Innovations in Food and Beverage Packaging

As sustainability has come into greater focus in the food and beverage industry, CPGs are tackling the significant carbon footprint accrued from product packaging.

FREMONT, CA: Consumer Packaged Foods address the enormous carbon footprint accrued from product packaging due to sustainability issues in the food and beverage industry. Plastic garbage has increased from two million metric tonnes in 1950 to 348 million metric tonnes in 2017, with the figure expected to treble by 2040. Reduced manufacture of single-use plastic, is recognised as one of the most hazardous packaging kinds by sustainability experts and has resulted in a serious accumulation of garbage globally, particularly in oceans, which is a significant component. Nestlé and PepsiCo, for example, have established a target of making all of their packaging recyclable, reused, or compostable by 2025.

In the last few years, Big Food firms have also carried out new packaging innovations in recent years that aim to replace plastics with less environmentally hazardous materials like paper or aluminium. Kraft Heinz's work with Pulpex on 100 per cent wood pulp ketchup bottles, Molson Coors' introduction of cardboard wrap carriers to replace plastic six-pack rings, and Chobani's paper-based yoghurt cups are just a few examples. Consumer demand for environmentally friendly packaging, combined with pressure from activist investors, has fueled CPGs' efforts in recent years. The increasing frequency of announcements from major food and beverage companies indicates that this is a trend that will only continue in the months and years ahead.

A sustainability strategy is critical for food and beverage firms to preserve business continuity and remain competitive in the future, allowing them to operate more effectively and address climate and other environmental challenges. Climate change poses a particular menace to the food system, which is already being disrupted by changes in temperature and precipitation patterns, as well as increasingly extreme weather events. The food system also has a significant role in climate change, accounting for roughly a third of all greenhouse gas emissions. Growing populations and shifting incomes will accentuate the demand for better production and distribution efficiency.