Canadian Packaging June 2021

Package Printing Page 9

Food Safety Page 11

SERVING CANADA’S PACKAGING COMMUNITY SINCE 1947

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STAND UP PROUD West Coast chocolate producer invests in leading-edge product inspection to give its flagship brand sharp competitive edge Story on Page 5

CONNECTING YOU TO WHAT’S NEW & INNOVATIVE IN PACKAGING

KELLOGG

inclusive high-tech packaging for vision challenged consumers

A NEW PACKAGING WORLD

PROCTER & GAMBLE creating accessible packaging for all

CANADA PLASTICS PACT innovative cross-value chain collaborations

LOOP, LOBLAW, NESTLE pioneering global reuse

CLUB COFFEE & AR PACKAGING game-changing sustainable packaging

PAC Awards Where inspiring branding, innovative structural design and holistic thinking intersect. Find out who won!

Global Winners on page 18

Canadian Winners on page 20

PAC Connect is a PAC Packaging Consortium Publication

Special Report

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After page 12

2021-06-03 1:22 PM

Your story pampered by our technology.

Barifill Canto Can and Bottle Filler: ■ A filling machine suitable for both bottles and cans with no valve change over needed. This new generation of compact beverage fillers exemplifies KOSME’s flexibility and ease of use, and a guarantee of top quality in all conditions.

■ Highly reliable, new pneumatically actuated filling valves allow fast, accurate and non-foaming processing while the product quality is preserved.

Features: ■ Simple operation, convenient access and easy manual cleaning

■ Minimal maintenance requirements ■ No greasing necessary due to a complete closed loop oil lubrication system

■ High availability due to the use of well-proven technology

■ Long life due to the use of stainless steel and other corrosion-free materials

Roberto Anselmi Krones, Inc. 414-207-1188 roberto.anselmi@kronesusa.com www.kosme.com

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F R E S H like FABB R I PAC KAG ING Fabbri Automatic Stretch Wrappers produce low-cost, highly attractive packages that make your products look fresh and “just packed”.

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June 2021 Vol. 74, No. 6 canadianpackaging.com

COVER STORY

5

5 SWEET TALK

West Coast chocolate producer is closer to meting its world-class manufacturing quality goals following extensive installation of multiple product inspection technologies.

FEATURES

9 Good Things In Small Batches

Short-run production expertise keeps Ontario folding-carton manufacturer well in the race for market share gains.

11 Poultry Rewards

9

48

Helpful tips and recommendations for poultry processors planning to invest in modern X-Ray product inspection technology.

SPECIAL REPORT: PAC CONNECT 2021

s4 Sight to Behold s8 Better Access for All s10 Looping the Future s14 Smell the Coffee DEPARTMENTS

COLUMNS

NEWSPACK 41-42 Packaging news round-up.

FROM THE EDITOR 4 George Guidoni Is chemical recyling a game-changer?

NOTES & QUOTES 43-44 Noteworthy industry briefs.

FIRST GLANCE 46 New packaging solutions and technologies.

CHECKOUT 52 Paul Pethick Joe Public speaks out on packaging hits and misses.

ECO-PACK NOW 48 Sustainable packaging innovations

ISSN 1481 9287. Canadian Packaging is published 10 times per year by Annex Business Media. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40065710. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Circulation Department, 111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1. No part of the editorial content in this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission. © 2021 Annex Business Media. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of this publication.

Printed in Canada.

s18 PAC Leadership Awards: Global s20 PAC Leadership Awards: Canada s23 Strength in Numbers ON THE COVER Stand-up pouches of premium quality CHOCXO brand of organic dark chocolate treats coming off the Chewters Chocolates production line after a thorough inspection by a METTLER TOLEDO X-Ray product inspection system.

Cover photography by David Buzzard

FROM THE EDITOR

Chemical recycling a potential game-changer for plastic packaging

I

380

million tonnes of plastic produced worldwide

4

f the global economic and financial turmoil stemming from the global COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has taught us any useful lessons, it would be that relying on miracle cures and silver-bullet solutions is a recipe for disappointment.

But that doesn’t mean we should stop trying to discover new ways to address what may seem like insurmountable obstacles at the time: the whole history of technological progress is based on the premise of striving for perfection when the odds are fully stocked against it.

And if that means breaking with convention and tradition, so be it.

In a world where trillion is the new billion, at least insofar as government spending on infrastructure and pandemic relief are concerned, the timing has never been better to address an epic global problem of plastic waste with new radical solutions long held back not by lack of scientific knowledge or technological competence, but rather by the financial risks tied to high start-up costs and poor economies of scale and lengthy ROI (return-on-investment) recovery.

With the worldwide production of plastics estimated at 380 million tonnes, it is clear that the 16-pecent recycling rate for all plastic waste is nowhere near where it needs to be to have a meaningful long-term impact.

It’s not that the conventional recycling practices and existing infrastructure are not good enough: it’s simply a matter of the commonplace mechanical recycling process reaching the limits of what the technology behind it can realistically achieve.

You can build all the recycling facilities you want and place curbside recycling bins on every street corner if you like, but that will not enable you to turn multilayer bags, pouches and other flexible plastic packaging containers into new ready-touse plastic products with the same performance attributes as those made from virgin plastic.

But what if you could turn all those interweaved layers of plastic back into oil—the same stuff that was used to make those plastic in the first place?

That, in a nutshell, is the premise and promise of the chemical recycling processes, aka ‘advanced recycling,’ that could potentially enable the industry to

CANADIANPACKAGING · June 2021

get a better grip on the fast-growing problem.

A few weeks ago, U.K.-based Mura Technology Limited has commenced construction of a new plant at the Wilton International industrial site in Redcar, northeast England, which will use its pioneering Hydrothermal Plastic Recycling Solution (HydroPRS) process to do just that. To convert plastic waste into valuable chemicals and oil, HydroPRS utilizes the Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor technology (Cat-HTR), developed by Licella Holdings Limited, using water, heat and pressure.

According to Mura, this proprietary 25-minute process is “particularly interesting where mechanical recycling has not been successful so far, for example, with mixed and contaminated plastics.”

Expected to be operational in the second half of 2022, the plant will operate four Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactors that will process over 80,000 tonnes of plastic waste annually—waste that would otherwise be incinerated, sent to landfill or, in worst case, escape into the environment.

According to Mura, each tonne of plastic processed via advanced recycling could save 1.5 tonnes of carbon-dioxide emissions, compared to incineration, bringing the ultimate goal of a Circular Economy for plastics closer to reality.

What makes this endeavor especially interesting is the participation of German engineered thermoplastics producer igus, which has contributed over $8.5 million to help with the project’s start-up.

Says igus managing director Frank Blase:“We know about the great possibilities that plastic has. Our tribo-polymers are used millions of times in moving applications all over the world [and] we’re helping to make plastic a material that does not harm our world, but helps it through almost 100-percent recycling.

“In the future, chemical recycling will be able to play out its advantages where classic recycling cannot get anywhere,” Blase asserts. “That is why we are supporting Mura in this start-up phase— to help this groundbreaking technology achieve a breakthrough worldwide.”

JUNE 2021 | VOLUME 74, NO. 6 Reader Service Print and digital subscription inquiries or changes, please contact: Anita Madden, Audience Development Manager Tel: (416) 510-5183 | Fax: (416) 510-6875 Email: amadden@annexbusinessmedia.com Mail: 111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1 Senior Publisher Stephen Dean | (416) 510-5198 SDean@canadianpackaging.com Editor George Guidoni | (416) 510-5227 GGuidoni@canadianpackaging.com Associate Editor Logan Caswell lcaswell@annexbusinessmedia.com Account Coordinator Barb Comer | (888) 599-2228 ext 210 bcomer@annexbusinessmedia.com Media Designer Brooke Shaw | (519) 428-3471 bshaw@annexbusinessmedia.com COO Scott Jamieson SJamieson@annexbusinessmedia.com Annex Business Media 111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1; Tel: 416-442-5600.

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Annex Privacy Officer Privacy@annexbusinessmedia.com Phone: 800-668-2374 DISCLAIMER: No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission. ©2021 Annex Business Media. All rights reserved. This publication is for informational purposes only. The content and “expert” advice presented are not intended as a substitute for informed professional engineering advice. You should not act on information contained in this publication without seeking specific advice from qualified engineering professionals. Canadian Packaging accepts no responsibility or liability for claims made for any product or service reported or advertised in this issue. Canadian Packaging receives unsolicited materials, (including letters to the editor, press releases, promotional items and images) from time to time. Canadian Packaging, its affiliates and assignees may use, reproduce, publish, republish, distribute, store and archive such unsolicited submissions in whole or in part in any form or medium whatsoever, without compensation of any sort.

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COVER STORY

Arjan Cheema, Project Engineer, Chewters Chocolates

ALL YOU CAN SWEET West Coast chocolate producer leverages leadingedge product inspection technologies to raise its packaging line competence to word-class levels

By Andrew Snook Photos by David Buzzard

CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

R

ichard Foley and Wade Pugh have a passion for making chocolates. So much so, that the two men partnered up and founded Chewters Chocolates.

The company started out in Richmond, B.C., where it made a name of itself creating small batch artisanal chocolates.

After growing steadfastly over the years, Chewters took big step forward with the purchase of Dynamic Chocolates in 2015, which substantially sped up its growth. The company expanded into a new location in Irvine, Ca., starting up its own bean-to-bar chocolate line.

In 2018, the company consolidated its production at one central location in Delta, B.C., and over the past year invested heavily in automating its production and packaging lines.

“We’ve turned ourselves into a fully automated facility,” says Arjan Cheema, project engineer for Chewters Chocolates.

“We’ve invested heavy capital into our production and packaging lines, mostly to optimize efficiency and increase our outputs,” Cheema relates.

“We are aggressively attacking the retail market and, by doing so, we’ve had to invest in capital improvements to really gain those efficiencies,” Cheema states.

Measuring 55,000 square feet in size, the Delta facility houses three production and packaging lines. The company employs 60 people on the manufacturing floor, including production workers, warehousing and loading staff, technicians and supervisors.

There are an additional 35 people on the management side of the business, including engineering, maintenance, qualJune 2021 · CANADIANPACKAGING

5

COVER COVER STORY STORY

The X33 X-Ray system enables manufacturers to increase brand protection, ensure product safety and comply with food safety standards and retailer codes of practices, giving Chewters confidence that their profit is protected from unnecessary waste and downtime.

The Safeline X-33 series X-Ray system monitors and records all inspection activities in real time to avoid product recalls and demonstrate due diligence, if required. ity control, sales staff, marketing and accounting. all-natural ChocXO brand Organic Dark The company currently operates a two-shift Chocolate Almond Butter Cups, and organic schedule 12 months a year, five days a week, 16 85-percent dark chocolate ChocKeto Snaps, made in a variety of flavors, including Coconut & hours a day, for 52 weeks of the year.

Despite the company’s current success in Almond+Sea Salt Snaps, and Raspberry and operational integration, Cheema says Chewters Quinoa Snaps varieties.

The ChocXO brand was created to produce is always seeking new ways to further optimize every aspect of the business to become a world- and market a truly organic, low-sugar dark chocolate that isn’t made with sugar substitutes class facility.

“Our goal this year is maximizing our output or sugar alcohols.

The company’s solution was to create an so we can transition to a five-days-a-week sched85-per-cent cacao content dark chocolate. By ule with 24-hour operation,” he says.

For the future, Chewters is looking into a focusing on the flavor of the cacao beans, the planned sanitation schedule while still in pro- chocolate is naturally nutty, fruity and less bitter than some other dark chocolates, Cheema exduction.

According to Cheema, “It’s been a challenge plains.

“The almond butter-filled cups are delicious to find people willing to work the graveyard shift.

“However, with COVID-19 and people out of and a big hit. The chocolate snaps are also a work there have been a lot of eager and qualified consumer favorite because they are a low-sugar snack.” people wanting to apply for a position.

With the way the world is trending towards a Cheema states: “The whole facility is vaccinmore health-conscious approach, the product ated now, so everyone is more comfortable.”

Chewters’ branded products include its has been very well received, Cheema relates.

6

CANADIANPACKAGING · June 2021

“Our products align with what people are looking for: they want to keep things simple, organic, and to know what they are eating.”

The company’s customers include some of the largest wholesaler and retail chain stores in North America.

To keep up with demand, Chewters produces its chocolates using three depositing lines, which produce approximately 2,350 kilograms of chocolate an hour.

“Our output is 10,000 metric tonnes per year, running five days a week with two shifts,” Cheema says, adding that this will increase dramatically once they introduce the third shift into the operation.

“With five days and three shifts, it will be 15,000 metric tonnes per year.”

Cheema says the company has experienced steady growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting it to increase production.

“Growth increased considerably since the pandemic started. With everyone being stuck at home, they want their favorite snacks,” Cheema says.

Chewters differentiates itself from the competition by focusing on producing low-sugar, high-quality chocolates with no additives.

