DS Smith has partnered with sushi company Eat Happy to develop a recyclable alternative for its disposable plastic sushi trays. The new packaging’s tray and lid are reportedly made from natural and renewable raw materials using corrugated cardboard.
A spokesperson at DS Smith tells Packaging Insights the packaging solutions are water and grease repellent and designed to protect and preserve the sushi product. “They are developed in a diverse range of shapes and sizes from single to party platters using DS Smith’s innovative Circular Design Metrics approach. The replacement trays are anticipated to save more than 1,250 metric tons of plastic annually.”
“Using Circular Design Metrics, DS Smith packaging experts evaluate and tailor a product unique solution against a formula of eight set criteria inclusive of recyclability, renewable materials, and supply chain optimization. The design metrics are intended to measure a packaging’s suitability for the circular economy and enable designers to identify areas for completion in each unique product,” they say.
Volker Quaas, head of Design and Innovation for Germany and Switzerland at DS Smith adds: “The fresh food segment is one of the future growth markets that presents us with exciting tasks.”
The sushi packaging solutions are water and grease repellent, DS Smith tells us.Refrigerating sushi in-pack
Quaas explains that the biggest challenge for the fiber-based packaging giant is that freshly prepared sushi remains in direct contact with the packaging during the refrigeration process at the counter level.
“It’s vital that the product can be seen and is visible via a window within the tray. These careful design elements need to fit fully with materials that work within the circular economy. The solution is beneficial for our clients because it is fully in line with current legislation to avoid single-use plastic.”
DS Smith offers an extensive product portfolio of environmentally sustainable packaging solutions for direct or indirect contact for various food types, whether fresh, chilled, frozen or greasy. Furthermore, the new packaging solution is said to work alongside DS Smith’s strategic growth plan across packaging for the fresh food sector.
Florian Bell, Eat Happy’s CEO, says the company spent a long time working on a sustainable packaging solution that meets its product requirements.
“The new innovative packaging solution will allow us to meet our retail partners’ and customers’ increasing demand for more environmentally friendly packaging. But it also means we as a company can help protect the climate and the environment.”
“Moving to a sophisticated, fully recyclable packaging solution made of natural, renewable materials is particularly important for us. The consultation process with the team from DS Smith was focused on our specific aims, and we worked together to overcome the major challenges that freshly rolled sushi poses,” concludes Bell.
