Jordans Organic Fruit & Fibre Cereal's new compostable, biodegradable flexible bag supports the natural branding of the cereal as it assists in the process of post-use packaging recovery. Considered a first-of-its-kind flexible package made from renewable raw materials, the block-bottom bag was one of seven packages honored recently in the 20th DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation (www.packaging.dupont.com).

Made with assistance from Alcan Packaging (www.alcanpackaging.com) in Dublin, Ireland, the “bio-bag” is a laminate of films sourced from renewable materials of cellophane and starch and has gained composting accreditation from German certification organization Din Certco. Alcan's David Maxwell relates that the structure contains 30 microns of Innovia Films' Natureflex two-side-coated, cellulose-based compostable film/nitrocellulose inks/PUR adhesive/90 micron of NaturePlus heat-sealable MaterBi® film, produced by Biobag Intl. Norway (www.biobag.no), using corn starch resin from Italy's Novamont S.p.A. (www.materbi.com).

Jordans rolled out its cereals in the biodegradable bag in September 2007. Alcan's Javier Gomez, R&D director of FPE Snacks, says that considering Jordan's back-to-nature marketing strategy, it was critical that the new cereal packaging support Jordans' environmental position. 
—Lauren Hartman

As mainstream supermarkets and grocery stores sell more organic produce, they must find ways to keep it from comingling with nonorganic produce, ensuring that it's priced appropriately and is packaged acceptably for the organic consumer. The combination Earthcycle/Natureflex™ environmental package, which also won a DuPont Award, effectively differentiates the organic from the conventional. It uses only renewable and biodegradable materials, says package developer EarthCycle Packaging Ltd., Vancouver, and Natureflex film overwrap supplier Innovia Films (www.innoviafilms.com). The innovation is upstream, where EarthCycle employs agricultural biomass as the tray material sourced from palm fiber in West Malaysia. Overwrapping the tray is Innovia's Natureflex NE 38 transparent cellulose-based film.

The produce package serves as an alternative to PET, expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam, molded fiber and film bags. The tray's four-color spot label, converted by Reynders Label Printing Group (www.reynders.com), is made from a wood-based paper and is also certified as home-compostable.

“Palm fiber is different from paper, so new techniques and processes were created to make the production scaleable and accessible,” explains EarthCycle president Shannon Boase.

Vancouver-based The Oppenheimer Group, a multinational fresh fruit and vegetable distributor, asked EarthCycle in 2006 to help it develop a kiwi tray that could protect, differentiate and segregate organic kiwi. To-date, Boase says, the kiwi package is carried in more than 650 Wal-Mart stores. Since the launch, sales of the packaging units to Oppenheimer Organics for this particular organic-fruit program have increased by 300 percent, says Boase. 
—Lauren Hartman

For tea with no strings or loose leaves floating in your cup, the Sugart iTea Wand, marketed and distributed by Sugart Group USA, Manchester, NH, in conjunction with Bistrotea, is a new “designer” tea product that offers a unique way to brew tea. Functioning like a tea infuser, the wand-like stick-pack won a 2008 Flexible Packaging Association Gold Award for Packaging Excellence (www.flex pack.org).

The tube-shaped iTea Wand was developed over the course of six years. Converted by Alcan Packaging, each stick holds 1.5 g of loose tea leaves. The stick-pack film, which Alcan developed in conjunction with Germany's Bistrozucker (www.bistrozuker.de), is a multilayer, adhesive laminate of PP and foil, incorporating thousands of microperforations.

Printing of the color-coded flavor description on one end of each stick is performed on conventional equipment, Alcan says. The metallized look promotes a premium image while the glassine-like envelope in which the tube is inserted is printed with the same color scheme. Adds Alcan's spokesman, “The perforation process and the laminate have to be compatible.”

Measuring about 5-in.-long and 5/8-in.-wide, the stick-pack uses a minimum of packaging material per serving versus a conventional tea bag/overwrap/carton package. Each “stick” is housed in a colorfully printed, translucent paper envelope designed by Germany's Sihl GmbH (w) to incorporate moisture- and tear- resistance and aroma protection. 
—Lauren Hartman

A curvy pouch that conveys to consumers what's inside and how it's used, the Royco Sauce Pouch won the 2008 FPA Highest Achievement Award in Packaging Excellene for CLP Packaging Solutions (www.clppackaging solutions.com). A microwaveable package, the pouch holds Royco heat-and-serve sauces and gravies from Master Foods South Africa (Cape Town).

The nonfoil, four-ply adhesive-laminated construction of the standup allows it to remain stable during heating while its heat-free handle avoids the discomfort that often accompanies grasping a hot pouch from the microwave oven. The pouchstock comprises polyethylene terepthlatate, a high-barrier PET layer, a biaxially oriented nylon layer that adds puncture-resistance, elasticity and thermo-mechanical performance and a layer of white polypropylene, the latter of which creates a rich backdrop for the reverse-printed graphics on the PET top layer without requiring a thick layer of white ink on-press. This saves money and makes printing and drying more efficient, says Ehud Safrai, CLP Packaging Solutions president of US operations.

Using adhesives and nylon from Italy's CFP Flexible Packaging S.p.A., adhesives from Rohm & Haas (www.rohmhaas.com), PET from Kolon Industries (www.ikolon.com), a PET Alumina Barrialox barrier PET layer (that allows the pouch to be retorted without the need for a foil layer, so that it can be microwavable) from Toray Intl. (www.toray.co.jp), polypropylene from Israel's Polyon Industries Ltd. (www.polyon.co.il/), and inks from Siegwerk Druckfarben AG (www.siegwerk.de), the package is said to offer a cost-effective alternative to its rigid counterparts.

CLP designed it as a value-added structure with a large contoured handle area sealed so that hot sauce can't come in contact with fingers during transport and pouring. The shape of the package makes use very intuitive. Produced in Israel by parent company, CLP Industries Ltd., the pouch material is printed on a Cerutti (www.cerutti.it) gravure press, then laminated on Bobst Rotomec (www.bobstgroup.com) system.

“The pouch represents the best attributes of flexible packaging—reliability, performance, convenience and outstanding consumer appeal,” sums up Safrai. 
—Lauren Hartman

Tortilla mix in a pouch that resembles a tortilla? That was part of the idea behind the 1-kg bag for Harina Tortillas Selecta tortilla mix converted by Grafo Regia, Monterrey, Mexico. The standup bag won the 2008 Metallized Product of the Year Award from the Association of Industrial Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators (www.aimcal.org).

The film produced for Molinera de México S.A. de C.V., Naucalpan, Mexico, consists of matte biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP)/ink/adhesive/metallized BOPP/adhesive/2.25-mil modified low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The structure provides excellent sealability and good barrier properties to protect the shelf life of the flour-based tortilla mix. A matte finish with metallized details stands out on store shelves. The bag format also represents a reduction in packaging materials compared to traditional bag-in-carton packaging often seen in the dry baking-mix category. The multilayer, metallized structure also provides better graphic reproduction and shelf life protection than paper or fabric bags found in this segment. Grafo Regio provided design and converting services for this project. Other participants include substrate supplier Biofilm, Puerto Industrial Altamira, Mexico; and metallizer Poligal (Polipropileno de Galicia) S.A., Naron, Mexico.

The judges were impressed with both the technical and marketing aspects of the package and noted the matte finish resembled a tortilla. “We love the feel of the film,” they agreed. The packaging also promotes the use of metallized film for a high-volume product that ordinarily uses paper or a pouch in a carton. “In the grocery segment, you need one pioneer to use the technology before others follow,” commented one judge. 
—Hallie Forcinio