“Our product itself is what really separates us from the regular chocolate manufacturers,” Cheema says, adding that their dark chocolate is Keto-certified, non-GMO and gluten-free.

“With its distinct cacao bean flavor profile, not adding any extra additives enabled us to find a lucrative section of the market to get a grasp on.”

With consumers becoming increasingly health-conscious about their food purchases, offering an all-natural dark chocolate that isn’t bitter is a competitive advantage.

“Using a fine-flavored cacao bean that’s natural, a less bitter bean, means you’re not adding anything else to the product itself.

“You don’t need to mask any of the taste,” Cheema says. “With the health-oriented people, they don’t want to see all the additives. They CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

Since every single product is being fully inspected and the weight and production data viewed in real-time, there is less room for error due to manual sampling, enabling a stronger ROI (return on investment) and allowing Chewters to control 100 per cent of the process with full confidence.

Finished bags of CHOCXO brand dark chocolate treats passing by the METTLER TOLEDO C3130 checkweigher (left) to verify the weight of the package, before having a permanent product code and lot number applied onto the bags by a Markem-Imaje model SmartLase C350laser coder. want to keep things simple, and organic.”

To improve efficiencies while ensuring the quality of their products, Chewters looked to upgrade its X-Ray, metal detection, and checkweighing equipment on its production and packaging lines.

For these upgrades, the company reached out to METTLER TOLEDO. “We are trying to become a world-class facility and METTLER TOLEDO equipment is the industry standard,” Cheema says. “Chewters will rely on METTLER TOLEDO equipment to achieve precision on the weights of our bags and to avoid false rejections associated with our packing lines.

“We’re looking to eliminate any deviations between one gram, depending on the package.”

In turn, METTLER TOLEDO put Chewters in contact with its Canadian distributor Shawpak Systems, and its president Nigel Turnpenny.

“He was very knowledgeable. He really helped integrate METTLER TOLEDO products on to our lines,” Cheema says.

CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

Shawpak Systems put together a food safety platform for Chewters that includes five checkweighers, four metal detectors and one X-Ray inspection machine.

Turnpenny says his company’s relationship with Chewters goes back several years now, and that Shawpak Systems is trusted due to its experience and expertise.

“Shawpak is a very technical group. We’re a trusted advisor to the customer to ensure we’re implementing the proper solution for what they’re trying to achieve, as well as food safety standards they’re trying to achieve,” he says.

Cheema says Shawpak Systems’ pre-sales service was exceptional.

“They were very timely and very professional.

Nigel has always been there to assist and retrofit any new equipment. On the METTLER TOLEDO equipment, getting it on time was huge for us—we had no delays on commissioning of our lines,” Cheema says.

The after-sales service from METTLER TOLEDO has also impressed Chewters.

“They have a local service manager, Robert Siklos, and it’s just a matter of giving him a call.

“If I have any problems or need any calibration done, they’ll have a technician here within a couple of days, making sure everything is running efficiently,” Cheema says.

“A major benefit of purchasing METTLER TOLEDO product inspection is the service,” adds Robert Siklos, Western Canada service manager for METTLER TOLEDO. “We have over 70 field service technicians across Canada. Specifically, 25 of them are factory-trained, product inspection technicians and they’re supported by our plants in Tampa (Florida) and the U.K. “We also have a hotline our customers can reach 24/7,” Siklos points out, “and we’re in every major city to make sure our technicians can give good local support and expertise.”

The Chewters production process begins with chocolate chips getting melted down in Tinsley chocolate melters, before being pumped into Sollich temper units and then into one of the June 2021 · CANADIANPACKAGING

7

COVER STORY

Products that are wrapped in metallized film are challenging applications for traditional metal detection technology. However, the METTLER TOLEDO Profile LS uses innovative software, which virtually eliminates false rejects. It also detects contaminants up to 50 percent smaller, to reduce the risk of product recalls.

Pre-cut stand-up pouches being moved into position on the Syntegon Sigpack HRM machine for flow wrapping. three chocolate depositors.

The plant’s Line 1, which produces nut butter cups, uses a Knobel KCM depositor and a Carle and Montanari Cavemil 650/275L molding line.

Afterwards, the chocolate goes through a cooling tunnel, after which it is demolded and placed onto a SACMI distribution system.

The chocolate then goes through a metal detector to check for contaminants and conveyed into SACMI CMY55 and V-Pack2 bunch wrappers before to entering the Line 1 packaging line for retail products.

The chocolates are weighed on scales and then bagged using Weighpack R2B 3600 baggers, manufactured by Paxiom Group. In this process, the pouches are coded using a model SmartDate X65 coder from Markem-Imaje.

“We’re currently doing 100 bags per minute,” Cheema says.

The pouches are then individually weighed using a METTLER TOLEDO model C3130 8

CANADIANPACKAGING · June 2021

checkweigher to ensure that each bag is on spec.

“The METTLER TOLEDO C3130 checkweigher determines if it is underweight, overweight or on-spec,” Cheema says. “It will reject any product off the line that is out-of-spec.”

The inspected product is packed into cases using a Syntegon Elematic 3001WA case-packer and labelled using a Markem-Imaje 2200 labeler.

On Line 2, where nut butter cups and snaps are produced for Club store and retail customers, the chocolate is molded using an Imperial Design Technologies molding line before being conveyed to a METTLER TOLEDO Profile LS V4-RAD metal detector, which checks for any contamination in the molding process, such as various types of metals—ferrous, non-ferrous and stainless steel.

The chocolates then go through a Syntegon Sigpack HRM machine, where the chocolates are flow-wrapped. The product is then individually coded and date-stamped using a MarkemImaje SmartLase C350 laser coder.

The chocolates are then weighed on a scale and bagged using a Syntegon SVE 3220 DZ bagging machine.

The product is then weighed using a METTLER TOLEDO C3130 checkweigher and conveyed to a Syntegon Elematic 3001 WA case-packer, where it is boxed in cases and labeled/coded for traceability using a Videojet Technologies model 1580 labeler.

On Line 3, where nut butter cups and snaps are molded and wrapped for Club and Caddy Packs, the chocolates are molded and cooled through an Imperial Design Technologies line.

They are then conveyed to another METTLER TOLEDO Profile LS metal detector to check for contaminants, with the approved products then wrapped using a Syntegon Sigpack HRM wrapper and a TTME top-load cartoner.

The packages are then inspected by a METTLER TOLEDO X33 Series high-performance X-Ray system and verified by the METTLER TOLEDO model C3130 checkweigher.

“The X33 is a green machine. It’s only a 20watt powered system,” Turnpenny says, “but it produces an excellent image, while offering a lot of features and benefits.”

The X33 Series delivers outstanding contamination detection of foreign bodies like glass, metal, stone, bone and high-density plastics such as rubber compounds, even for products wrapped in aluminum foil or metallized film.

“The X33 measures density, which allows the machine to scan through metallized films to determine if there has been any contamination inside any of the bagging or wrapping processes this additional step was implemented to ensure quality control,” Cheema says.

The final product is then packed into cases using a Syntegon Elematic 3001 WA case-packer, where it is labeled and coded for traceability using a Videojet 1580 labeler.

Chewters is so impressed with its recent investments in METTLER TOLEDO product inspection equipment that it plans to incorporate more equipment in future upgrades at the facility.

“We’re currently integrating a new molding and packaging line; we are going to fully standardize to METTLER TOLEDO inspection equipment,” Cheema states.

“Inspections are a crucial step in our production, and we are confident that we can rely on METTLER TOLEDO to help us produce the safest and highest-quality chocolate.”

With ChocXO brand products flying off retail and wholesale shelves, and production on pace to increase significantly in the coming years, Chewters Chocolates has positioned itself to be an industry leader for healthy dark-chocolate snacks.

SUPPLIERS METTLER TOLEDO Videojet Technologies, Inc. Syntegon Technology Imperial Design Technologies Paxiom Group Markem-Imaje

Please see a video of METTLER TOLEDO product inspection equipment in action at the Chewters Chocolates production facility on Canadian Packaging TV at www.canadianpackaging.com CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

PACKAGE PRINTING

GOOD THINGS IN SMALL BATCHES Looking after the niche customers with short-run production requirements key to success in the folding carton segment

By Andrew Snook

or many smaller retailers and manufacturers, purchasing custom designed and printed packaging has been challenging.

With most packaging companies requiring long runs, many smaller potential customers that can’t justify those large orders have been left with few options. That is, until SoOPAK. com came on the scene in 2014.

A subsidiary of Beneco Packaging, SoOPAK is an online custom printing packaging solutions provider for smallbatch and fast-turnaround production orders.

The company designs and produces custom packaging for a wide variety of industries, including automotive, cosmetics, aromatherapy, grocery, wholesale, software, sports equipment, and much more.

The company operates out of two production facilities in the Greater Toronto Area: a 45,000-square-foot facility in Mississauga, Ont., and an 85,000-square-foot plant Toronto’s eastend suburb of Scarborough.

Beneco, along with SoOPAK, is one of the fastest-growing companies in the printing industry.The company’s success has earned Beneco the honor of making the Profit 500 list of Fastest Growing Companies for the past nine years.

To learn more about what makes Beneco and SoOPAK so successful, Canadian Packaging recently had a social- distanced chat with Carol Jiang, president and founder of Beneco Packaging and SoOPAK. Here’s what she had to say.

F

What separates SoOPAK from Beneco?

Beneco is a traditional folding carton CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

Are things like the pandemic and Beneco Packaging e-commerce influencing and making and SoOPAK the SoOPAK concept more relevant? founder Carol Jang enjoys a high profile Definitely. During the pandemic we’ve seen a lot of order increases for local and industry-wide printing and orders over the Internet. respect for her How different is a 15-day turn- multiple accomplishCan you explain the meaning behind around promise from regular busi- ments and success the term, “SoOPAK”? ness practices? in Canada’s folding When we started, the term came from Normally, our turnaround time is about 15 carton industry.

“So, let’s pack it.” days, but we also have five-day and 10-day rush order service. For a lot of larger and Describe a typical SoOPAK customrepeat customers who have a rolling foreer and typical order they’d make. cast for us, we will keep the raw material for Many of the typical SoOPAK customers them and convert it for them as they need are new to their business, or are ordering it. That’s how we are able to do 15 days. a trial package, or are designers. SoOPAK For SoOPAK, we use inventory stock orders are well-designed, good quality, that we print for them. We can even rush and shorter runs. their orders in five to 10 days, if needed. company, fast turnaround, offers 15 days delivery for large and repeat folding carton business, while SoOPAK orders are web-to-box direct production from our website.

June 2021 · CANADIANPACKAGING

9

PACKAGE PRINTING

Producing at speeds of 16,500 sheets per hour, longer runs are not an issue for Heidelberg Speedmaster CX 102-6+L.

A close up of Beneco’s finished paperboard packaging produced on Heidelberg printing and converting equipment.

Masterwork MK Promatrix 106CS die cutting and embossing system, as well as an Esko Automation integrated platform for pre-press systems.

How automated is your production process overall?

Automation in our production process is high. We’re using very good software for our pre-press and all the orders are managed by an ERP system.

We have 12 production lines in-house.

This covers printing, sheeting, die cutting, windowing, gluing and crimping.

Beneco Packaging and SoOPAK.com Founded: 2004 (Beneco) and 2014 (SoOPAK) Size: Operating in about 130,000 square feet between Mississauga and Scarborough facilities Employees: Approximately 60 employees Operation: 12 months a year Primary product: Folding cartons Output volumes: Between Beneco and SoOPAK, a combined 300 million boxes.

How competitive is your industry?

This industry is very competitive. We’re not only competing against local printers, but also competing with giant companies in the U.S.

The Heidelberg MK Promatrix 106 CS die-cutter offers robust output capacity of 8,000 sheets per hour.

The customers’ expectation is to receive our professional service and expertise. A lot of customers don’t have a lot of experience with folding cartons.

How are you revolutionizing, or at least changing, the folding carton business with this approach?

We are a leading print-to-box company in North America because many folding carton customers like the long runs.

There’s repeat business there, but there are many other smaller customers that nobody was looking after. Eighty per cent of the industry is serving 20 per cent of the customers.

The other 80 per cent weren’t being looked after. That’s the purpose of SoOPAK, to look after those 80 per cent.

Does the company have special industry certifications?

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CANADIANPACKAGING · June 2021

We are in our third year of IFS PACsecure certification. In addition to being PACsecure-certified, we have GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) certification; HACCP-certified facility accreditation; CVS GMI (Graphic Measures International) packaging printer certification; and G7 Certification. Our entire line of paperboard received Environment Canada’s Environmental Choice program certification in 2007. All the raw materials we are using are SSA-certified.

Can you discuss the printing equipment used for SoOPAK’s operations?

We almost exclusively use Heidelberg 102CX presses, and Heidelberg Masterwork Promatix die-cutters.We chose them because of their converting ability and automated features.

Our production facilities also use a

How would you explain your operation’s success in the marketplace to date? What are your key core competencies?

