Pack Expo Connects 2020: Flexible packaging bends to COVID-19 challenges

17 Nov 2020 --- In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the packaging industry faces unprecedented challenges to innovate for surging hygiene-enhancing flexible packaging demand and an increasingly tricky supply chain process. Under this pressure, manufacturers face a struggle to remain committed to their environmental sustainability goals.

PackagingInsights visits Pack Expo Connects, the first virtual substitution in the trade show’s history, to investigate how prominent flexible plastics packaging suppliers ProAmpac and Mondi are navigating these challenges.

ProAmpac maintains circularity push 
Besides raising serious hurdles for the bricks and mortar Pack Expo, the virus is creating problems across the board for packaging manufacturers and their customers. Nathan Klettlinger, market segment manager for ProAmpac, tells PackagingInsights how the US packaging giant is handling the situation. 

“At the beginning of the pandemic, the operation’s focus was shifted to keeping the current retail supply chain full, as retailers experienced a surge of demand. However, we found our customers’ packaging engineering and innovation groups took this time to dig deeper into sustainable packaging options and push their projects forward.”

Klettlinger notes that amid the array of problems, focus on sustainability issues remained key and many major players maintained their commitments. 

“I would estimate that we have had more sustainability conversations in 2020 than in 2019, even with pandemic setbacks. In addition, many brands and retailers made 2025 commitments and remain eager to work on solutions to meet those goals.”

Lockdowns have restricted the possibilities of turning concepts into reality. ProAmpac is employing digital technologies to circumvent these issues, he explains. 

“Retail filling lines have been at maximum capacity, travel has been restricted, and there have been delays in qualifying new sustainable structures to replace conventional structures. However, ProAmpac has found ways to mitigate these delays by developing the Bridge Remote Trial Management system, allowing our Customer Technical Services team to remotely offer support during trials and scale-up.”

“We also launched Makr by DASL. Makr is another online offering to design pouches and bags remotely with features such as spouts and zippers and the ability to choose material types and add graphics. Mondi is showcasing products designed under its “EcoSolutions” philosophy. DASL has been very busy supporting brands with concept illustrations, graphics, sizing and prototypes.”

Mondi marries sustainability and convenience
Pack Expo exhibitors explain that, while customers have sustainability issues such as carbon emissions reductions and single-use plastics elimination in mind, accepting a drop in quality and design is rarely seen as worthwhile. 

“Sustainability continues to be a key focus, but many US consumer packaged goods companies are aware consumers do not want to trade out packaging performance features to achieve it,” Bill Kueker, vice president of marketing for Mondi North America, tells PackagingInsights. 

“This fact is reinforced by the results of recent Mondi and Dow consumer research in key consumer goods categories. Therefore, Mondi is committed to developing sustainable solutions that also deliver on these key features.”

This observation was backed up by ProAmpac, who also noted cosmetic features of packaging often trump environmental considerations for many customers. 

“As with many things in life, the answer is “I want it all.” In many cases, brand owners are not willing to sacrifice packaging aesthetics or convenience features for a more sustainable package – they expect the same performance with the added benefits of sustainability,” says Klettlinger.

“Given advances in packaging technology, brand owners can obtain the great features they expect out of flexible packaging while also attaining a sustainability story. In fact, combining sustainability with an enhanced user experience is a great way to create a winning product.”

The Metropolitan Tea pack is made with 100 percent home and industrially-compostable material. Compostable tea packs
A prime example of these efforts can be seen in ProAmpac’s new tea packaging, created from 100 percent compostable materials.

Made in collaboration with US-based Metropolitan Tea company, the flexible packs are made from industrial and home compost material. 

“Collaborating with Metropolitan Tea to develop a compostable package designed to meet the unique requirements for luxury bulk tea without sacrificing barrier properties, graphics and filling line speed is what makes this product such a notable innovation,” says Adam Grose, chief commercial officer at ProAmpac.

The company says the innovation is the start of a new avenue in packaging material alternatives, which it is “eagerly pursuing” for other applications. 

“Pioneering” nut bags 
ProAmpac also showcased its high-barrier pouch explicitly designed for nuts at Pack Expo. 

Made in collaboration with Justin’s, a US organic nut producer, the pouches comprise 25 percent post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials. 

“This flexible package is one of the first commercial pouches for food packaging to combine such a high proportion of PCR material, reducing the carbon footprint of the package without sacrificing the high-barrier snack food requirements. We believe this is a pioneering step in food packaging to further enhance the sustainable advantages of a flexible format,” says Grose. ProAmpac’s nut pouches comprise 25 percent PCR materials, reducing carbon footprint. 

The pouch reduces its reliance on virgin resin by using 40 percent recycled plastic content in the sealant film, which equates to 25 percent of the total structure. 

Mondi’s EcoSolutions approach 
Mondi showcased its conceptual approach to circular packaging design called “EcoSolutions.” With this, the company takes a customer-centric approach to packaging applications under the banner “paper where possible, plastic where useful.”

Visitors were encouraged to bring examples of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) to demonstrate Mondi's packaging evaluations. 

Mondi experts showed how its solutions could ensure sustainability commitments without limiting production efficiency or compromising consumer packaging performance. 

“At the show, we are focusing on a family of recently introduced sustainable, flexible packaging plastic offerings, that are sustainable by design, for a wide variety of consumer products,” says Kuecker. 

“This includes products that meet customer efficiency, appearance and damage resistance standards for large format pre-made side gusseted bags,” he sums up.

PackagingInsights also investigated the virtual trade show experience and North American industry drivers with paper-based packaging leaders Graphic Packaging International, JASA Packaging Solutions and AR Packaging Systems.

By Louis Gore-Langton