The investment will be used to expand the company’s polypropylene thermoforming capabilities to produce clear drink cups and lids for quick-service restaurants, coffee shops, convenience stores, and other foodservice markets

Berry cup

Berry will expand polypropylene thermoforming capabilities to produce clear drink cups and lids. (Credit: manseok Kim from Pixabay)

Berry Global Group has unveiled plans to invest more than $110m to expand its foodservice packaging manufacturing operations in North America.

The company will use the amount to enhance its polypropylene thermoforming capabilities to produce clear drink cups and lids for quick-service restaurants, coffee shops, convenience stores, and other foodservice markets.

Berry stated that foodservice brand owners are gradually increasing their forecasted volumes with the company’s production for access to its more than active patents across clear cups and lids.

The increased capacity will allow the company to manufacture clear cups and clear lids made of polypropylene (#5 PP), which can be recycled into new packaging or one of the multiple other end markets for PP.

In addition, the expanded capacity is said to support future production of clear cups and lids, which integrate post-consumer resin and recyclable materials.

Berry Global consumer packaging North America president Bill Norman said: “Foodservice brands are moving to meet their own sustainability goals, and polypropylene provides one of the lowest impact substrate options to help them get there.

“With Berry’s long record of innovation in foodservice packaging and this expanded capacity, we will deliver on the need to bring greater circularity to the disposable beverage cup market.”

Slated to be operational in 2022, the expansion is expected to create 200 new jobs at Berry facilities that will be announced soon.

The latest initiative is in line with the company’s efforts to enhance polypropylene curbside recycling. It already joined The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling to expedite recycling access for polypropylene.

In April this year, Berry Global announced an investment of more than $70m to expand its capacity for consumer packaging films.