We offer full-scale production facilities with state-of-the-art printing and finishing equipment and offer affordable, customized box packaging to many different industries.

We are the Number One Cloudbased printing box and packaging supplier in North America and offer industry-leading turnaround times.

What is SoOPAK’s vision?

To be recognized as the most reliable and trustworthy online packaging solution provider in North America.

What is your mission?

We are committed to supporting the success of our customers through the delivery of expert advice, customized solutions and a seamless packaging experience.

CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

FOOD SAFETY

POULTRY REWARDS Choosing the right X-Ray technology for ensuring optimal poultry bone detection capabilities

oultry processors know the challenges they face on a daily basis to produce sanitary, high-quality, contaminant-free and bonefree poultry products.

There are many levels of variability to consider when it comes to detecting bone in poultry and managing hygienically controlled environments.

Today, younger birds are often slaughtered before they reach maturity, which means that bones are not fully calcified and hence harder to detect in an X-Ray image.This is particularly true for rib, fan and wish bones.

In addition to maturity, processors face other unique application vulnerabilities. Many poultry manufacturers produce several items of varying shapes, sizes, densities and packaging, and such variety amplifies the need for closer and more careful inspection for safety and quality purposes.

Advanced X-Ray systems equipped with the latest technologies can improve the detection of bone and other contaminants, while also preventing damage to downstream processing equipment.

Inline X-Ray inspection offers many operational benefits, such as increased throughput and speeds, reduced product waste, and a faster ROI (return on investment). Given the many ways in which poultry is processed, including different methods that may be used in one poultry operation, the optimal placement of X-Ray detection systems for bone detection depends on the application.

The most common presentations include pumped, bulk, raw and packaged products.

Pumped poultry, such as ground meat or trim, can be reliably inspected with a pipeline X-Ray machine, ideally one with a round pipe that transitions to a rectangular inspection manifold and then back to the round pipe diameter upon exit. Using a pipeline machine to find bone contaminants at the beginning of the process or after grinding removes contaminants early and protects downstream machinery from damage.

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Bulk-flow (loose) poultry, such as fillets, is a common presentation in the industry, and X-Ray systems can be deployed to inspect such products for any bone fragments or metal contaminants introduced during either manual or automatic deboning.

When performed at this placement before further processing, inspection effectively prevents contaminants and bone from moving downstream.

Packaged poultry products—such as chicken breasts in trays, value-added cuts like ‘kievs,’ or nuggets—are also obvious candidates for X-Ray inspection.

In addition to bone fragments, X-Ray systems find a range of other potentially harmful foreign materials in packaged poultry items, including metal fragments, glass shards, stone, and some plastic and rubber compounds.

In addition to product type and application, poultry processors should consider other elements when selecting an X-Ray inspection system, giving serious consideration to the quality of the components used in the evaluated X-Ray system.

To deliver the best bone detection in a range of applications, from raw/bulk to

More than ever, processors of value-added chicken products like boneless chicken breasts in trays must rely on advanced X-Ray product inspection systems to meet the product quality and safety requirements of their retail customers.

Advanced X-Ray systems equipped with the latest technologies can improve the detection of bone and other contaminants, while also preventing damage to downstream processing equipment.

packaged items, X-Ray machines are designed with components—the machine, energy generator/detector and image processing software—that work together seamlessly.

Processors should look for X-Ray machines with a sanitary and hygienic design to handle applications like mass measurement, component count, fill level inspection, identification of missing or broken products and verification of package integrity.

Systems in poultry facilities should be built to meet North American Meat Institute (NAMI), NSF/ANSI/3-A 14159-1 & 3 and European Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG) standards for sanitary construction and operation— ensuring due design diligence and that the machine is in line with critical elements of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) compliance programs.

Among other features, machine parts should be welded together instead of bolted to eliminate food debris collection points. Processors should also look for interlocked hinged louvers that enable easy access to the conveyor—eliminating the need to dismantle traditional heavy louvers to clean the inside of the machine.

Unobstructed sightlines allow for quicker and easier sanitation, as does simple belt removal. The physical design of X-Ray machines must also ensure that they hold up to the poultry industry’s rigorous, high-temperature washdown procedures and adhere to the principles of sanitary design.

Machines that are designed to be simple to maintain also maximize uptime, in June 2021 · CANADIANPACKAGING

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FOOD SAFETY

An example of a complete poultry inspection line for chicken slautherhouses and packers.

an era when speed and throughput are pivotal for Generator and detector configurations in an X-Ray system are critical system components that ensure a high quality image for superior analysis. Depending on the potential contaminants, product type, packaging and production line speed, poultry processors have traditionally selected from single- or dual-energy technologies to fit their inspection needs.

The inspected products are analyzed via X-Ray imaging analysis software that harnesses data from multiple diodes via high resolution analog to digital converter to interpret and create the most exceptional image, even in tough conditions.

Such advanced X-Ray platforms use sophisticated algorithms to perform grayscale analysis that find subtle changes in product composition.

Images with the highest resolution provide detail for optimal bone detection, as well for simultaneous quality checks such as mass measurement, component count, shape verification and other quality attributes.

The type of poultry being processed at a facility will also impact the power settings of an X-Ray system. For example, chicken has a different density than turkey; products within each of those poultry types also can have variations in density.

X-Ray generators have two main settings that result in an overall power setting. One is voltage, expressed in terms of kilovolts (kV) and the other is current, measured in milliamps (mA). Because most poultry—especially chicken—is not dense, the settings must be fine-tuned to achieve the best results.

Settings can be adjusted to low voltage and increased to a high current, for example. Think of it like a tuner: to increase the sound, you turn up the volume, but if you want more fidelity, you adjust the gain.

The detector captures detailed information about the inspected product. An X-Ray detector is to X-Ray as a camera is to light: a way of capturing X-ray energy and converting it to an image form that can be processed by software. When paired with the most advanced image analysis software, detectors enable greater accuracy in finding bone fragments in poultry, while also lowering false rejects.

There are three types of X-Ray detector technologies used for poultry inspection today: single 12

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energy, dual energy, and the highest form of energy, PXT (Performance X-Ray Technology).

Each type has its own place in poultry inspection.

Single energy X-Ray technology is effective at detecting foreign bodies that exhibit an X-ray absorption spike relative to the surrounding product’s absorption. Single energy detectors work well for operations with faster line speeds, and with packaged or pumped products.

While single energy is well suited for those kinds of poultry items, it is not the ideal kind of detector for inspecting raw poultry breast. Instead, poultry breasts are best inspected by dual-energy detectors—ideally the latest PXT performance X-Ray technology.

Dual energy technologies developed in the last decade or so represent significant industry improvement on single energy detectors. They are better at detecting objects that show a very small X-Ray absorption variation, such as calcified bone. Dual energy technology essentially removes most of the effect of product thickness variations, leaving an image that shows density difference based on chemical composition, or atomic number.

Introduced in mid-2020 by Eagle Prod-

Hinged louvers allow for easy access to conveyors.

uct Inspection, the Performance X-Ray Technology (PXT) is the latest advancement in detection technology. This radically enhanced detector technology, featuring smaller diodes with a smaller pitch, collects more detailed data about the product being inspected. When analyzed with advanced image analysis software, this provides images with much higher resolution.

The breakthrough PXT allows poultry processors to find the smallest bone fragments, down to just 1-mm, with high repeatability, low false rejects (<3%) and less rework. PXT can be deployed to suit a wide range of applications at any product control point, including chicken and turkey intended for retail packs, as well as incoming raw material bound for further processing into products like sausages, patties or nuggets.

The versatile technology is successful in detecting bone and foreign contaminants in both fresh and frozen products, and it can also handle thick products like turkey breasts or thinner products such as chicken tenderloins.

From an operational standpoint, processors can use X-Ray devices equipped with PXT in both single and multilane set-ups and as standalone critical control points, or networked to enable full process optimization and efficiency analysis.

The optimal energy solution depends on your specific application and likely contaminants, as well as the packaging format, production speed and customer specification.

Because of the nature of their products and the processing environment, poultry companies face challenges in safeguarding products, brands and downstream machinery from potentially harmful contaminants. X-Ray systems, comprised of robust physical machines, intelligent generators and detector configurations, and next-generation software, are an effective tool in overcoming those challenges for enhanced food safety, quality and line efficiency.

By working with a trusted partner, such as Eagle Product Technology and its exclusive Canadian agent PLAN Automation, processors can be assured of a product inspection program that is in line with their requirements and delivers lower total cost-of-ownership.

SUPPLIERS Eagle Product Inspection PLAN Automation CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

2021

pac

CONNECTING YOU TO WHAT’S NEW & INNOVATIVE IN PACKAGING

KELLOGG

inclusive high-tech packaging for vision challenged consumers

A NEW PACKAGING WORLD

PROCTER & GAMBLE creating accessible packaging for all

CANADA PLASTICS PACT

innovative cross-value chain collaborations

LOOP, LOBLAW, NESTLE

pioneering global reuse

CLUB COFFEE & AR PACKAGING

game-changing sustainable packaging

PAC Awards Where inspiring branding, innovative structural design and holistic thinking intersect. Find out who won!

Global Winners on page 18

Canadian Winners on page 20

PAC Connect is a PAC Packaging Consortium Publication

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PACCONNECT 2021

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

The Lost Year: Packaging’s Rightful Place

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ince March of 2020, the world has been navigating in uncharted territory.

As an industry, we have been innovating for many years and have risen to the challenge the last year has presented.

PAC Packaging Consortium has advocated widely to ensure our members and industry were recognized as essential services. We were grateful to be a contributor to keep our community open during the pandemic.

During the pandemic packaging became known for what it was always intended: product protection, food safety, longer shelf-life, waste reduction, and informative labeling to guide decision-making and consumer safety.

The e-commerce has exploded during this time by utilizing the protective properties of corrugated boards, while the foodservice sector has used all forms of packages to get burgers, salads and warm, fresh fries safely into our homes. Others are cooking and baking more than ever before.

In this June 2021 issue of PAC Connect we are featuring disruptive innovators that have emerged through the uncertainty of recent pressures and journeyed through a new dimension of packaging exploration and innovation.

Between the covers of this magazine, you will learn about how PAC member industry trailblazers have been successful innovating disruptive solutions in response to these extreme times and complex issues, including: • Club Coffee and AR Packaging (recently acquired by Graphic Packaging) discuss the launch of a bold and innovative new fiber-based entry into the coffee sector.

• Loblaw, Loop and Nestlé are scaling disruptive and revolutionary change, turning big ideas into big impact on the environment and the bottom line.

• Kellogg’s and Procter & Gamble are creating positive change for accessibility, equity and inclusion with breakthrough packaging solutions.

These stories of innovation and change are a testament to the resilience of the packaging industry, even through the darkest of times. We are slowly emerging from our homes and offices, heading towards recovery, and shaping the ‘Next Normal.’

As we at PAC reflect on recent times, having struggled more than ever like everyone else, we are humbled by the support and commitment of our members. Happily for us, most have appreciated our commitment to them and the entire packaging community.

We are a not-for-profit member-based corporation, founded in 1950, serving the needs of the global packaging community. As recovery continues, we remain steadfast in our commitment to providing valuable opportunities for learning, professional growth, and resources to help companies make impactful strategic choices for our future. We are championing the change for accessibility, equality, inclusivity, opportunity and usability. We encourage you to join us in this initiative and help us on our journey towards impactful change.

With this year’s PAC Connect edition, we also feature the brilliance of the PAC Global Leadership Awards, where entries from around the world competed for the coveted Best of Show awards in Brand Design and Package Innovation. Our 2022 competition will be open for entries this summer.

The regional PAC Canadian Awards winners are also showcased here, demonstrating they can compete with the best of the best. All our incredible Best in Class and Best of Show winners are featured herein. Thank you to our competition judges, as well as our executive committee, for helping to bring our awards and celebration to life!

We hope that those of you who are not members will join our growing PAC network.

Our PAC guiding principles remain: Champion. Collaborate. Innovate. Educate. Celebrate.

JAMES D. DOWNHAM, President & CEO PAC Packaging Consortium

INSIDE 4 8

SIGHT TO BEHOLD

By George Guidoni

BETTER ACCESS FOR ALL

10 LOOPING THE FUTURE

By George Guidoni

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2021 PAC BOARD DIRECTORS CHAIR Brent Heist, Global Packaging Sustainability Procter & Gamble FIRST VICE-CHAIR Rebecca Casey, VP Marketing & Consumer Development T.C Transcontinental SECOND VICE-CHAIR Priya Roberts, Director of Packaging Technology Maple Leaf Foods Inc. DIRECTORS AT LARGE Stephen Beauchamp, Regional General Manager: Merchandising Displays, WestRock Karl Broderick, President, N.A Hartmann North America Phillip Crowder, Director, Corporate Sustainability Winpak Ltd James D. Downham, President & CEO PAC Packaging Consortium Nicole Fischer, Head of Sustainability KraftHeinz Canada David Gnadt, Director: Packaging and Dispense R&D & Innovation Molson Coors Brewing Manuel Herrera, Packaging Director Coca-Cola Ltd. Jason Hobson, Creative Director, Sobeys, Own Brands Louis Lemaire, Director of Sales Foodservice Graphic Packaging International Canada Luc Lortie Sustainability & Environment Director Costco Wholesale Canada Paul McCarthy, Country Manager HP Indigo Linda McGregor, Group Account Director, Davis Stephen Miranda, Vice President, Recycling- Canada GFL Environmental Inc. Richard Pileski, Corporate Development Jones Healthcare Group

14 SMELL

THE COFFEE

By George Guidoni

18 PAC LEADERSHIP

AWARDS: GLOBAL

20 PAC LEADERSHIP AWARDS: CANADA

23 STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

By George Roter

26 THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Mike Richmond, Principal PTIS Denis Vachon, Sales Manager O-I Canada Corp.

