Food and beverage brands constantly launch new products and new packages, many of which are posted to social media — if you can find them. Packaging Digest highlights the best of them on a regular basis, with the most recent “find” at the beginning. Come back often to quickly scroll through to see what you’ve missed. You'll find the Best in Food & Beverage Packaging for May at this link.
The developments found below include food packaging and Extended Producer Responsibility, Volpi Foods' paper-based meat packs, Unilever's new noodle cups, Coca-Cola's investment, PepsiCo's struggles and refill scheme, a pathogen-detecting food tray, FDA to test front-of-pack nutrition label, AI-driven beverage carton recycling, Zero Waste Europe on reusable packaging, actress Blake Lively's new Betty Booze, transparent and edible food packaging film, Diageo's additional funding for its paper-bottle maker, and more.
Standardize packaging for recycling or stand out from the pack? Brands face a dilemma.
Zotefoams’ ReZorce mono-material beverage cartons plan in-market trial with European retailer.
Bring-your-own takeout packaging is a bold, but brilliant idea...why didn't I think of that?
Clarifying the confusing compostable vs. biodegradable designation.
Mondi invests €16 million in technology to produce a new line of “ultra-high barrier” paper-based packaging.
FDA checking 10,000+ chemicals added to food and food packaging including phthalates, BHT, and BHA.
Labatt kicks off football season early with spirited Buffalo Bills Throwback Tea packaging for summertime refreshment.
Brands like Coke, Nestlé, and Unilever launch novel new refillable packaging schemes.
Nestlé, Waters’ Scan|Recycle|Reward digital deposit return scheme enables residents to claim reward by scanning packaging and recycling it at home or on the go.
How food packaging influences your perception of healthiness.
Hit TV series Yellowstone reaches shelves through Western-style packaged foods.
EPR for food packaging: “manufacturers should be penalized for nonrecyclable packaging they put on the market.”
Eight baseball-themed food and beverage packaging examples.
Volpi Foods reduces plastics use with new, paper-based packaging for its line of premium cured meats.
Unilever’s instant Pot Noodle brand moving from plastic to paper cups.
The Coca-Cola Company and 8 major bottlers invest $138 million for sustainability investments in areas like packaging, distribution, and supply chain.
Melodea introduces a water-based, high barrier plant-sourced coating that enables recyclable plastic food packaging.
Riverside Natural Foods reduces plastic pollution at home and abroad with paper- and bioplastic-packaged snack foods.
PepsiCo struggles to advance its plastic packaging sustainability goals.
The FTC and the FDA sent cease-and-desist letters to companies marketing edible THC products in packaging almost identical to snacks and candy that kids eat.
PepsiCo Europe’s refill-at-home scheme.
Foodservice bakers turn to modified atmosphere packaging and barrier films to extend product shelf life and address food safety concerns.
Berry Global new form-fill-seal film for powdered products has up to 50% recycled content.
Tipa expands compostable packaging in the US in partnerships with PPC Flexible Packaging and Clearview Packaging.
Research: starch-based biopolymer film for active and intelligent food packaging
Jyly 5 Packaging Digest Food & Beverage newsletter.
Researchers develop a food packaging tray that can detect dangerous food-borne contaminants.
FDA to test front-of-package nutrition label for food.
ACE Ireland and Panda partner to improve beverage carton recycling in Ireland using a new artificial intelligence system that can scan and detect 28 different classes of materials.
Zero Waste Europe assesses reusable packaging.
Tomra, Ineos Styrolution, and EGN partner to convert post-consumer polystyrene waste into food-grade packaging.
Tetra Pak expands services to boost efficiency for food and beverage producers in combatting food loss.
Secondary beverage packaging stays on trend.
Actress Blake Lively launches Betty Booze line of gourmet low-alcohol sparkling cocktails.
Scientists develop an edible, transparent, and biodegradable material that can likely be used as food packaging.
Polyamide (aka nylon) films market growing at a CAGR of 7.7% from 2023 to 2030 is projected to reach $4.14 billion.
Details on Parkside’s gold-award-winning compostable packaging.
Diageo-backed paper bottle-maker gains £20m in funding.
