UK-based Parkside has designed the packs using its triplex Park2Nature material that is made using PEFC-accredited plant-based resources and can be composted at home in 26 weeks and at 12 weeks in an industrial setting
Parkside develops new sustainable packaging for New Forest Fruit Company. (Credit: Parkside)
UK-based packaging company Parkside has developed a new home compostable flexible packaging solution for New Forest Fruit Company’s new range of ‘plant to packet’ dried strawberries.
Parkside has designed the packs using its patented triplex Park2Nature material, which uses a laminate material made using PEFC-accredited plant-based resources and is genetically modified organism (GMO) and polylactic acid (PLA)-free.
The packs can be composted at home in 26 weeks under normal conditions and at an industrial composting facility in 12 weeks, the packaging company said.
Parkside business unit manager Staci Bye said: “This partnership with New Forest Fruit Company saw us share a goal to develop a high-quality product that is packed as sustainably as possible – and that synergy shows in the final result.
“It is particularly rewarding as these products represent a first for the UK snack market – the result of a novel combination of pulse drying and freeze-drying.
“Despite the challenge of packing a first-to-market product, our innovation team worked in close collaboration with the customer to deliver excellent results once again.”
Parkside has designed the new compostable packaging to aid the sustainability goals of New Forest Fruit, a soft fruit growing firm.
The company describe these products as “plant to packet” as they are cultivated, processed, and packaged on the farm in the New Forest, Hampshire. This ensures that each product has very little carbon footprint.
The fruit pieces in the fruit snacks are desiccated while preserving their original form, flavours, and nutrients using a combination of pulse drying and freeze drying, the packaging company added.
New Forest Fruit Company owner Sandy Booth said: “It was important to us that we found a company that could provide the compostable flexible packaging that had not only been tested and accredited, but could also be designed to meet the specific needs of our strawberries.
“As well as fully breaking down in a range of conditions and timeframes in either home or industrial composters, Parkside’s solution also delivered a pack that conveys the freshness and quality of our product to consumers.”
Last month, Parkside partnered with breakfast cereal producer Yockenthwaite Farm to design sustainable packaging for the latter’s granola range.