Fresh thinking for fruit and produce packaging

15 September 2020

Fresh paprika and vegetable on marketplace. Shallow DOF, selective focus.

With fresh food and meal kit delivery services on the rise, there is growing demand for sustainable packaging solutions that ensure freshness and convenience for consumers. Vegetables Australia investigates the options that are available to food producers and businesses.

Consumers, retailers and growers are all looking for sustainable packaging solutions that produce less waste and offer a more environmentally-friendly option, without compromising pack quality.

In response, Visy has designed the Enviropunnet™ – a recyclable option that enables confident delivery of product to consumers, while building brand loyalty.

The Enviropunnet™ is made from FSC® (FSC C008345) certified fibre that is environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically viable. The pack is easily dismantled and takes up minimal bin space, making it easy for consumers to recycle.

Extensive trials and analysis has been conducted on this packaging, ensuring quality performance for a variety of fruit and produce products.

With recent concerns over hygiene and food safety, many consumers are opting for pre-packed fruit and vegetable formats that minimise exposure to environmental elements and human touch. This solution can be partnered with Visy Connect tags to help reduce product tampering, providing consumers with additional confidence.

The pre-packed format offers retailers the added benefit of reduced spoilage, while consumers appreciate the increased convenience of ‘grab-and-go’ shopping experiences.

It also offers maximised branding opportunities, allowing increased engagement with consumers around product brand, sustainability story and product origin.

Available in a variety of shapes and formats to cover all fruit and produce needs, the Enviropunnet™ is flexible, adaptable and equally suitable for in-store experiences or online offerings. This is important because beyond the move for increased sustainable packaging in the retail environment, the industry is also seeing a greater proportion of produce purchased online. E-commerce is a quickly growing market and is forecast to be worth A$32.5 billion in Australia by 2024*.

Delivery focus

In addition, Visy offers an e-commerce Thermal Home Delivery range for premium product protection, optimal quality, and freshness. The range provides a high-quality, sustainable packaging solution for meal kits and premium grocery items, keeping them ambient, cool, chilled, or frozen.

It comprises a variety of fibre-based containers with thermal insulation to protect the unique properties of food and grocery items and to keep product at an optimal temperature throughout the delivery process. The advanced technology of the Thermal Home Delivery range allows for packages to be left unrefrigerated for a longer period of time, providing greater flexibility for delivery options.