Amcor unveils Latin America’s “first” recycle-ready chocolate powder sachet

26 May 2021 --- Australian packaging giant Amcor is unveiling “the first” recycle-by-design sachet packs for chocolate powder in Latin America. 

Compared to the previous packaging, the new solution reduces the material’s carbon footprint by 53 percent and water consumption by 84 percent when recycled, says the company.

The sachet has a high-barrier feature to protect against humidity and will be made available to consumers in a 25 g format in Colombia this month. 

Amcor is working closely with customers and leveraging its global and local R&D resources to develop the packs to meet sustainability criteria while maintaining product protection, shelf life and aesthetic appeal. 

Dulce Carrillo-Kuti, corporate communications manager for Amcor Flexibles Latin America, tells PackagingInsights of the technical challenges the company faced in producing the sachets. 

“These are called hygroscopic products as they absorb moisture from the environment and therefore require a high level of protection against the entry of moisture or water vapor in order to preserve the food for a shelf life of approximately one year.”

“The commonly used packaging to preserve these hygroscopic products are typically composed of PET, Aluminum and PE which is practically inseparable and not recyclable. As such, the biggest technical challenges were replacing the aluminum and polyester with more sustainable materials, while providing the same level of protection for the product throughout its shelf life.”

Chocolate sachet recycling 
Fabio Gonzalez, Amcor Colombia R&D Manager, says the sachets are suitable for local recycling infrastructure in Latin American and countries. 

“The new sachet is designed to be recycled in accordance with industry standards. This development reflects Amcor’s unique R&D capabilities for creating innovative new packaging solutions that meet high standards for shelf life, sustainability criteria and visual appeal,” says Gonzalez.

“It also reaffirms our commitment to ensuring all our packaging is designed to be recyclable or reusable by 2025.”

Amcor was the first global packaging company to pledge to develop all its packaging to be recyclable or reusable by 2025. 

Following the launch of the powdered chocolate sachet, similar designs will be created to cater to larger product formats, says Amcor. This will include similar dry food product lines requiring a high humidity barrier, expected to launch later this year. 

“Amcor is currently working alongside its customers on making this innovative packaging solution available for other food products such as powdered milk, powdered soft drinks, tomato sauces, dehydrated soups across the Latin America region. It can also be applied for customer products in the rest of the world where applicable,” says Carrillio-Kuti.

More Latin American consumers are conscious of plastic reductions than US consumers, according to Innova Market Insights.

Eco-conscious consumers
The chocolate powder sachet comes on the heels of newly designed recyclable packaging for dry soups, released by Amcor in Chile, where the company also made a move from cans to flexible pouches for condensed milk. 

Innova Market Insights has found that eco-credentials in packaging are particularly important to Latin American and South American consumers. 

The market researcher’s 2021 survey found 49 percent of Brazilian consumers regard recyclability as one of the most important aspects of packaging when shopping online, compared to 28 percent of US consumers. 

Moreover, around a third of Mexican consumers (33 percent) say they would compromise on the price of a product if it delivered plastic reductions. In Brazil, 29 percent of consumers would compromise “a lot” on price to see plastic reduced. 

Another 41 percent of Mexican consumers say that “sustainability” influences their decisions in purchasing packaged products. 

Amcor’s eco-designs 
The powder sachets join several other recent Amcor innovations centered on environmental sustainability. 

In April, the company launched customer trials for new mono-material, recyclable polyethylene blister packs in what it claims is a “breakthrough” for pharmaceutical packaging.

Last year, Amcor and Nestlé launched the “world’s first” recyclable flexible retort pouch with the Purina wet cat food brand in the Netherlands. The “recyclable packaging breakthrough” reportedly improves environmental footprint by up to 60 percent.

Edited 

By Louis Gore-Langton