Page 41 - Packaging News May-June 2021

May-June 2021 | www.packagingnews.com.au FOOD PACKAGING | TETRA PAK 60 YEARS
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in the 1980s Tetra Pak cartons were again first used to launch Just Juice fruit juice, which is still on our shelves today.
In the 1990s, Tetra Pak UHT appli- cations were adopted for the first plant-based UHT product, Australia Natural Products’ soy milk, also still available today.
STEP INTO PROCESSING
In the same decade, Tetra Pak’s owners purchased its long-time project part- ner, processing company Alfa-Laval.
“So suddenly, we had a company that could think about ‘cow to con- sumer’ and we still do today. This is probably one of the most significant changes that has impacted the dairy industry in Oceania,” Pooch says. “Now we were working closely with farmers, via our sister company DeLaval, and dairy processors, intro- ducing our technology, ramping up innovation, and driving the prolifera- tion of dairy products.
“In two generations we have seen an innovation explosion in the dairy category. You only need look at the many types of milk available today, yoghurts, butters, cheeses, creams and ice creams,” he says. “And the beauty of it is, as technology has advanced, we have been able to tailor products to consumer preferences in different markets,” Pooch adds.
“Product customisation, I predict, will be one of the biggest drivers of growth in our business. We can, for example, through ultra-filtration, concentrate the protein of a product, and through other processes we can modulate the fat content or add micro ingredients like lactoferrin – delivering consumers the perceived benefits they want to suit lifestyle or health management.”
“Consumers in Asia don’t mind paying for quality products, but they also want to be assured of the quality. UHT milk made in Australia and New Zealand is in high demand from Asian consumers, and I think that demand will continue to grow in the future,” Pooch says.
BEYOND DAIRY
Post 2000, Tetra Pak turned its atten- tion to opportunities in the fruit juice
and fledgling plant-based beverage markets, where soy milks were vying for shelf space with other nut and grain-based milks... all packaged in Tetra Pak cartons. In the last decade, coconut waters and milks have joined the fray, and most recently, water itself – with the JUST Water brand launched in 2019, produced in Australia by the company’s customer Slades Beverages and now exported to other markets in Asia. Pooch tells PKN the pack devel- oped for JUST Water will soon be pro- tecting other beverage brands.
Along with the advances in Tetra Pak processing technology, its pack- aging portfolio has expanded dramatically.
Pooch says, “When I joined Tetra Pak in the 1980s, we had only four different sorts of aseptic packages – 200ml, 250ml, 500ml and one-litre.”
Today the variety of shapes, sizes and closure combinations number in the hundreds, along with a range of material options, a portfolio designed and curated for the different markets it serves and attuned to the ever- changing consumer preferences in each of these.
Pooch alludes to a new packaging shape for plant-based beverages soon to hit Australian shelves, with rounded, softer edges. Another inno- vation that is due to emerge is the much talked about Tetra Recart, the alternative to metal cans for wet food products like tomatoes and corn.
“This pack has been a long time coming. Sustainably speaking, it scores much higher than glass jars or metal cans when you apply a full LCA analysis,” Pooch says.
And this leads to the subject that is at the heart of every product and process Tetra Pak develops: sustainability.
“We’re talking sustainability in the full sense, we’re working with our cus- tomers to help them operate more effectively – exploring how we can help them use less electricity, less water, all things contributing to their carbon footprint. And closely linked, we’re also developing traceability sys-
tems to enhance supply
chain efficiency from
farm to shelf.”
ABOVE: Tetra Pak delivers insights- driven innovation.
BELOW: The iconic Sunny Boy ice-lolly package made Tetra Pak a household name.
LOOKING AHEAD
So, what is next for the F&B industry and for Tetra Pak? With a billion more consumers by 2030 populating mostly Asia and Africa, and the expanding palate for Western-style products, Pooch says Tetra Pak sees a huge opportunity for food producing coun- tries like Australia and New Zealand to supply dairy products and other foods to those consumers.
“As an industry, we should con- tinue to focus on export, that includes plant-based yoghurts and cheeses. We are also seeing a rise in preference for products that are produced and consumer-packed at source, driving a move from powdered to liquid milk- based products, for instance.
“Our role in reducing food waste is also critical. Many people worry about how are we going to feed those one bil- lion consumers? Well, we would have no problem feeding an extra one bil- lion today if we minimised food waste. Part of the solution is proper, shelf-sta- ble, long-life food processing and pack- aging technology, which we bring to the dairy and other industries.”
As it was at the outset, innovation remains the lifeblood of Tetra Pak.
“Tetra Pak is driving innovation from the outside – via insights-driven understanding of market and con- sumer trends – and the inside, engag- ing with a diverse spectrum of people from different industries, to enrich the R&D process and design process- ing and packaging technology that will be a fit for the factory of the future – one that is sustainable, that supports zero waste, that delivers
customised, targeted products to consumers with optimum effi- ciency and the highest level of
safety,” Pooch says.
And this is what Tetra Pak
stands for, what it has always stood for. ■