Soups and sauces packaging: Plastic and carton compete for environmental sustainability crown

22 Jun 2022 --- As human and environmental health concerns continue to drive packaging development throughout the F&B industry, soups and sauces packaging is undergoing particular transformations. The struggle against flexible plastic packaging and its recyclability, coupled with consumer demand for more transparent labeling on ingredient and environmental impact information, is steering industry R&D in new directions.

PackagingInsights speaks to experts from SIG, ProAmpac and Huhtamaki about the latest trends in material development, on-pack labeling and how plastics can – contrary to popular belief – present some of the most convenient and environmentally sustainable solutions. 

Innova Market Insights reports that in 2022, 41% of all consumers agree they want to see the level of environmental impact illustrated on-pack as a score or grade, with the highest level of support coming from China at 55.5%. However, anti-plastic sentiment and legislation are changing how manufacturers produce soups and sauces packs, often away from traditional metal cans and toward plastic solutions, sometimes to the surprise of consumer attitudes. 

Carton-based packaging is also rising to the call for lower emissions, with some players claiming scientific analysis proves carton has a lighter footprint than plastics. 

Flexible plastics and lightweighting 
Ben Davis, product manager for ProAmpac, explains flexible plastics are primarily a tool of convenience for consumers: “In terms of convenience, heat-and-eat soups make for a quick lunch or snack in many households. Moving these products from cans to microwavable pouches allows consumers to skip the can-opener, bowl and dishwashing and eat directly from the pouch, thus reducing preparation, cleanup, and use of secondary opening devices.” 

“The past two years have accelerated an already growing e-commerce market. Home delivery for food is growing among traditional grocery retailers along with the expansion of virtual food stores. This trend focuses on packaging that can withstand the rigors of shipping and handling.” 

Flexible plastic is often touted for its lightweight and protective properties.Due to the emissions impact created by metal production and transportation, the lightweighting impact of flexible plastics is a key element in improving environmental sustainability. 

“The first step is always to reduce the amount of packaging currently used for a product. Packaging reduction has the highest impact on a product’s carbon footprint because of weight and space savings. Moving from rigid to flexible packaging can significantly impact the sustainability of a brand’s packaging. Further, materials with enhanced sustainability characteristics enable recyclability. These could be the inclusion of post-consumer recycled content and even bio-based resin,” explains Davis. 

Over the past 24 months, Davis has seen more flexible sustainable innovations coming online like ProAmpac’s ProActive Recycle Ready Retort Pouch RT-3000, and, most recently, ProActive PCR Retort Pouches. 

Another issue is that soups and sauces leave food residue in their packaging, requiring consumers to wash rigid containers before curbside recycling, Davis explains.

“Flexible packaging for retort applications must be able to withstand aggressive processing conditions without sacrificing barriers or other performance attributes. These conditions typically require multi-material laminates, making recycling the package problematic. Advanced recycling will be a critical part of the world’s future recycling infrastructure as brands transition to packaging that supports the circular economy.”

Taxation and representation 
Paolo Volpari, the head of marketing for Europe at SIG, explains that despite the benefits of plastic compared to other traditional materials, new legislation – like the UK Plastic Packaging Tax and EU Single Use Plastics Directive – means that design must adhere to more stringent standards than before. 

“The main driving force of the market is the reduction of plastics, keeping used plastics in circulation through constant recycling, and avoiding the production of new plastics,” he explains. 

“Independent life cycle assessments revealed that aseptic carton packaging has a significantly better environmental performance than alternative packaging solutions such as cans, glass jars or plastic pots.”

“At SIG, the amount of plastic used for carton packaging is reduced to the necessary minimum. SIG offers various packaging structures that include polymers 100 % linked to renewable resources or recycled plastic.”Different packaging types provide differing benefits to soups and sauces products.

Using paper-based solutions combined with plastic-based barriers also helps avoid new economic levies and reduces environmental footprint, Volpari explains. 

“Carton packaging differs greatly from other packaging solutions since the main material is FSC-certified paperboard, and the overall packaging structure is lighter than competitive solutions. This makes carton packaging extremely competitive with regard to the introduction of laws and regulations to reduce plastic.” 

Out with foil, in with PP
Ruturaj Kamthekar, senior product development manager for Huhtamaki Flexible Packaging, says that despite the average size of the European market continuing to decline, the shift to smaller packaging sizes is also an important trend to observe. 

“The fast development of small flexible sachets used for mustard and mayonnaise may open new opportunities for flexible converters like Huhtamaki. Today, flexible packaging delivers very impressive growth in sales unit volume compared to some other traditional types. Only in the Sauces and Condiments segment, flexible packaging from 2014-2024 will achieve double-digit growth in volume.”

It is hardly surprising that flexible pouches are likely to establish themselves as a formidable rival to the previously dominant glass and plastic types, says Kamthekar. This is due to their format versatility combined with supply chain efficiencies (for example, lightweight) and their “great on-shelf consumer appeal.”

Sergey Chaplin, senior marketing manager, Huhtamaki Flexible Packaging, adds that simplification is a key element in this progression. 

“In line with the discussions for packaging to be more sustainable and recyclable, soups and sauces packaging is undergoing simplification/mono-materialization of its packaging design,” he says. 

Carton packs often produce the best LCAs.Instead of standard aluminum foil-based structures, brand owners now demand foil-less packaging for soups and sauces, which offer similar barrier properties and shelf life.”

Huhtamaki has developed and commercialized PP-based monomaterial solutions, which are easily recyclable and present no compromise in functionality.

The company supplies high-barrier flexible laminates and preformed pouches for soups and sauces, which offer “the highest product protection while using the least packaging weight when compared to other packaging types like plastic bottles or glass bottles.” 

“To that extent, flexible is the most efficient form of packaging for soups and sauces and a host of other products. Our laminates ensure that the products retain their original taste and flavors over their complete shelf life and consumers enjoy the best taste, always,” asserts Chaplin.

Carton versus plastic
Despite the protective superiority of plastics touted by Huhtamaki, carton-based packaging for soups and sauces is often found to have a softer environmental impact than any other material. 

Volpari says that carton packaging is “increasingly becoming the packaging of the future due to sustainable advantages, availability of materials, and flexibility.” 

“Carton packaging can definitely compete with other packaging in terms of consumer convenience. Various life cycle assessments have already proven the advantage of the carton packs in terms of sustainability,” he asserts. 

“The packaging outperforms other solutions by the fact that it is largely made of renewable materials and is completely recyclable. Due to the great logistical efficiency provided by the square shape, the same amount of carton packaging can be transported in fewer trucks than for cans. This reduces the need for trucks and cuts carbon emissions.” 

“In northern European countries, a clear trend toward sustainable carton packaging for food is observed. Consumers are placing much more value on sustainable and environmentally friendly packaging. In the shelves, a trend towards sustainability can be seen – shaped by consumers’ demands.” 

By Louis Gore-Langton