Page 8 - Food&Drink Business magazine June 2022

COVER STORY
Rosella serves up sustainable soup packs
IF you grew up in Australia, it’s likely you
grew up with a Rosella product in your pantry. In the 125 years since its establishment by founders H.R. McCracken and T.J. Press, the much-loved Australian brand built a popular following for its Australian-made soups, sauces, and chutneys.
Today, its sauces and chutneys are still manufactured in Victoria and South Australia. Rosella’s soups range, which had been discontinued for a while, was also manufactured in Australia. However, the newly launched Classic Soups range, which comes in a retortable Tetra Recart package, is made and packed in Italy. While this may seem at odds with the brand’s Australian heritage, there’s good reason for it, according to Rosella CEO Michael Bartholomew.
“Soup has always been a core part of the Rosella heritage and consumers were calling and emailing us in large numbers begging us to bring Rosella soup back. However, as we started exploring more environmentally friendly and sustainable packaging formats, we could not find partners in Australia who could support us with that,” Bartholomew says.
“Our search led us to partnering with Tetra Pak and a manufacturer based in Italy. It is our intention in the future, once the new range is successful, to look for an Australian manufacturer or co-packer who is interested in [installing] a Tetra Pak production line.”
CARBON FOOTPRINT IS KEY
Rosella recognises that to make a real contribution towards lowering impact on climate change, reducing carbon footprint is key, and despite the fact the
soup is packed in Italy and shipped to Australia, it maintains Tetra Recart is still a more sustainable alternative to cans when it comes to food products.
Bartholomew says two main factors contribute to Tetra Recart’s lower carbon footprint: “Firstly, it’s a paper-based packaging format. Unlike cans, cartons are made mostly from paper which is renewable or can be replenished over time. In other words, we are not depleting the earth’s resources with this pack choice, Secondly, transporting cartons is so much lighter than transporting cans, and there is less space required. For the same volume of packs, you use 20 per cent less space with cartons. You can pack more in.”
Tetra Pak ANZ managing director Andrew Pooch concurs.
“There is a lot of focus on end-of-life at the moment, but in reality over 99 per cent of
In the first commercial adoption in Australia of the Tetra Recart packaging from Tetra Pak, Australia’s iconic Rosella brand has broken category convention and moved away from metal cans for its relaunched soup range. Lindy Hughson reports.
packaging impact to climate change has occurred before products hit the shelf,” Pooch says.
Tetra Pak cartons are not recycled in Australia, but a majority of councils (according to Planet Ark data) do collect the cartons and these are sent in mixed paper bales for recycling overseas. This is set to change, though. Pooch says once a local recycling infrastructure is in place, starting with Sydney, MRFs will have a local channel to transport these used cartons and this will increase access to kerbside recycling systems.
Based on a full life cycle analysis (LCA), Tetra Pak reports the Tetra Recart package has up to six times less impact on the environment compared to cans. It is also easier to open, maintains freshness and keeps food safe at room temperature, all without the need for any preservatives.
Reiterating points made by Bartholomew, Tetra Pak says the package also helps reduce costs and environmental impact for retailers and distributors as it weighs 60 per cent less than cans and is designed to occupy up to 30 per cent less space on shelves, and 20 per cent less space in transport vehicles.
The Tetra Recart package is the first retortable carton designed for shelf-stable food products such as vegetables, tomatoes, beans, baked beans, sauces, soups, and ready meals traditionally filled in cans, glass jars or pouches.
Rosella is the first brand in the Australian market to make the switch to Tetra Recart packages.
Asked if the company has any plans to transition the rest of its product lineup to sustainable packaging, Bartholomew responds: “We are constantly looking at making more conscious choices so our business can address environmental concerns. This relaunch is the first step on our journey to supporting a sustainable future forfoodsystems.” ✷
8 | Food&Drink business | June 2022 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au