Paul Yang, Director -Global Innovation Tim Horton’s PACCONNECT 2021

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SIGHT TO BEHOLD Iconic cereal producer steps up to the plate with inclusive hightech packaging to overcome the sight barrier for visionchallenged consumers

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enowned American author and celebrated disability rights advocate Helen Keller is fondly remembered for many enduring insights, not least for famously noting that, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”

And while the everyday standard of living for blind and visually impaired people in the western world has improved significantly since the beloved Miracle Worker’s passing in 1968, vision impairment and loss makes normal living a formidable daily challenge for

nearly 300 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Sadly, it’s not a problem that is going to disappear any time soon. In Britain alone, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) estimates that someone in the U.K. begins to lose their sight every six minutes—leading to devastating loss of the quality and enjoyment of life for those afflicted.

And while being unable to see or read the packaging of everyday food products on store-shelves may not be one of their biggest daily frustrations, there is no doubt that overcoming this obstacle with modern-day consumer technology PAC.CA

would be a massive step in the right direction for both the visually impaired consumers and the brand-owners trying to connect with them in retail environments.

Thanks to a recent groundbreaking collaboration between RNIB, iconic cereal producer Kellogg Company and Britain’s fifth-largest food retailer Co-op, making consumer product packaging more accessible and inclusive for the visually impaired is now a feasible and practical option that progressive CPG (consumer packaged goods) manufacturers and brand-owners could and should adopt for all the right societal, ethical and commercial reasons.

Launched as a limited-edition release to coincide with the World Sight Day on Oct. 8, 2020, the Braille-embossed 480gram boxes of the Kellogg’s Coco Pops brand cereal bear the distinction of being the world’s first consumer brand to incorporate the pioneering NaviLens technology that allows a smartphone to detect and provide all the on-pack information in accessible format, based on the users requirements.

Resembling a traditional QR (quick response) code decked out in Technicolor, NaviLens is a printed code that can be scanned, using a smartphone camera and a free app, to hear what information is stored within it.

The tags are made up of high-contrasting colored squares on a black background—similar in appearance to a QR code but, unlike with QR codes, users don’t need to know exactly where a tag is positioned to be able to read it.

A tag measuring 20x20-cm (7.9x7.9-inches) can be detected from 12 meters (39 feet) away, even in motion and without having to focus the phone’s camera.

As users sweep their environment with a smartphone, audio cues allow them to find and center the tag in the phone’s field of view. A shake of the wrist prompts the details contained within the tag to be read out.

The information can vary depending on where the user is standing in relation to the tag and it can be programmed in multiple languages, with the phone automatically selecting its native language.

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With the limited-edition Kellogg’s Coco Pops boxes featuring a prominent NaviLens code on the front panel, the information it contains can be picked up from a distance of up to three meters when blind or partially sighted shoppers points their device in the direction of the cereal box.

This then alerts the phone and the shopper, who can choose to have the ingredients, allergen and recycling information read aloud, as well as reading it on their device using special accessibility tools and apps.

According to research surveys carried

“There are over two million people in the U.K. living with sight loss, who are simply unable to read the information on our cereal boxes.”

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out by RNIB in the U.K., nine out of 10 blind and partially sighted people feel that information on food packaging is difficult or impossible for them to read.

“Important information on packaging can often be presented in very small print, making it difficult for blind and partially sighted people to read,” says Marc Powell, strategic accessibility lead at RNIB. “This can make shopping a real challenge, especially for those with specific dietary requirements,” Powell says, “as they can’t see the all-important nutritional information.

“Although Braille is a helpful way of providing information, not every person with sight loss is a Braille user,” Powell points out, “and there are limitations in the amount of useful information that can be provided on packaging in this format.”

While the novel technology was first adopted for use across the city transport systems in Barcelona, Madrid and Murcia, the Kellogg’s Coco Pops trial run—involving more than 50 different Co-op store locations—is the first time that NaviLens has been used on food packaging.

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202 1 As Kellogg’s managing director Chris Silcock said: “There are over two million people in the U.K. living with sight loss, who are simply unable to read the information on our cereal boxes.

“That’s why we partnered with RNIB to trial special boxes of Coco Pops with NaviLens technology—a first for food packaging,” said Silcock, noting that the Braille-embedded limited-edition World Sight Day Coco Pops cereal boxes also feature simplified graphic artwork and a larger font size to accommodate the sight challenges of their target audience.

“If the trial is a success,” Silcock added, “we would hope that it could appear on more of our cereal boxes for visually impaired shoppers to access.”

As it turns out, the trial run in fact proved to be a resounding success in every respect, according to a follow-up RNIB survey showing 89 per cent of respondents finding the NaviLens-coded packaging to be more accessible, along with 100-percent approval of the NaviLens technology itself.

As noted by British Paralympian gold medalist Lori Fachi, “The prospect of being able to go into a shop by myself and buy my shopping is such an incredible opportunity!

“I feel included to have access like everyone else.

“If I’m able to access the packaging independently, I’m able to make my own food choices,” Fachi said.

“The only thing I would like to see is that it is put on all packaging in all supermarkets by all brands, and quickly.”

Thanks to the success of the initial trial, that day may not be that far off.

By the end of this year, Kellogg’s is planning to incorporate NaviLens technology into the cereal boxes of 15 brands of cereal the company sells in the EU (European Union) markets, and the technology is reported to have attracted interest from a multitude of global brandowners.

Notably, the trial Kellogg’s Coco Pops box was also selected as the winner of the 2021 PAC Global Leadership Award in the Limited Edition/Seasonal Food, Beverage or Non-food product category for its breakthrough packaging innovation that literally conveys the company’s purpose message of, “Creating better days and a place at the table for everyone through our trusted brands.”

As RNIB’s Marc Powell sums up, “This trial with Kellogg’s using NaviLens technology has raised the bar in inclusive and accessible packaging design—allowing people with low or no vision to locate a product on the shelf and access all information about it completely and independently for the very first time.”

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Braille-embossed cereal boxes of Kellogg’s Coco Pops incorporating revolutionary NaviLens product coding technology reflect the CPG industry’s trend to make their brand packaging more inclusive and accessible for millions of consumers with limited or no vision.

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BETTER ACCESS FOR ALL Using tactile tricks of the trade to make consumer packaging more accessible and senior-friendlier

umaira Latif is an extraordinary woman living an extraordinary life and doing extraordinary things. Born in the U.K., Latif is a first-generation Scottish Pakistani who, as a blind person, faces daily challenges that most people with normal vision can never fully appreciate.

But rather than let those challenges define her, Latif has tackled them head on during her professional career at the global consumer products (CPG) powerhouse Procter & Gamble (P&G), which she joined in 2000 and currently serves as P&G’s first-ever Company Accessibility Leader.

In this role, Latif is responsible for leading P&G’s thought leadership and commitment to making products, packaging and advertising accessible for both the growing aging population, and the estimated 1.7 billion people around the world living with disability.

“Winning with consumers over 50 years of age and people with disabilities is critical for P&G to grow,” Latif states. “By 2030 we will have more consumers over 50 years of age than consumers under 50, with 36 per cent of the 50-plus consumers experiencing some type of disability.

“We estimate that we are losing about US$1 billion per annum across our product categories by not serving this segment,” Latif points out.

“We strongly believe that P&G has an opportunity to reach more consumers with more accessible and irresistible products and packaging for all.”

After studying Marketing and Business Law at the University of Stirling in Scotland, Latif began her career at P&G by leading IT (information technology) transformations across multiple worldwide businesses, including fragrances, Pampers, Olay and Gillette business units. In 2015, Latif switched her focus from running IT businesses to figuring out what it would take to make P&G become the most accessible company for all consumers, while being appointed the company’s first Special Consultant for Inclusive Design.

During this time, Latif worked with the Herbal Essences beauty brand to explore how the industry could make it easier for sight-limited people to tell the difference between hair

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Sam Latif, Company Accessibility Leader, Procter & Gamble, Inc.

shampoo and conditioner in the shower, without wearing corrective eyewear.

It’s estimated that 79 per cent of the population in the west wear corrective eyewear, and so it is quite hard for many of them to tell the Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner bottles apart by sight alone.

Under Latif’s guidance and leadership, Herbal Essences became the first mass haircare brand in North America to introduce inclusive bottle design for people with low to no vision. Launched in time for the 2018 World Sight day on October 11, 2018, the redesigned bottles feature tactile indentations to help differentiate the brand’s shampoos from its conditioners.

Given they share the same bottle shape, product confusion between the shampoo and conditioner was an issue for those with low to no vision, which P&G addressed by incorporating stripe-shaped indentations around the shampoo bottle’s circumference just above the base of the bottle, while using circle-shaped indentations for the conditioner bottle. (picture above)

According to P&G, the launch of the new packaging exceeded all expectations, generating prolific media coverage that generated impressions across more than 20 editorial outlets and social media channels, along with 31 million video views, 30 million downloaded audio descriptions, and 31 million editorial references. Notably, these innovative and uniquely distinct bottles were also selected as the Best of Show winner in the Packaging Innovation category of the 2020 PAC Global Leadership Awards competition.

Says Latif: “It’s just a little thing, but there’s hundreds of these little things that we have to spend time looking for every day.

“This little change has just made such a big difference in my life,” says Latif, adding that people with low or no vision aren’t the only ones to to benefit from the new bottles.

“This packaging innovation doesn’t only help people with low or no vision,” Latif states. “It also helps people who don’t have English as their first language, like my mum.”

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Together we can build a better way forward for your brand and our environment.

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LOOPING THE FUTURE Pioneering global reusable packaging platform makes close friends in all the right places to offer practical end-of-life solutions to plastic waste

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or a company that’s only been around a couple of years, the high level of industry-wide corporate goodwill, support and alignment with its grand vision of zero plastic packaging waste is a remarkable achievement in an ongoing global quest to stop and reverse the devastating impact of global marine pollution threatening survival of the world’s fragile underwater ecosystems.

Formed in 2019 by the renowned recycling pioneer and TerraCycle founder Tom Szaky, Loop Inc. is a global reusable packaging platform that provides an inspirational working model of how the emerging Circular Economy model of plastic recycling, reuse and reduction will

shape the future of plastic consumer packaging going forward.

First announced at the 2019 World Economic Forum gathering of the leading global corporate powerhouses and financial heavyweights in Davos, Switzerland, Loop (LoopCIRC in Canada) based on the use of durable multi-use food containers that allows consumer to purchase their favorite food brands and products in reusable packaging that they can return to their point of purchase for a refund—thereby allowing for the returned packaging to be used again and again.

According to its visionary founder Szaky, who grew up in Toronto prior to attending college at Princeton University and, ultimately, founding the Trenton, N.J.-based waste collection and recycling firm TerraCycle in 2001, Loop is a naturPAC.CA

202 1 al extension of the parent company’s mission to reduce the outsized environmental footprint and end-of-life waste management problems caused by the rapid proliferation of single-use plastic packaging in the global food supply chain over the last few decades.

Based on the collaborative approach to plastic packaging reuse involving major retailers, their CPG (consumer packaged goods) brand customers and the end consumers, Loop has been greeted with open arms in Canada since launching in this country at the start of 2020 in collaboration with the country’s largest food grocery retailer Loblaw Companies Limited.

Initially rolling out to residents in most of Ontario, the initiative enables consumer to shop for a wide variety of food and household products in refillable packaging—such as ice cream, sauces, snacks, pet food and toothpaste—from some of the country’s most popular brands, including Loblaws’ own renowned store brand President’s Choice.

With the launch, Canada joined the U.S., U.K, France and nearly 20 other countries where Loop currently operates.

“The fact is that there’s too much plastic waste in our environment,” said Galen Weston, executive chairman of Loblaw Companies Limited. “We are part of the problem and must be part of the solution.

“We are actively reducing plastic waste in hundreds of ways in our business today through better processes, new materials, and packaging design,” Weston said, “and Loop is one of the most innovative opportunities to make it easier for consumers to be part of the solution.”

Adds Szaky: “Collaboration is necessary to tackle the waste crisis head on.

“As Canada’s largest retailer, Loblaw’s operational scale and years of expertise will make Loop accessible to more shoppers and make meaningful progress toward our shared goal of reducing waste.”

