Sustainable products are now the preferred choice of a lot of customers. This trend is just going to grow: more and more people are concerned about the health of our planet and decide they want to act and be part of the change. Ice cream industry needs to respond to this call as well.
That’s why you should put some greener sustainable packaging materials on your Teknoice’s flowpack wrapping machine.
A research by Trivium Packaging states that more than 67% already pays attention to products and materials and pick the one which has a minor impact.
Eco friendly packaging materials plays an important role as well: it is essential that ice cream is wrapped or filled in biodegradable or recyclable materials. Once the ice cream stick or sandwich is gone, the impact of packaging stands alone and capture the attention of the customer: where to throw that? Is that paper? Plastic? Carton? Is it recyclable at all?
Those questions will little by little influence the next decisions on which products to buy. Younger customers are even more responsive to this and may decide which brands to buy depending on how sustainable they are. This might influence on-the-go products more than family packages.
There is no need to say that the eco-friendly trend is just going to be more and more the new standard: all industrial ice cream producers should start offering greener alternatives to be more attractive and keep customers happy.
Ice cream cones are easier to be wrapped in a simple paper cover, plastic cups and family packages can be easily replaced by carton. Those ice cream products that are wrapped with a flowpack might be tricky: ice cream sticks, ice cream sandwiches and all those ice cream bars that are trending nowadays need a film cover that is normally made of polyethylene (PE).
This material has been the most chosen one by wrapping materials producers and ice cream producers as it can be easily customized with any design, color etc. It is also easy to shape and all flowpacks can handle it. Polyethylene is as well easy to be heat-sealed.
But plastic is now seen as a problem: it is not biodegradable, it is not eco-friendly in any way and all customers are starting looking for better alternatives.
The good news is that changing wrapping materials and use ecofriendly packaging is not that hard.
Many (if not all?) film producers are introducing better alternative to PE. But how to choose? Which ones are suitable for frozen foods like ice cream?
To be flagged as eco-friendly a material should be either biodegradable or recyclable.
Commonly used raw materials include starch (PLA), resin and Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR): starch is completely biodegradable and easy to be used. Post-Consumer Recycled plastic has the advantage of requiring less energy to be produced with less carbon footprint.
Depending on what you pick from your wrapping material supplier, you will be able to use different green labels on your products.
The good news is that Teknoice wrapping machines can handle those materials. Paper included.
The R&D Team is always working to respond to customers’ needs and understand that this call cannot be missed: sustainability is just necessary. Ice cream wrapping machines have evolved and have special features that allow producers to even use paper coating.
The choice is yours: interested in catching the eye of your customer with greener solutions? Contact the Team to know more.