STOP TASMANIA
With established operations in New South Wales and New Zealand, Tasmania is the next port of call for PPP. Supported by a Boosting Female Founders Grant, PPP will be setting up shop in Tasmania in mid-2021.
“We have just secured premises for a warehouse facility adjacent to the Launceston Airport, from which it is the intention to service the entire Tasmanian market,” Joanne Howarth tells Food & Drink Business.
“Tasmania has some of the country’s finest seafood, agricultural produce, beautiful berries, cherries, dairy, wines, abalone, lobsters, much of which is exported,” she says.
PPP will be working with the Brand Tasmania organisation, which is keen to leverage the
opportunities around sustainable packaging as a way of differentiating the premium Tasmanian product.
To mark its entry into Tasmania, PPP is partnering with TasFoods to showcase Woolpack at Agfest in Hobart from 5-8 May.
“This will enable PPP to connect with early adopters,
leaving them in a flourishing state,” Howarth says.
Jane Bennett, CEO and managing director of TasFoods tells Food & Drink Business the company first trialled PPP’s insulated box solution for its online orders last year.
“We were excited to find a packaging solution that provided us with the insulation properties
BELOW: Wool is the way forward for insulated packaging.
RIGHT: PPP is working with TasFoods on packaging solutions for its premium products.
Courage. Vision. Determination. These are qualities Planet Protector Packaging is demonstrating in spades as it strives to build the standing of its Woolpack range of insulated packaging solutions designed as an alternative to polystyrene packaging for cold chain distribution. Lindy Hughson reports.
Woolpack expands impact
12 | Food&Drink business | April 2021 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au
“ We are excited at the prospect of having the packaging produced locally in Tasmania, enhancing our ability to support local businesses and the agricultural community.”
local market leaders and the Tassie greater community to encourage them to reach out to their favourite companies and urge them to ditch polystyrene for the greater good of the oceans and
we required for our perishable products that was so much more sustainable and better for the environment than polystyrene.
“We discovered that the packaging not only provides better insulation properties