As Szaky explains, Loop consumers can shop for products in durable packaging that is reused until the end of its life by ordering the participating products online (www.loopstore.ca or maboutiqueloop. ca), whereby consumers pay a deposit on each package, which is fully refundable when it is returned.

The packages are shipped using Loop Canada’s exclusive logistics provider FedEx, which uses route optimization software to help ensure efficient customer deliveries.

After use, consumers simply place the empty containers back into the supplied Loop Tote bin, and then return the tote by either scheduling a free pick-up online or dropping it off at one of the more than 500 participating FedEx retail locations in Ontario.

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Featuring special double-wall steel design to keep the premium-quality Häagen-Dazs brand ice cream inside perfectly chilled throughout the delivery cycle, the brand’s reusable Loop metal jars sold out within a month of being launched, according to Nestlé Canada.

Loop then sorts and professionally cleans the packaging and tote bag to stringent health and safety standards so that products can then be replenished as needed—creating a convenient zero-waste shopping system.

Unlike TerraCycle’s focus on the collecting, recycling and ‘upcycling’ of hardto-reclaim packaging materials, the Loop side venture focuses on the reusability part of the commonly-accepted Three Rs mantra of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle approach to packaging waste management, whereby brand-owners and retailers work to extend the number of times that a package can be used to pack the same product—up to 20 times or so for some products.

According to leading U.S. environmental market research firm PreScouter, the global food and beverage industry accounts for about 35 per cent of all plastic waste worldwide.

With only 14 per cent of plastic packaging collected for recycling, “The lifecycle of over 80 per cent of plastic packaging ends right after being disposed,” PreScouter states in the Reusable Packaging Solutions report released earlier this year.

As a result, “An estimated 95 per cent of packaging material value is lost to the economy after a short first use,” according to PreScouter.

That’s why reusable packaging can provide a more meaningful long-term solution to plastic packaging waste than recycling in isolation, the PreScouter report suggests.

“Most benefits come from avoided production, so the rate at which a package is replaced is a key element,” PreScouter explains.

“Savings are not seen immediately, but

All Loop home deliveries and recycling pick-up are handled in Canada by the company’s exclusive logistics provider FedEx, who use the proprietary reusable Loop Tote bins to collect the used packaging for cleaning and multiple reuse.

in the long run,” according to the PreScouter report, which also credits single-use plastic bans in a growing number of jurisdictions as “the greatest stimulator of innovation within the B2C (business-to-consumer) sectors” that have flourished since the beginning of the global COVID-19 epidemic.

“Innovative delivery models such as refillable bottles, where only the active ingredient is sold and shipped, as well as evolving use patterns are unlocking a reuse opportunity for at least 20 per cent of plastic packaging by weight, worth at least US$9 billion,” PreScouter says.

“If all bottles in home cleaning, beauty and personal care [categories] adopted the concept of shipping only active ingredients, this would amount to about three million tonnes, or at least US$8 billion, in packaging cost-savings,” says PreScouter, also citing potential 85- to 95-percent savings in transport costs and 80- to 85-percent saving in GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, compared to single-use bottles.

According to PreScouter, unlocking those savings and the associated environmental benefits requires close cross-industry cooperation to share the burden of significant start-up costs—since reusable packaging needs to be made of more durable materials that are typically more expensive than plastic—as well as the cost of handling and shipping during the return cycle.

In this respect, Loop’s track record in recruiting the world’s leading retailers and brand-owners to join its reusable packaging quest has been exceptionally promPACCONNECT 2021

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ising—both in Canada and abroad.

Already available through Carrefour retail chain in France, Kroger and Walgreens in the U.S., and Tesco in the U.K., the Loop delivery service has drummed up a lot of excitement among some of Canada’s leading consumer brands, including perennial stalwarts like HäagenDazs ice-cream, Heinz Ketchup, and Hershey chocolates and confectioneries, among others, alongside the select Loblaws President’s Choice brand offerings.

Says Heinz Kraft Canada president Bruno Keller: “Our iconic Heinz Ketchup glass bottle has always been available in a recyclable glass bottle, but now it’s reusable too, thanks to our partnership with Loop.

“We know that protecting our planet requires collective action,” Keller states, “so we are proud to be taking this practical step to make sustainable options easier for Canadians.

“The Loop partnership is part of our broader sustainability goal to make 100 S12 PACCONNECT 2021

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The pioneering Loop reusable packaging program has gained quick traction with many popular Canadian food brands eager to reduce their packaging footprint while communicating a strong sustainability message to the consumers.

per cent of our packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.”

Joining dozens of other major Canadian CPG brand-owners, Toronto-headquartered Nestlé Canada Inc. is a keen early adopter of the Loop platform, reporting terrific early success with the Loop reusable custom-designed containers used for its bestselling Häagen-Dazs Vanilla and Häagen-Dazs Coffee ice cream brands.

Both brands are retailed at Loblaws in new reusable double-walled steel packaging that keeps the ice cream—made from Canadian-sourced milk in London, Ont.—remains an optimal temperature from the time it’s filled until the first scoop.

According to Nestlé, the steel design ensures that when opened, the ice cream melts more quickly at the top than at the bottom of the container—ensuring that every scoop is in perfect condition.

Cleaned, collected, refilled and reused like all other Loop containers, the HäagenDazs steel canisters were an instant hit with the Canadian consumers, according to Nestlé Canada’s senior vice-president of corporate affairs Catherine O’Brien.

“The Loop partnership complements Nestlé’s packaging transformation and early program indicators reveal that consumers are excited and supportive, as both flavors sold out in the first month,’ O’Brien relates.

“Due to our successful launch and update, we will continue to assess opportunities to expand our product offerings with Loop,” says O’Brien, citing Nestlé Canada’s robust sustainability initiatives aimed at making all of the company’s packaging reusable or recyclable by 2025, compared to the 87 per cent it has achieved so far.

Says O’Brien: “Nestlé Canada believes there is an urgent need to minimize the impact packaging has on the environment and its vision is that none of its packaging, including plastics, ends up

in landfill or as litter in waterways.

“Built on a passion for transforming the simple into the extraordinary, Häagen-Dazs new reusable, innovative packaging builds on Nestlé Canada’s commitment to sustainability and preserving the planet for future generations.”

Most recently, Canada’s leading organic cereals producer Nature’s Path joined the Loop program earlier this year to offer the company’s bestselling Pumpkin Flax Granola in durable, reusable jars that consumers can then add into their Loop Tote bin, or return it to one of more than 500 participating retail locations, to receive a refund.

Initially rolled out across Ontario, Nature’s Path plans to expand its Loop reusable packaging initiative nationally across Canada in coming months, according to the company, along with a broader selection of available products.

With the proud distinction of being the first North American food producer to have obtained zero-waste certification for all of its manufacturing facilities in Canada and the U.S., Richmond, B.C.-headquartered Nature’s Path was in fact one of the original founding partners when the Loop platform was formally launched in New York City in May of 2019.

According to Nature’s Path, one reusable jar of the company’s Loop-packed granola will save more than four kilograms of waste generated from 100 boxes of granola breakfast cereal.

“We are always working to improve and reduce our packaging footprint,” says Nature’s Path vice-president of mission and strategy Jyoti Stephens.

“We really value what Loop is trying to achieve,” Stephens says, “and we truly believe it represents the future of consumer goods.

“People want to reduce the amount of waste they are generating,” Stephens asserts, “and Nature’s Path is proud to be at the forefront of this movement.”

For a company that has pledged to make all of its packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025, partnering with Loop was a natural opportunity to accelerate the switch of the remaining three or so per cent of its current packaging volume by weight to the Circular Economy ideal of zero plastic packaging waste.

As Tom Szaky himself points out, “Nature’s Path is Loop’s ideal partner—a company truly committed to zero waste.

“Its ongoing work to better the planet is an inspiration,” Szaky states, “and should be an example to other companies that a successful business along with sustainability is not only doable, but profitable.”

PAC.CA

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SMELL THE COFFEE! Iconic Canadian coffee roaster ready to launch game-changing sustainable packaging alternative for roast and ground coffee products

S14 PACCONNECT 2021

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o say that Canadians like their coffee is an understatement of understatements.

With per-capita consumption of more than seven kilograms of roasted coffee per year—translating into around 3.9 million 60-kilogram bags—coffee is consumed by Canadian adults more than any other beverage, even tap water.

With daily per capita consumption of 2.7 cups, coffee enjoys a uniquely widespread appeal among Canadian adults from coast to coast—supporting a $6.2-billion industry that employs over 160,000 Canadians in the café and coffee shop, manufacturing, roasting and pack-

aging segments of a highly competitive, vibrant and innovative business sector.

The fact that the country has a Tim Hortons shop for every 9,000 Canadian residents—compared to one for 25,000 people for McDonald’s outlets—is an irrefutable testament to the nation’s enduring love affair with the beverage, providing an important market for coffee farmers in over 30 countries around the world.

But such popularity comes at a price— primarily in form of a significant environmental footprint of the huge volumes of packaging waste left behind for diposal, both in foodservice and retail space.

The coffee industry’s waste problem came into sharp public focus during the PAC.CA

202 1 Expected to appear on Canadian grocery shelves later this fall, the highly innovative Boardio paperboard containers used to package Coffee Club’s own flagship Craft Roasters brand of wholebean and roast coffee mixes was designed to ensure optimal supply chain efficiencies during transport and distribution cycles.

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last decade with the spectacular market growth for single-serve coffee pods that proved to be difficult to recycle in typical local programs both in Canada and abroad, leading to intense public and regulatory pressures on coffee producers to come up with more sustainable packaging solutions.

In Canada, the efforts to reduce the coffee industry’s single-serve packaging footprint have yielded several significant innovations—notably the 100-percent compostable PurPod100 coffee pods introduced to the market in 2016 by venerable Toronto-based coffee roaster Club Coffee.

Founded in 1906, the company is one of North America’s largest coffee roasters, operating a state-of-the-art production facility in west-end Toronto to service some of the continent’s leading coffee chains and franchises, as well as manufacturing private-label brands for some of the best-known grocery retailers, including Canada’s own Loblaws supermarket chain.

Developed through intense collaboration with the University of Guelph and suppliers of key compostable packaging components, the Keurig-compatible PurPod100 coffee pods were widely lauded as

a credible end-of-life breakthrough in helping divert food and plastic waste from landfills, while still delivering the single-serve convenience demanded by Canadian consumers.

According to Club Coffee’s chief executive officer John Pigott, the development of PurPod100 pods was a “major success

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[that] has won awards and earned government attention as a solid direction for cutting waste to landfills.”

Says Pigott: “Club Coffee is one of Canada’s largest coffee roasters, with most of our production done as a solutions partner for top-selling Canadian and U.S. coffee brands, as well as for foodservice customers.

“They’ve always expected us to help them meet their consumer commitments to quality,” Pigott says, “and our ability to spot sustainability opportunities for them has become a huge competitive advantage.”

With Canadian consumers increasingly demanding for their food and beverage packaging to be more sustainable, Club Coffee has spent the last year-and-a-half developing yet another sustainable coffee packaging innovation that Canadian consumers will see on their store shelves later this year, according to the company.

Made from the renewable and recyclable Boardio paperboard packaging material developed in Sweden by AR Packaging, the new coffee rigid containers—designed to provide at least one-year shelf-life for ground or whole-bean coffee—will offer a vastly more sustainable alternative to multilayer film bags, plastic

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The Boardio paperboard containers offer a broad range of creative design and marketing opportunities for brand-owners keen to relate their sustainability message to consumers concerned about their brands’ packaging footprint.

S16 PACCONNECT 2021

jars, and metal and composite tins trad- cartons.

“Plus the packaging technology conitionally used to package coffee beans and nects well with the flow of our production grinds for the retail sector.

“Our single-serve success sent us look- lines,” adds Gemmiti, noting Club Cofing for other places where we could bring fee made significant capital investment in our customers coffee packaging innova- new machinery to enable high-speed tion to help meet their own sustainability processing of Boardio packages at on a and waste reduction commitments,” large commercial scale.

Impressively combining form and Pigott explains.

“We saw packaging for roast and function in an attractive distinctive shape ground coffee as a major opportunity for for high-impact product differentiation, sustainable innovation,” Pigott relates, the upright rectangular-shaped Boardio citing Club Coffee’s deep-rooted com- coffee containers feature proprietary mitment to corporate social responsibil- built-in paperboard lids designed to faity and ESG (Environmental, Social and cilitate longer product freshness and aromatic attributes.

Governance) principles.

“The components are shaped and “As part of an overall Circular Economy approach, whether sustainably and fused together, using proprietary inducresponsibly sourcing high-quality beans tion technology for a hermetic seal that or designing functional and sustainable protects coffee and preserves freshness,” packaging, ensuring we design with the Gemmiti explains.

“This design is optimized for manufacend-of-life state in mind is critical to optimizing the recovery and recyclability turing, supply chain and retail shelf by accommodating more packaging in less of renewably sourced materials.

