What Food & Drinks Brands Need to Know about Sustainable Packaging – Top Takeaways from the Kwayga Webinar ‘Sustainable Packaging: Trends in Grocery’
Sustainable packaging has become a hot topic in the food & drinks industry, as new regulations are put in place and consumers increasingly demand more eco-friendly packaging options. This article highlights key takeaways from the last Kwayga webinar ‘Sustainable Packaging: Trends in Grocery’, where Richard Cope from Mintel presented the results of their Sustainability Barometer, and Vivian Loftin from Recyda GmbH and Gary Orr from XDS Brand joined Mike McGrath, CEO of Kwayga, for an interesting panel discussion about the industry practices and new sustainable packaging regulations.
Performance and Quality are King
Mintel's Sustainability Barometer shows that consumers prioritise brand familiarity, packaging's primary function of protecting the product, and its quality. Packaging's environmental impact, including recyclability, ranks fourth in importance, and whether the product was produced sustainably ranks fifth. So, consumers won’t sacrifice value, quality, convenience or packaging performance for sustainability.
“Consumers won’t sacrifice value, quality, convenience or packaging performance for sustainability.”
Consumer Misunderstanding
Most consumers lack knowledge about packaging, especially in relation to sustainability. Consumers have been led to believe that natural products and biodegradable compostable paper solutions are preferable over plastic. However, a lot of the biodegradable products on the market are not understood by consumers, and there are doubts about their functionality. Some of them, for example, are not compostable outside of an industrial facility and will not naturally degrade in the environment. Therefore, in some cases, a plastic alternative packaging solution which is easily recycled should be the preferred environmentally friendly solution
Strategies for Success
To succeed in sustainable packaging, companies need to extend the packaging conversation with consumers beyond the “end of life” stage to all stages of its lifecycle. They should respect consumers enough to explain and educate them on why they use plastic or paper or bio. Communication with consumers is key, and companies should show consumers what impact individual products have. Consumers want to know the impact of buying a product. For example, were there a number of trees planted as a result of them purchasing this product or a number of bottles removed from the ocean?
Companies should also transition away from virgin plastic and use responsibly sourced bio-plastic or paper alternatives. While this may involve some short-term pain and investment, it will ultimately build resource resilience for businesses and avoid disruption and compliance costs in the future. Innovating to reduce inputs, reduce costs, and raise efficiencies is key, as is enhancing a company's reputation and building loyalty with consumers.
“While it’s great to put a little icon on the front of a pack with a carbon footprint number, does anyone really understand numbers from a carbon perspective? Probably not. Colour coding is probably the way forward. However, a system must be put in place where everyone plays with the same rules; otherwise, green means something to one person and something different to somebody else.”
Labelling and Rating
The panel discussion at the Kwayga webinar discussed the need for a rating and labelling system for sustainable packaging that is easily comprehensible to consumers. While it's great to put a little icon on the front of a pack with a carbon footprint number, does anyone really understand numbers from a carbon perspective? Probably not. Colour coding is probably the way forward. However, a system must be put in place where everyone plays with the same rules; otherwise, green means something to one person and something different to somebody else.
Gary Orr, Global Head of ESG at XDS Brand, says that we need a universal language for sustainable packaging, with the right tools needed for recycling infrastructure in the right places. Companies must use the right language to convey the message to the consumer about how to deal with a particular packaging.
Preparing for the New Packaging Regulations
New EU draft legislation regarding new rules and regulations for sustainable packaging is with the national governments to approve, and it’s meant to be approved by next year. The timelines, for example, for a ban on certain packaging formats were set for 2030. When the legislation is public there will be six years for all food and drinks producers to comply with it. It’s a challenge, meaning that everyone already needs to get ready.
“all food & drinks producers talk to their suppliers and connect with the whole supply chain because at one point, very soon, retailers will be asking for data, and governments are asking for data.”
Food & drinks manufacturers can prepare for the upcoming regulatory changes around sustainable packaging by staying up-to-date as much as possible and building partnerships. The industry must work together to find the best way to make this change work and learn from each other. It is important to start collecting packaging data as much as possible. Vivian Loftin, the co-founder of Recyda, recommends all food & drinks producers talk to their suppliers and connect with the whole supply chain because at one point, very soon, retailers will be asking for data, and governments are asking for data.
Conclusion
Sustainable packaging is the way of the future, and the grocery industry must adapt to meet the needs of consumers who want more eco-friendly options. However, companies must understand that consumers will not compromise on quality, value, or convenience for sustainability. Communication with consumers is key, as is using responsibly sourced bio-plastic or paper alternatives, innovating to reduce inputs, reduce costs, and raise efficiencies. We need a universal language for sustainable packaging with colour coding that consumers can easily understand. The new regulations around sustainable packaging will be public soon, so prepare for that and be ready today.
