Carton pack suits soup maker's sustainability goals
Dr. McDougall’s Right Foods®, Santa Rosa, CA, has selected the Tetra Recart aseptic retort package for its full line of ready-to-serve chunky soup varietals. The package represents the first nationally available soup in the Tetra Recart package with whole pieces of vegetables, beans, and pasta, notes supplier Tetra Pak.
“As a leader in the natural foods industry, we are committed to providing quality, all-natural products in the most sustainable manner,” says Rita Vinnicombe, co-owner of Dr. McDougall’s Right Foods. “We are passionate about leaving a smaller footprint, and we’ve selected Tetra Pak’s innovative carton package not only because it protects the quality of our natural product, but also for the improved sustainability incentives it offers.”
Dr. McDougall’s Right Foods can be found at retailers nationwide. The seven soup varieties available in the Tetra Recart include Lentil, Vegetable, Black Bean, Chunky Tomato, Split Pea, Minestrone, and Roasted Pepper Tomato and have a suggested retail price of $3.29 per 18-oz carton.
According to Tetra Pak, the Tetra Recart package saves significant space, weight, and logistical costs throughout its entire life cycle. The package is said to require 36% less packaging by weight than that of steel cans, and reduces transportation costs—one truck of empty Tetra Recart cartons is equal to nine trucks of empty steel cans. The Tetra Recart package is also made mainly out of paper, a renewable resource. When filled in the Tetra Recart, chunky foods are said to be safe and ready to serve for up to 24 months, without refrigeration.
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Originally conceived as a can replacement, Tetra Recart makes a valuable contribution towards sustainable packaging -- talk about good timing or is it? To the consumer, Tetra Pak’s retort carton appears somewhat miraculously in answer to the mounting pressure for greener packaging.
Actually the development of project phonix was a long and arduous journey that began around 1993 and was commercialized in 2004. The fact that the project survived a number of internal organizational changes stands as testament to the strong value proposition and belief in the concept.
Not only was the research & development lengthy but securing a brand owner to launch Tetra Recart was equally frustrating. The preferred application was viscous food for human consumption, however pet food brand owners realized the differentiation factor of this carton as well; today you can find both applications in the market place.
Like the Tetra Recart there are a number of innovations waiting for the window of opportunity to materialize. RFID (radio frequency identification) technology leaps to mind. The argument here is that the cost is the deterrent but no one is willing to bite the bullet and lead progress. Food traceability, now a serious issue due to the numerous product recalls, could be the impetuous required for the deployment of RFID tags.
As with life, timing is everything and so it is for innovation. The sustainability crisis facing the packaging industry is in reality the biggest window of opportunity for our industry, let’s make use of it.
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