FrieslandCampina launches “innovative plant material” cardboard liter pack

21 May 2018 --- FrieslandCampina’s long-keeping chocolate milk brand, Chocomel, is set to be packaged in a new, innovative cardboard liter pack made up of 80 percent raw plant material from Tetra Pak. The move places Chocomel as the first product to be packed in the liter pack, of which wood and sugar are the parent materials.

The cartons' 80 percent plant material make-up consists of cardboard made from wood that is 100 percent sourced from FSC-certified forests. The plastic cap and the outer plastic layer of the iconic yellow-colored pack are made from plants. The materials are based on waste plant material that is leftover once all the edible parts have been taken out, further enhancing the packaging as sustainable with a nod towards the circular economy. 

By crossing the 80 percent threshold, FrieslandCampina has also achieved the highest possible four-star certificate from Vinçotte’s certification program: Ok Biobased.

The Ok Biobased certification guarantees that the packaging of a product contributes in an innovative manner to resolving the economic and environmental problem of fossil fuels and greenhouse gases.

Compared with the previous packaging, the new Chocomel pack yields a CO2 saving of 17 percent, according to the independent Swedish environmental research institute IVL. 

FrieslandCampina's view for the future
The choice for this innovative packaging aligns with FrieslandCampina’s strategy, route 2020, which aims to provide the world with the right nutrients while growing sustainably. Furthermore, the company’s purpose, "Nourishing by Nature," stands for better nutrition for consumers and good incomes for farmers, now and in the future. 

“FrieslandCampina is working on the retention of pasture grazing, continuous improvement of animal health and animal welfare and the preservation of biodiversity. The aim is to reduce the use of scarce natural resources such as water, raw materials and fossil fuels. FrieslandCampina aims to keep the emission of greenhouse gases in 2020 equal to 2010 levels,” Jan-Willem ter Avest, Director of Corporate Media Relations, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 

To achieve climate-neutral growth, FrieslandCampina asserts that it is working on an efficient and sustainable production chain. In line with Sustainable Development Goal 12 of the United Nations: Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12), they aim to use only agricultural raw materials and paper packaging by 2020, from fully sustainably managed sources.

“By 2020, we aim to limit the procurement of agricultural raw materials and paper packaging to fully sustainably managed sources. Agricultural raw materials that are already (partially) purchased from sustainably managed sources include products such as cocoa, soy oil, palm oil, cane sugar, starch and paper packaging. These products have globally recognized certificates or they are raw materials for which a plan for sustainable development will be created in cooperation with suppliers.”

The new packaging will be available in stores across the Netherlands by the end of this week.

Biobased carton developments
Innovative approaches to sustainable packaging are far-reaching, partly driven by increasing consumer demand for more ethical packaging options for food and beverages. In fact, BillerudKorsnäs, a leading provider of renewable packaging material, noted in their 2018 consumer panel report that 64 percent of global consumers would consider changing a brand for another if it provided a more sustainable packaging choice.

The Chocomel announcement follows that of Arla’s plant-based packaging from SIG. Also coined a “world-first,” the Signature pack is entirely produced from renewable plant material, and even the plastic closure fittings and packaging laminate were created in such a way that they are fully sustainable.

This means that for the polymers used in the pack, an equivalent amount of bio-based feedstock went into the manufacturing of the polymers. To ensure the integrity of this process, the mass balancing was certified through internationally recognized third-parties.

You can read the full FoodIngredientsFirst coverage here.

By Laxmi Haigh