Elaborados Naturales has adopted Graphic Packaging International’s hermetically sealed paperboard tray – containing less than 10% plastic and facilitating recyclability without requiring the barrier liner to be removed – for its refrigerated potato products in Spain.
According to Graphic Packaging, this is the first time its PaperSeal Shape tray has been commercialized in a round shape for use in traditional ovens, microwaves, and medium-sized air fryers. It contains less than 10% plastic in line with the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation and can reportedly be recycled in household recycling streams without needing consumers to remove the barrier liner.
Graphic Packaging helped engineer the hermetic seal in an effort to keep the packaging’s contents as fresh as they would be in a plastic alternative, thus aligning with Elaborades Naturales’ standards of integrity.
Because of its double-flanged structure, the tray is set to offer rigidity and minimize food waste by protecting the product throughout the supply chain. Its ‘intelligent’ structural design and ‘careful’ material selection are set to optimize material usage, but also minimize capital investment with seamless integration into existing packaging lines.
“Our goal is to make transitioning to paperboard trays from plastic trays operationally simple and commercially successful while minimizing investment,” explained Pierrick Van Hoorde, head of Sales, Tray & Cup Solutions at Graphic Packaging. “We want to help brands and retailers meet their sustainability goals, adapt to upcoming legislation, and delight their consumers with packaging that is more circular, more functional, and more convenient. We truly believe that PaperSeal Shape and our whole paperboard tray portfolio are game changers in this regard.
“Working in close collaboration with our friends at Elaborados Naturales, we have optimized the tray to meet their exacting standards for food safety, quality, and packaging circularity. This launch showcases what is possible through true collaborative innovation. I thank the team at Elaborados Naturales for their passion and commitment to our shared vision.”
Sainsbury’s recently applied the PaperSeal Shape tray to its private-label breaded chicken products with plans to use between 72% and 82% less plastic per tray and remove 300 metric tons from its annual supply chain.
Graphic Packaging has also worked with Morrisons to roll out pressed board vacuum skin trays with photographic print to package its private label steak portfolio – aiming to eliminate 250 tonnes of plastic from its supply chain every year.
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