Earthcycle sustainable packaging solution in Canadian retail trial

Canada-based sustainable packaging supplier CKF Inc. is partnering with Belmark Inc. to support a Canadian retail trial with blueberries supplied by The Fruitist.

The Fruitist is a joint venture between Agrovision Corp. and Berries Paradise, according to a news release.

The new Earthcycle branded EC 652 is an 18-ounce top-seal blueberry punnet designed to easily slip into automated packing lines with existing top-seal tooling. The goal of the trial is multifaceted, the release said, including:

• Perfecting the runnability of the Earthcycle punnet in automated production lines.
• Establishing the optimal specifications for the film/fiber bond, proving the extension of shelf life.
• Ensuring that the consumer responds to a package that is 80% less plastic.

While still in the early days of the trial, the initial packouts have met targets for throughput and shelf performance, the release said, adding that consumer engagement with the packaging has exceeded expectations.

“The consumer can still see a majority of the berries due to the intentional design of the package, which has always been a concern for retail in switching from plastic to an Earthcycle container,” Shannon Boase, senior director of New Market Development for CKF, Inc., said in the release. “The environmental call outs of the packaging on the top-seal film supplied by Belmark, along with the established quality of berries from The Fruitist and the intuitively-earth friendly Earthcycle material, has made for a winning combination at retail and the consumer is responding positively.”

“It is more than just reducing plastic," Scott Albertson, executive vice president of sales and marketing of The Fruitist, said in the release. “Having a functional product that works through the supply chain, all the way home to the customer’s fridge is equally important for any new sustainable packaging solution and a key reason we are excited to test drive this new packaging initiative.”  

“We are thrilled to be part of this project,” Jason Vande Loo, director of business development for Belmark inc., said in the release. “As consumer attention toward environmentally positive packaging and global regulatory pressures rise, brands and retailers need packaging vendors to bring forth innovative alternatives for the marketplace.

"This specially designed top seal film is universally compatible with both molded pulp and recycled PET trays while elevating the brand billboard space with impactful printed graphics," he continued. "We are very impressed with the strong seal achieved on the Earthcycle trays.”   

CKF will be displaying the EC 652 along with its entire lineup of Earthcycle packaging for produce at the April 25-27 CPMA show in Toronto, at booth No. 1929.