written by ali tamashiro i had the pleasure of interviewing tanja virtanenleppä, packaging technology manager from valio, a finnish dairy product and market leader supporting sustainable packaging. tanja is presenting at the europack summit this fall. she will be presenting a case study of valio&39s first 100 renewable milk package.valio is the first company to sell products in carton packaging made entirely from plantbased materials, a technology developed by tetra pak. after a successful threemonth pilot trial, and an incredibly positive consumers response, valio decided to start permanently using 100 renewable packaging for their organic milk products as of may 1st.communicating what "100 renewable" means, was the initial challenge. valio has come a long way by simplifying the message in their marketing materials to make it engaging across various social media channels, online efforts, and of course, through its packaging. valio invested significant resources on clarifying that "100 renewable" does not mean "biodegradable", as it is labeled in most products practicing &ldquogreen efforts.&rdquo though valio&39s packaging is made out of nonbiodegradable plastic, the innovation comes from the fact that the material is manufactured with plantbased renewable resources.while valio has overcome the marketing challenges of their product during their launch trial, concerns with the limited supply of manufacturing materials have become paramount as demand for their packaging increases. now, valio is only using the renewable packaging in their organic milk products but plan to adopt this process across all goods. applying the renewable packaging on a large scale requires a gradual rollout due to the limited availability of the biobased plastics needed for the manufacturing process. valio is looking for companies to explore new technologies to help address the limited raw materials used for this package.valio&rsquos plans to closely follow consumer trends and needs as they look towards future growth. valio is a consumer oriented company focused on innovation, making them a market leader.further details on the case study will be revealed at the europack summit where tanja and other packaging professionals will network and explore the latest trends and insights within their industry.for more information on the europack summit visit httppackaging.marcusevansna.comeuropack2015
