Yangi introduces dry-formed fiber-based food tray replacing plastic

Yangi unveils its latest packaging innovation, a fiber-based food tray designed to replace conventional plastic trays in the food sector. Crafted from fully renewable FSC fibers, the versatile tray applies to ready meals, meat trays and takeaway options.

The fiber tray is recyclable in existing paper streams worldwide. Yangi is currently exploring lamination, sealing, lids, embossing, debossing and labeling options — evaluating how all these elements work together to meet current market needs.

“Today marks a key moment as we unveil our fiber-based food tray, building on the positive response of our fiber-based container lid for dry and ambient food launched in June this year, both products advancing our commitment to deliver sustainable solutions for the food industry,” says Hanna Rüdel, chief commercial officer at Yangi.

“As Yangi continues to innovate, we offer packaging producers and brands the opportunity to work closely with our team on product development and validation. This collaborative approach enables early adopters to stay ahead of market trends by incorporating fiber-based packaging as part of their offer.”

Fine-tuning with customers

Physical prototypes of the tray are ready for early-stage testing. Yangi is inviting brands and packaging producers to collaborate in refining and validating the food tray to meet their specific product requirements.

The company offers small-scale production for market testing with its dry-forming technology Cellera, which is operational at its 3,000-square-meter production facility in Varberg, Sweden.

Yangi says Cellera “significantly reduces” environmental impact compared to conventional plastic packaging and wet molding methods, enabling cost- and resource-efficient products while lowering carbon emissions.

The company’s R&D team is looking into solutions for more complex designs, deeper-formed products and developing barriers for products with longer shelf life. 

“With our fully industrialized machine platform Cellera and customized packages of value-added services, we provide an all-in-one solution for packaging producers ready to embrace fiber-based packaging,” says Yangi CEO, Johann Kaiser.

“We’re actively partnering with forward-thinking leaders who want to shape the future of sustainable packaging, offering them a competitive edge in their market.” 

Packaging Insights previously caught up with Johann Kaiser, CEO at Yangi, who shared insights on the supplier’s expanded dry-formed food packaging portfolio.

Molded fiber potential

Rabobank’s RaboResearch’s latest report finds that the transition of molded fiber products from simpler to more advanced F&B packaging is gaining momentum. 

Analysts say the shift is driven by increasing regulatory pressure to reduce single-use plastic (SUP) packaging waste, technological advancements such as barrier coatings and production processes, and growing demand from consumers and brands for more sustainable packaging options in foodservice and retail.

But despite its broad applicability, scaling the production of molded fiber packaging faces several challenges. These include packaging performance and functionality, higher associated costs and competition from other alternatives to SUP.

In recent sector advances, Stora Enso, a PulPac licensee, is opening a “largest and most advanced of its kind” dry molded production facility in Skene, Sweden. Huhtamaki also commenced smooth molded fiber production at its existing molded fiber plant in Lurgan, Northern Ireland.