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Sustainable expanding bowl Swedish research company Innventia teamed up with design agency Tomorrow Machine to develop a sustainable package customised for freeze-dried food. The self-expanding instant food package combines different aspects of sustainability. It saves space in transportation by being compressed – at the same time as it is made out of a 100% bio-based and biodegradable material, invented by Innventia.

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PHOTOGRAPHY TOMORROW MACHINE, UPM; COURTESY OF THE INTERVIEWEES

The new shape of packaging

Population growth and resource scarcity are among the megatrends that are changing consumer habits – and the packaging industry along with them. Philip Chadwick and Noora Nylander peer into the crystal ball and look at the future of packaging in 2030.

E ditor Philip Chadwick from Packaging News affirms that

small but visible part of the whole supply chain, there are a lot of diverse interests

plastics in the future. A lot of R&D is also being done in Finland to create new packaging materials like biocomposites, biodegradable plastics and combinations of different fibres.” The main challenge for researchers andmanufacturers is to make new innovations more competitive than traditional technologies andmaterials. To enable smooth integration into the production chain, new bio-based materials should be as user-friendly as – or preferably even better than – current materials. TomorrowMachine is a Swedish- based design studio that leads the way in developing biodegradable bio-based packages. The company’s vision is to create packaging with a lifecycle of exactly the same length as its contents. Once the package is opened, it dissolves. “They have a fresh attitude combining design, material innovation and chemistry. They might just be the most progressive company in the whole field. This could be an important new trend of the future,” predicts Nylander.

coming from the part of consumers but also legislators to decrease the use of packaging materials,” notes Chadwick. Packaging has become a competitive advantage for companies that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability. “I think the industry has done a good job of being sustainable. It has responded to the requirements of both national and EU legislation,” Chadwick adds. Packaging pulls a vanishing act Noora Nylander , designer and expert on packaging technology, confirms that demand for sustainability is becoming a paramount concern in several areas of packaging. Nylander teaches packaging design and branding at the Lahti Institute of Design. “Fibre-based packaging solutions like paper and board will certainly gain popularity as substitutes for

the main function of packaging will remain unchanged: its primary role will always be to protect products. However, megatrends such as the quest for sustainability are reshaping the industry. “In the packaging industry, this means developing and designing more ecological materials that will decrease environmental impacts at the end of the production chain. For example, in the UK the industry has responded very well to these challenges by developing recyclable and biodegradable packages.” One of the innovations driving progress in the food industry is smart packaging, which helps to keep food fresh for a longer time, thereby decreasing waste going to landfills and improving the ecological performance of products. “Because packaging is a relatively

Philip Chadwick

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