“Consumers are looking for innovation space, especially since AR Packaging now,” Pigott states, “not five years from delivers Boardio to Club as flat material, ready to assemble.” now.”

According to AR Packaging, the BoarWhile the use of paperboard is commonplace as secondary packaging for dio rigid paper container is a carton-based, single-serve coffee pods, utilizing the cost-effective packaging solution with nearly 100-precent paperboard material tailored low- to high-barrier protection.

Designed for recyclability with a very like Boardio as primary food-grade packaging is a truly groundbreaking endeavor, high content of renewable paperboard, according to Club Coffee’s chief innova- the innovative package was developed to help brand-owners to communicate their tion officer Claudio Gemmiti.

“We were looking for packaging that sustainability goals to consumers in rewould deliver the freshness that coffee cycle-ready packaging offering numerous lovers expect and the environmental shape options and convenience features performance that they want,” says Gem- that make it ideal for dry products like miti, adding that the selected solution coffee, dry mixes, nuts, trail mixes, snacks, had to work in existing recycling streams confectioneries and other dry foodstuffs.

From a package design standpoint, the with established materials.

“The Boardio solution checked all our Boardio canister offers the benefits of: Eye-catching shape and design, with boxes,” Gemmiti says. “Recyclers want • the possibility to print on all six the high-grade paperboard format, which sides; is easily recyclable like milk and juice

Integrated board lid for convenient reclosing; • Large opening for easy scooping and/or pouring of the contents; • Highly effective gas-tight packaging; • Tailored barrier for optimal product protection; • Top compartment for additional features such as scoop and promotion items.

As AR Packaging explains, the Boardio containers mainly consist of renewable FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)-certified virgin fibers sourced from sustainably managed forests.

The package also contains an inner PE (polyethelyne) layer and a razor-thin aluminum barrier, which is necessary in order to ensure optimal gas tightness, product protection and shelf-life, which in return helps to reduce food waste.

Boasting a unique shape, look and feel that strongly project the message of sustainability, aesthetics, convenience and food safety values to the consumer, Boardio is designed for easy recycling in typical waste diversion programs, while the thin PE and aluminum layers used to provide an essential oxygen and moisture barrier can be easily separated at the recycling mill and directed to the general waste stream.

As confirmed by rigorous tests conducted at Western Michigan University (WMU), Boardio containers provide a high level of repulpability and over 80-percent fiber yield, according to AR Packaging, while enabling significant carbon footprint reduction compared to traditional multilayered bags and plastic/metal rigid containers.

Says AR Packaging’s system sales director Johan Werme: “Our first gas-tight carton-based can has been around since the 1980s, so we have long and extensive experience in packaging applications with high demands.

“Our long track record, combined with increasing consumer and brand-owner attention to sustainability, have been important inputs in the development of the new Boardio package,” Werme states, detailing Boardio’s containers’ key sustainability benefits.

“Fiber is generally very CO2/greenhouse gas efficient,” Werme explains, “as the process of turning trees into packaging requires a lot less energy than, for example, mining ores and turning them into metal packaging.

“Boardio is also very light and transport-efficient because it is delivered to food companies as flat sheets,” Werme adds, “which means that every truck trip carries a lot more packaging material and a lot less air.

“That cuts both cost and CO2/greenhouse gas emissions,” Werme points out, “while high recycling rates for paperboard PAC.CA

202 1 packaging in general improve the GHG (greenhouse gas emissions) profile even further.

“As an added bonus, the powerful yet razor-thin Boardio aluminum barrier reduces food waste through longer shelf-life,

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which again reduces overall emissions,” Werme states, “while the capacity of forests to absorb CO2 is protected through responsible forest management.”

For Club Coffee, which worked with AR Packaging for 14 months to develop the new coffee canisters, the combination of all the environmental and consumer benefits offered by the new Boardio canisters make them well-positioned to redefine what coffee packaging should look like in the emerging new Circular Economy consumption model built on a vision of zero packaging waste.

As Gemmiti relates, Club Coffee has so far been able to confirm a 60- to 90-percent CO2 reduction compared to other rigid packaging, along with 20- to 65-percent material reduction, significantly lower transport-related GHG emissions, and a large increase in the use of renewable materials.

Says Gemmiti: “Whereas coffee quality and sustainability have been evolving for well over 200 years, the packaging for roast and ground coffee has remained the same for decades.

“And while plastic is still important for food preservation, quality and health, the advances in plant-based materials give us

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better options for innovation,” he reasons.

“Our life-cycle assessment studies show Boardio delivers a lower environmental footprint than multilayer bags, steel or composite cans and plastic tubs,” Gemmiti states, “and paperboard packaging has the highest overall recycling rates and accessibility for consumers.

“And as new rules on packaging come into play in both Canada and the U.S, including plastics bans, Club Coffee will continue to identify opportunities for brand partners to stay ahead of shifting consumer and government requirements for all coffee packaging,” Gemetti concludes.

Adds AR Packaging’s Werme: “Having Club Coffee fully understand and embrace the values of Boardio is a great pleasure, and we are confident it will inspire other companies to make a gamechanging move towards a more circular society.

“Club Coffee’s switch to Boardio is a textbook example of how to do a market introduction of new packaging solution,” Werme sums up, “and we enjoy our close collaboration with the Club Coffee team very much.

“Together we can drive real change.”

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2021 BEST OF SHOW BRAND MARKETING

PACKAGING INNOVATION

Brand: Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar Owner: The Hershey Company Brand Agency: BETC São Paulo Printer: HP Indigo

Brand: Lenor Owner & Entrant: Procter & Gamble

The innovation is about brand experience, using design as a message by changing Hershey’s logo for the first time in history.

Women’s Day traditionally uses chocolate as a celebration, but with the lack of opportunity for women, there was nothing to celebrate. The name Hershey’s needed to be remembered and we wanted to enter the conversation in a positive way. The answer to that challenge was in our own name.

The digital watermarks are imperceptible codes and have little to no impact on aesthetics. However, the technology allows to provide a “Wow” factor by providing full “packaging transparency” to the user.

The technology can be used on several segments:

The “HerShe” case was successful because it managed to exceed the visibility goals and, at the same time, make the brand remembered positively by its main audience: the female.

Awarding a project like this not only affirms that we are on the right path towards gender equality, but also gives even more exposure to the work of the artists who participated. After all, this project is about them and their talent.

Recyclable: better identify packs and sent them to desired established streams and remove unwanted items.

Reusable: better manage supply chain, including inventory management and cleaning procedures.

Compostable: identify these items in waste stream and send them to appropriate streams.

The technology allows information to be accessible through digital means, rather then putting everything on the label of a package. It can provide more useful information, and is ultimately more inclusive for consumers who have challenges reading labels.

FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON EACH ENTRY, PLEASE VISIT WWW.PAC-AWARDS.COM S18 PACCONNECT 2021

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2021 BEST IN CLASS PACKAGE INNOVATION – eCOMMERCE

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Brand: GoGo Quinoa Owner: 2 Ameriks Entrant: Pigeon Brands Brand: Go-Slo Owner: Danone Entrant: Marks

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Brand: Poland Spring ORIGIN Owner & Entrant: Nestle Waters North America Brand: Lemonati Family Farms Owner & Entrant: Lemonati Family Farms

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Brand: Dove Owner: Unilever Entrant: forceMAJEURE Design Brand: Frank – Snack Food Products Owner: Canadian Tire Entrant: Jump Branding & Design

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Brand: Handfuel Owner: Handfuel Entrant: Vins Plastics Brand: Yau Owner: Carlsberg Hong Kong Entrant: Design Bridge Singapore

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Brand: Soapsmith Owner: Soapsmith Entrant: Bulletproof Design Ltd. Brand: Coco Pops Owner & Entrant: Kellogg’s Brand: Tim Hortons – Hero Cups Owner: Tim Hortons Entrant: 500 Degrees Design Studio Brand: Chêne Bleu Owner & Entrant: Chêne Bleu Winery

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Brand: Tanaka 1789 x Chartier Owner: Tanaka 1789 x Chartier Entrant: forceMAJEURE Design

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Brand: Maybelline FitMe(r) Matte + Poreless Foundation Owner: L’Oréal Entrant: ProAmpac

Brand: Nabob, Maxwell House Owner & Entrant: Kraft Heinz Canada Brand: Rainforest Artesian Water Owner: Rainforest Water Entrant: Trivium Packaging

Brand: Shell Helix Net Zero Carbon Owner: Shell Entrant: JDO

FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON EACH ENTRY, PLEASE VISIT WWW.PAC-AWARDS.COM PAC.CA

PACCONNECT 2021 S19

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2021 BEST OF SHOW BRAND MARKETING

CONSUMER’S VOICE

Entry Brand Name: Fontaine Family Entering Co Name: Pigeon Brands Inc. Brand Owner: Montpak Brand Agency/Graphic Designer: Pigeon Brands Inc. Pre-press/ Printer: Cascades (trays), Produlith (sleeves), Étiquettes Nationales (labels)

Entry Brand Name: Lot 40 Entering Co Name: Davis Brand Owner: Corby Distilleries Brand Agency/Graphic Designer: Davis Pre-press/ Printer: Multi-Color Corporation Montreal

This package design was developed to create an emotional connection with the primary target audience, active young adults. Fresh and vibrantly colored, it features a new design style and approach for meat to express the distinctive offer: responsibly raised animals, transparency, high quality, delicate and lean meat. The brand visual identity is made prominent by the vibrant purple color that helps it to stand out at shelf level. The pack creates a visual block effect, by repeating the farm sign-style logo shape side-by-side. The second level of design elements is used to communicate type of veal (grain-fed, milk-fed, ready-to-cook), while allowing for the future addition of new products/cuts/recipes. Targeted consumers love convenience of the quick but healthy meal preparation, and the packages stack easily in the refrigerator to maximize space.

The new Lot 40 Dark Oak stands out with disruption and delivers on its intent of being bold and unmistakeable.

The clean design and the angled label (true to Lot 40 equities) create a strong beacon for the brand and compliment each other when placed side-by-side. The Lot 40 brand’s primary objective was premiumizing brand expression, reflecting the quality of the whisky, and achieving a new look that clearly communicates two things: that it is 100-percent rye whisky and that it is distilled in a pot still. A bold, versatile whisky beloved by consumers and bartenders alike for sipping, or as an ingredient in whisky-forward cocktails, when Lot 40 set out to develop a bolder, darker 100-percent rye creation, it required a visual story equally as distinctive and well-defined as the liquid itself.

PROUDLY CANADIAN PACKAGE INNOVATION Entry Brand Name: Tylenol, Pepcid and Benylin Entering Co Name: Jones Healthcare Group Brand Owner: McNeil Consumer Healthcare/Johnson & Johnson Inc. Brand Agency/Graphic Designer: Bridgemark Pre-press/ Printer: Jones Healthcare Group These cartons maintained the same retail footprint, while accommodating up to 55 per cent more surface area for information on outer packaging to avoid costly retail shelf-space adjustments. The new packaging also maintained J&J’s strong and established brand presence with appealing aesthetic design and presentation, while balancing consumer usability.

Since cartons were proven to reseal successfully, consumers could readily open and reseal the cartons on retail shelves to maintain display aesthetic, instead of panels remaining open and detracting from overall presentation.

Entry Brand Name: Tim Hortons Retail Portfolio Entering Co Name: 6 Degrees Integrated Communications Brand Owner: Tim Hortons Brand Agency/Graphic Designer: 6 Degrees Integrated Communications/Pigeon Brands/Bulletproof Tim Hortons products are shelved and grouped in different ways at different retailers, which meant the packaging had to be iconic to compensate for the lack of merchandising consistency across retailers. To help shoppers find their restaurant favourites on-shelf, we increased the prominence of the logo. Our signature red acted as color-blocked beacon amongst the sea of competing browns and deep color tones in surrounding products. The variant banners, with consistent information hierarchy and a clear flavour variant identification system, make it straightforward and welcoming for consumers to shop across the portfolio and increase basket size. Tim Hortons is proud to be a part of the Keurig K-cup pod recycling program. The new pods are recyclable in 95 per cent of Canadian municipal recycling programs, and the easy three-step process is clearly marked on every box of Tim Hortons K-cup formats.

FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON EACH ENTRY, PLEASE VISIT WWW.PAC-CANAWARDS.COM S20 PACCONNECT 2021

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2021 BEST IN CLASS REVITALIZED – NON-FOOD

DESIGN FOR BRAND e-COMMERCE

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Entrant Gogo Quinoa Puffs Entering Company Name: Pigeon Brands Inc. Brand Owner: 2 Ameriks Entrant Olivieri Italia Entering Company Name: Bridgemark Brand Owner: Riviana Foods Canada Corporation Entrant Clark Entering Company Name: Bo Branding & Design Agency Ltd. Brand Owner: Aliments OuimetCordon Bleu Inc. Entrant Post Timbits Cereal Entering Company Name: Marks Brand Owner: Post Foods Canada

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Entrant Scotts Turf Builder Custom Seed Blend Entering Company Name: Bridgemark Brand Owner: Scotts Canada Ltd. Entrant Danone GO! Entering Company Name: Pigeon Brands Inc. Brand Owner: Danone Canada Inc. Entrant Real Pops Entering Company Name: Pigeon Brands Inc. Brand Owner: Everreal Entrant Three Farmers Entering Company Name: Bridgemark Brand Owner: Three Farmers

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Entrant Dainty – Premium Rice of Asia Collection Entering Company Name: Pigeon Brands Inc. Brand Owner: Dainty Foods Entrant Mastercraft Entering Company Name: Davis Brand Owner: Canadian Tire Entrant HERSHEY’S Ice Cream Inspired Candy Bars Entering Company Name: Pigeon Brands Inc. Brand Owner: Hershey Canada Inc. Entrant Danone Light & Free by Artists Entering Company Name: Pigeon Brands Inc. Brand Owner: Danone Canada Inc.

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Entrant TANAKA 1789 X CHARTIER Entering Company Name: forceMAJEURE Design Brand Owner: GLion Group Entrant GoodFood Entering Company Name: Tempo Plastics Limited Brand Owner: GoodFood Market Entrant Tim Hortons Pocket Wrap Entering Company Name: Tim Hortons Brand Owner: Tim Hortons Entrant Tim Hortons Hot Beverage Lid Entering Company Name: Tim Hortons Brand Owner: Tim Hortons

FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON EACH ENTRY, PLEASE VISIT WWW.PAC-CANAWARDS.COM PAC.CA

PACCONNECT 2021 S21

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STRENGTH IN NUMBERS Recovering value from waste through closer collaborations to create a Circular Economy for plastics

By George Roter

lastics play an important role in our society. However, our plastics system is broken.

We take-make-waste and, as a result, millions of tonnes of plastic escape into the environment, end up in landfills, or are burned.

This is not only harming biodiversity, using up natural resources, and contributing to the climate crisis, but it is also harming our businesses and wasting billions of dollars of valuable materials.

We know that something has to change. Despite good intentions and considerable action on this issue over many years, the problem persists.

This is because while many companies are making individual commitments to address plastic waste, they are limited in what they can do because many of the barriers to progress require shifts of a systemic nature.

Put simply, one organization alone— or even one industry—cannot achieve the vision of a Circular Economy for plastic, where plastic never becomes waste.

Achieving a vibrant and viable circular plastics economy will take new levels of innovation and collaboration.

We need businesses from across the plastics value chain—resin makers, converters, goods makers, retailers, waste management companies and recyclers— coming together with governments and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to work on solutions.

This collaboration is starting to take shape right now with recent formation of the Canada Plastics Pact (CPP).

The CPP is an industry-led, crossvalue chain collaboration platform for innovation. Through their shared ambition, combined expertise, and cooperation, the 50-plus Partners of the Pact are beginning to co-create national solutions to plastic waste and pollution.

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This group of Partners has come together because they are motivated by the New Plastics Economy vision of the Ellen McArthur Foundation and being part of a global Plastics Pact network, joining numerous other Plastics Pacts in Europe, Africa, North America, Latin Americ and elsewhere. They have come together because they know they cannot achieve the change they seek alone.

The Partners imagine a circular plastics economy where we’ve removed any unnecessary plastic items, in which the plastics we do need are reusable, recyclable or compostable, and where all the plastic items we use are recirculated in the economy and kept out of the environment.

They imagine a time when plastic production is fully decoupled from the

consumption of finite resources, and where its production is carbon-neutral, or even carbon-negative.

“The Canada Plastics Pact is the must-be place for anyone searching for the solutions to packaging challenges that we are all facing as we strive for circular solutions,” says Catherine O’Brien, Senior Vice-President of Corporate Affairs for Nestlé Canada and Board Chair of the Canada Plastics Pact.

“By creating the collaborative space that spans the plastics value chain, and through embracing clear action backed by support of the many influential players in the Pact, the CPP is integral to the transition to a circular economy for plastics,” O’Brien states.

By working collaboratively, and understanding each Partners’ unique role in the plastics economy, the Partners will PACCONNECT 2021 S23

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rate in Canada from around 12 per cent today to 50 per cent.

• Ensuring that CPP Partners have 30-percent recycled content, on average, across their whole portfolio of plastic packaging.

These audacious goals will not be easy to reach, but they form an important milestone on the way to a Circular Economy for plastic packaging. They also become possible through collaboration across the value chain.

In that spirit, CPP Partners are collaboratively developing a clear, achievable Roadmap to 2025 action plan that will be published later this fall. This position paper will identify the specific barriers that need to be overcome, strategic priorities that will focus the energy of the CPP, areas ripe for scale-up, pilot or demonstration projects, research and data gaps, and clear actions that CPP Partners can take right away.

In parallel to this roadmapping process, CPP Partners are participating in four pre-competitive Working Groups: redechange the way we design, use and reuse signing packaging for circularity, recycled content, data and reporting, and plastic plastics.

Through the CPP, these Partners are narratives.

Partners also become better informed focused initially on plastics packaging, and motivated by clear, actionable 2025 targets. through new research commissioned by the CPP—mostly recently a comprehenThese include: • Defining a list of plastic packaging sive look at the plastic packaging flows in that is problematic or unnecessary Canada—and make connections across and taking measures to phase them the value chain through invite-only events and knowledge sessions. out.

By bringing together key players from • Ensuring that 100 per cent of plastic packaging that CPP Partners put on across the local plastic value chain, uniting the market is reusable, recyclable or behind a common vision, committing to compostable, at-scale and in-practice. collective targets, forging connections • Undertaking ambitious actions to through working groups, and creating the boost the plastic packaging recycling collective roadmap, the vision for a circular

economy for plastics can be turned into action at-scale.

The CPP serves as the collaborative, enabling mechanism that brings together business, government, NGOs and other key stakeholders together behind a common vision, to implement national solutions.

There is no one solution to the plastics problem: there are many. But by working together, the many progressive Partners who make up the Canada Plastics Pact are actively bridging gaps and collaborating across the value chain to come forward with solutions that no one actor can find on their own.

“I’m energized by the momentum of the CPP and the opportunity to collaborate with all of its Partners in realizing a circular economy for plastics,” says Leonardo Giglio, Optimist and Chief Executive Officer of Tempo Flexible Packaging.

“The future of flexible packaging needs to be circular if we are going to continue success in business, while also reducing waste in the environment,” Giglio states.

“Finding solutions and inspiring change for the future is what we are doing together as Partners of the Canada Plastics Pact.”

To summarize, the Canada Plastics Pact Partners see many opportunities for plastics in the Circular Economy, and they are actively investing in ensuring their business’ prosperity, while also working to protect our collective future.

GEORGE ROTER is Managing Director of Canada Plastics Pact, a multi-stakeholder, industry-led collaboration launched earlier this year to tackle plastic waste and pollution in Canada.

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NEWSPACK

the complex was simple?

Bold new packaging design is a raw feast for the eyes

Dogs have long held the title of man’s best friend, and in the midst of a global pandemic, not only are more Canadians becoming dog and cat owners, but many of us are spending more time with our furry friends than ever before. That’s why this year, the trusted raw pet food bransd Bold Raw and Mega Dog decided it was time to get groomed.

Produced by Bold by Nature at the company’s state-of-the-art commercial kitchen in Erin, Ont., the company’s flagship pet-food brands— incorporating recipes designed to model the natural prey diet that cats and dogs would have eaten in the wild—are full of unprocessed meats and that are naturally suited to their digestive systems.

Besides being a more nutritious and flavorful option, switching to raw provides the pet with benefits far beyond a licked-clean bowl, including improved cognitive function, cleaner teeth, shinier coat, healthier skin and smaller stools.

“There is no fine print in our ingredients: just honest and unprocessed ingredients,” says Bold

by Nature’s chief executive officer Caroline Bolduc.

“In addition to seeking local ground meats, ground bones, beef tripe, organ and kelp, our ingredients are human-grade and free of fillers.”

While the company’s products— comprising 40 different recipes and treats—are currently available at over 2,000 pet food stores across Canada, Bolduc says she wanted to develop a fresh new look and packaging that would fully embody the brand’s personality, process and premium recipes.

Working with the Toronto-based branding services consultancy Apt. Agency, the company embarked on a comprehensive rework of all

packaging and sub-brands, Bolduc relates, while developing fully responsive, interactive website (www.boldbynature.com) that helps break down barriers commonly associated with raw recipes.

“Combining two sub-brands into one master brand, and focusing in on a more modern millennial audience, we updated the packaging to be more user-friendly, informative and visually engaging,” Bolduc told the Canadian Packaging magazine.

“With over 50 product SKUs (stock-keeping units) and multiple lines, the redesign works to provide a more cohesive identity across their product portfolio and key messaging that speaks boldly and breaks down consumer barriers,” says Bolduc, citing upscale value-added packaging features that include custom die-cut of the brand emblem, spot UV finish of brand pattern on Bold by Nature Select paperboard boxes, and integration of freezer-safe materials.

The Bold by Nature brand products available in the new packaging include: • Bold by Nature Mega line, crafted with locally prepared ground meat, triple-ground bone, organ meats, fresh vegetables and kelp, offered in a variety of blends.

• Bold by Nature Select, the company’s original recipe—made with pasture-raised green beef tripe, ground meat, triple ground bone, organ meats and kelp—designed to designed to provide a gluten-, sugar- and carbohydrate-free raw option, while also containing no fruits or veggies to meet the need of pets with dietary restrictions.

• Bold by Nature Cat, signature feline-friendly blends offering a variety of protein options, formulated with farm-fresh ground meat, triple-ground bone and organ meats.

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NEWSPACK

New RTD beverage sensation goes back to its packaging roots

After a long winter in lockdown, and just in time for spring, Sapsucker Hard is taking vodka soda to the next level with its new and innovative ready-to-drink (RTD) sparkling vodka made with carbonated tree water.

Available at select LCBO (Liquor control Board of Ontario), the new beverage boasts only 110 calories and four-percent alcohol by volume (ABV), complementing its existing

nonalcoholic beverage line-up and offering a true better-for-you alternative in the highly popular product category.

Containing 46 naturally occurring minerals, vitamins and antioxidants, the one-of-a-kind delicious sparkling vodka with tree water is fully organic and naturally sweet, maintaining the ‘subtle bubble’ found in the company’s popular non-alcoholic Sapsucker line comprising five different flavour variations.

Founded by Nancy Chapman in 2015 and led by former CocaCola vice-president Tim Lute, Sapsucker has been taking the all-natural beverage space by storm with its unique offering of an innovative, plant-based, and nutrien-rich sparkling tree water, experiencing record sales and growth in 2020.

To capitalize on that momentum, Sapsucker decided the time

was right to introduce the Sapsucker Hard beverage for adults, once again retaining the services of Toronto-based boutique agency Vanderbrand to create the appropriate packaging design that would complement the company’s non-alcoholic drinks.

“Sapsucker Hard and its package design follow a similar visual identity to Sapsucker’s core non-alcoholic line-up, with enough differentiation to distinguish between the two,” Lute told Canadian Packaging.

“The design of the unique Sapsucker Hard can and boldgreen tray was developed to maximize the impact on shelf and highlight the ‘tree water’

uniqueness as our differentiator within the competitive RTD space,” says Lute, noting that Sapsucker Hard is currently the only alcoholic RTD beverage made with sustainable and renewable tree water (maple sap), unlike more than 200 other RTD beverages currently retailing in the Canadian markets.

The sap is made with water tapped from Ontario and Québec maple trees that draw moisture up through their roots and trunk, acting as a natural filter, to collect nutrients stored in the tree all winter and provide hydration and nourishment that enables the trees’ growth and rejuvenation in the spring. In the spring, the tree water is we harvested by tapping the trees and then infusing the water with organic, natural lime or lemon, along with some light carbonation.

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NOTES & QUOTES

says Crawford Packaging president John Ashby. “We are very proud to be included in the elite list of companies that have attained this achievement.”

London. Ont.-based packaging automation equipment supplier Crawford Packaging has been recognized for overall business performance and sustained growth with the prestigious Canada’s Best Managed Companies designation in the annual rankings compiled by financial services group Deloitte Private. Selected from hundreds of Canadian-owned or managed companies, Crawford Packaging has enjoyed a decade of consistent growth and Top Tier performance, during which the company has expanded warehousing facilities across North America to make the packaging supply chain more efficient for it clients in the fresh produce industry. Currently in the process of building a Mexican-based operation to serve the local market needs, the company has completed six strategic acquisitions in the GTA (greater Toronto Area) region in the last few years to expand its packaging solutions offering and improve its internal skillset. “It is very gratifying to be recognized for the years of hard work to grow the company into a leadership position in our market,”

Newmarket, Ont.-based conveying systems manufacturer Descon Integrated Conveyor Solutions has received the 2020 Coke Canada Supplier of the Year Award in recognition of its contribution to providing the beverage producer with innovative solutions tailored to Coke Canada’s production facilities, along with providing ongoing support of network optimization for long-term strategic planning. “Descon’s internal success principles are Learn, Innovate, and Deliver,” says Descon chairman and co-founder Dave Farquhar.

“Learning is the key to innovation and innovation is the key to providing value to our customers. On behalf of the entire Descon Team, I would like to thank Coke Canada for the recognition and continued trust in Descon.”

Leading for processing and packaging equipment manufacturer Heat and Control, Inc. has commenced construction of a new production facility in Mexico. Nestled between Guadalajara and Lake Chapala, the new 739,000-square-foot facility will

Heat and Control, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, the new facility will be equipped with state-ofthe-art technologies that will include the latest material automation machinery with fiber laser for cutting flat and tube material, waterjet cutting equipment, deburring machines, and an 80-foot powder coating processing booth. be the largest of the Heat and Control properties worldwide, comprising a manufacturing operation, a warehouse, R&D and demonstration center, and administrative offices. “Guadalajara has a special place in my heart, and I am extremely proud of the team and what they have accomplished,” says Heat and Control founder and chairman Andy Caridis, noting that heat and Control has been operating in Mexico since 1985, helping to bring the company’s proprietary take tortilla chip and taco processing technology to the global market. “The new facility and the R&D capability is of extreme importance to me,” Caridis states. “I am compelled to find ways of making things better, to create new ways of production that make it easy for companies of all levels and capacity to take advantage of what the food industry has to offer.” According to

Food processing and packaging equipment group Duravant LLC of Downers Grove, Ill., has reached a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Foodmate, a leading manufacturer of poultry processing equipment dual-headquartered in Ball Ground, Georgia, and Numansdorp, The Netherlands. “We are absolutely thrilled with this partnership,” says Duravant president and chief executive officer Mike Kachmer, calling Foodmate’s automated secondary processing solutions the “Gold Standard” in the poultry industry.

“Foodmate is the preferred provider of processing systems in the poultry processing industry globally,” Kachmer states. “Combined with their culture of laser-focused innovation and superior engineering expertise, Foodmate is a wonderful addition to the Duravant family.”

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43

NOTES & QUOTES

German food packaging equipment group MULTIVAC has completed the year-long construction of a new 33,000-square-foot logistisc center in Kansas City, Mo., to accommodate increased market demand for spare parts and production materials driven by the fast growth of company’s MULTIVAC USA subsidiary in Kansas City. “Strong growth in turnover by the MULTIVAC USA subsidiary, as well as expansion of production at the Kansas City site, made it necessary to invest in efficient and state-of-the-art warehouse logistics,” says MULTIVAC Group president Guido Spix.

“Reliable and rapid supply of spare parts to our customers in North and Central America was also close to our heart.” According to the company, the new logistics center comprises a highly sophisticated and automated small parts warehouse, a pallet store, a storage area for medium-sized materials to be stored without pallets, and a movable cantilever rack for warehousing machines on three levels, along with a dedicated access road for incoming and outgoing freight for safe operation.

maintained our Circular Economy objectives as a top priority.”

Montreal-headquartered flexible packaging group TC Transcontinental Packaging has been named the winner of this year’s Flexographic Technical Association (FTA)’s Sustainability Excellence Awards competition for its Integritite post-consumer recycled collation shrink film featuring 33-percent PCR (post-consumers recycled) plastic, pre-approval for use in the How2Recycle in-store drop-off programs, and close-to-par performance compared to virgin plastic resins. Fist commercialized in the fall of 2020 in collaboration with the AHA Sparkling Water brand of The Coca-Cola Company, the Integritite packaging can be found on select Sam’s and BJ’s club store shelves in Ohio,

Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Indiana, South Carolina, North Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi and Delaware. (see picture) “It is very exciting and gratifying to receive such an award and to be recognized by our industry peers in developing sustainable packaging solutions,” says Rebecca Casey, senior vice-president for marketing and strategy at TC Transcontinental Packaging. “This award is a tribute to our collaborative approach between our crossfunctional teams, The Coca-Cola Company and the co-packer,” Casey states.

“This partnership drove collaborative innovation that created value for recycled plastic waste, pushed the bar further in sustainability, and we

Montreal-based flexible packaging products manufacturer Polykar has been named one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies in the annual rankings compiled by financial services group Deloitte Private to recognize Canadian-owned or managed companies for outstanding overall business performance and sustained growth. Founded as a family business in 198,7 Polykar has grown into an innovative, world-class manufacturer of sustainable packaging solutions focusing on polyethylene film for converters, garbage bags, certified compostable bags, and food and industrial flexible packaging, with solid expertise in post-industrial and post-commercial film recycling. “We are incredibly proud to be recognized as a winner of Canada’s Best Managed Companies, an award made possible due to the efforts of everyone in the company,” says Polykar’s president and chief executive officer Amir Karim.

“Our communal culture and our unwavering attention to customer service allowed us to succeed in this challenging year.”

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FIRST GLANCE

AXIS ACCESS FANUC America has expanded its line of high-performance SCARA (selective compliance articulated robot arm) robots to offer more reach and payload options to companies with high-speed assembly, packaging, pick-and-place and inspection processes. With a 20-kilogram payload and 1,100-mm reach, the company’s new model SR-20iA robot perfectly complements the four-axis SR-3iA, SR-6iA and SR-12iA models—with three-, six- and 12-kg payload capacities respectively—offering 400-mm reach. According to FANUC, the small SR-3iA and SR-6iA SCARAs have a compact footprint and space-saving design for maximum efficiency, while the SR-3iA/H and SR-6iA/H three-axis variants provide strong performance and an affordable alternative to small linear-slide products. The higher-payload SR-12iA and SR-20iA provide optimal flexibility with a large vertical stroke and an environmental enclosure option for harsh conditions, with all robots designed to ensure superior

motion control, high-speed operation and immaculate precision. Powered by the R-30iB Compact Plus controller, FANUC’s SCARA robots have the same intelligence and reliability common to all FANUC robots—including integrated iRVision, conveyor tracking (iRPickTool), and most other software options—while its latest SCARA iRProgrammer user interface makes it easy to set up and program the robot on a tablet or PC, with an optional Teach pendant.

FANUC America Corp.

variable data, while optional inline barcode validation further reduces the risk of printing errors and incorrect codes. The low-maintenance printer requires minimal operator intervention to keep running at optimal capacity—with the self-cleaning printhead eliminating the need for manual cleaning—while built-in automatic alerts enable operators to resolve issues before they become a stoppage and cause downtime. The large ink volume enables longer print runs, and the large internal reservoir provides up to eight hours of printing from the point the ink bottle is empty, so that the ink can be changed without interrupting production. The Cx350i is equipped with Domino’s QuickStep user interface, an intuitive touchscreen control that which allows operators to quickly adjust settings and to select, edit or create print designs.

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clean and reliable printing at high speeds while maintaining maximum stability, clean operation, and ensuring precise code placement and consistency, even when subjected to production line vibrations. The stainless-steel printhead produces finer-resolution printing of GS1-compliant barcodes, batch and product information, and other

DOMINO THEORY Designed for superior product coding performance on secondary packaging, Domino’s new Cx350i piezo inkjet (PIJ) printer is a reliable, low-maintenance, direct-tobox printing solution optimized for cost-efficient printing of high-quality, GS1-compliant, machine-readable codes onto cases, trays and other types of secondary packaging. According to Domino, the Cx350i printer was designed for

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FIRST GLANCE

WET SEASON The new CW3 RUN-WET Combo from Loma Systems provides a highly efficient combination of precision checkweighing and metal

detection in an efficient configuration designed to withstand the harshest production environments with frequent washdowns and strict sanitary standards. Developed in consultation with many of the company’s end-use customers in the protein, dairy, produce, meat, fish and other food industry segments, Loma’s RUNWET systems boast a sanitary design to make them easy to clean and to minimize the risk of bacterial contamination, with innovative fetures including easy-to-wash frames that use curved surfaces for quicker water run-off, minimal welds, and reduced contaminant traps for optimal deep cleaning and reduced risk of water ingress. Removable top panels provide easy access to clean the conveyor belt without compromising safety, with all the motors, controls and pneumatics safeguarded in

IP69-rated enclosure to withstand high-pressure, high-temperature washdowns.

Loma Systems

UPPER CHAMBER Designed for high-output packaging of smaller-sized ham, cheese, poultry and fish products in plastic pouches, the new compact B 425 model chamber belt machine from Multivac features a 1,00-mm-long sealing bar that makes it possible to load many products per cycle, while minimizing the volume of air to be evacuated to ensure higher cycle output. The optional sealing height adjustment, which can be performed without tools, makes it easy to adjust the sealing height to suit the particular product, while the roller shear cutting before the chamber ensures a smooth packaging process, even with very long film pouches. The patented Multivac suction system ensures that the pouch trim is reliably removed from the chamber, while an optional automatic cutting unit can be used to sever the pouch’s neck, if application requires it.

Multivac Canada Inc.

CASE IN POINT Integrated with Yaskawa Motoman model HC10 and HC20 collaborative robots to provide greater efficiency and automation for blowmolded bottle manufacturing lines, the new Pakman case-packer from Proco Machinery Inc. features a collating indexing accumulation system to accumulate complete layers of bottles inside the packaging cell. The accumulation table stages the layer of bottles so they can be picked up by Proco’s end-of-arm (EOA) tooling and placed inside the box.

Featuring Proco’s proprietary Integrated Rotary Inverting Technology for rotating a layer of bottles to neck-down orientation in a layer formation, Proco’s Pakman packaging cell has many advanced innovative features to help processors pack bottles in all neck-down orientation in a layer formation. Acording to Proco, the Pakman case-packer is a totally integrated packaging module supplied with a six-axis collaborative robotic arm, infeed conveyor, and a box conveyor all mounted onto a common sub-frame, which in turn is fitted with leveling pads and castor wheels for moving the cell into position for quick set-up and commissioning.

Proco Machinery Inc. 46 CANADIANPACKAGING · June 2021 CPK_Plan Automation_JulyAug20_CSA.indd 1

2020-07-28 10:08 AM

W H I T E PA PE R

A Clear Focus on Achieving Sustainable Packaging Goals

SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT OFFERINGS The collaborative approach and global alignment of our sustainability goals with the United Nations have helped Sun Chemical to see the full circular economy requirements, allowing product designs that consider not only cradle to gate, but also cradle to grave.

That means that as part of our overall product design approach, we focus on delivering products that support biorenewability and recyclability, including compostability, with the aim to support a circular economy.

Sun Chemical’s SunEco family of sustainable products exemplifies the unified approach toward global innovation and development, provides a framework for discussion of the full sustainability portfolio with customers and suppliers, and emphasizes our commitment to sustainability.

Sustainability is an environmental, economic and societal imperative that is the key to our future. As an organization, Sun Chemical considers it a clear priority to protect the health and vitality of the planet and its natural resources.

This need is particularly urgent for the packaging market, and especially plastic packaging, given the visible proliferation of plastic-based waste in the environment.

The products Sun Chemical supplies into the market increasingly consider environmental impact characteristics as part of their design, to enable more sustainable options, and to meet consumer and brand owner demands.

Many brand owners have made ambitious public commitments to reduce the environmental impact of their packaging and are prioritizing sustainability initiatives to enable delivery on those commitments.

Through its position in the packaging value chain, Sun Chemical can provide valuable product solutions and design guidance to converters, to help them offer more sustainable solutions to the brand owners they serve and to better contribute to the circular economy.

A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH At Sun Chemical, we use what we call the “five Rs”— reuse, reduce, renew, recycle and redesign—as a way to guide a three-pillar approach to our sustainability efforts, each of which contributes to our sustainability initiatives in a unique way.

The first pillar is operations. We utilize all “five Rs” in every aspect of operations. One example is that we aim to reduce water and energy usage, waste and CO2 emissions in our operational processes and at our manufacturing facilities.

The second pillar is products. Again, we apply the “five R” framework to the ways in which we design products for more sustainable packaging. We aim to

REUSE

REDESIGN

RECYCLE

REDUCE

RENEW

Sun Chemical uses the “five Rs” to guide its approach to sustainability.

enable recyclability, biorenewability and/or compostability within our product offerings while helping to minimize packaging weight and complexities.

The final pillar is collaborations. By working through supply chain and cross-industry partnerships and associations, we actively contribute to cross-industry sustainability initiatives that are also aimed at delivering on the “five Rs,” with every member of the supply chain contributing their part.

Working through cross-industry associations such as the Food Packaging Institute (FPI), the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) and The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) allows us to understand what the needs and gaps are in achieving more sustainable packaging, and the role that we and our products play in achieving circularity.

For example, by our participation in The Association of Plastic Recyclers we were able to better understand some of the challenges to increasing recyclability and reaching higher rates of recycling of PET bottles. These insights from across the value chain allowed us to develop new ink solutions intended to help overcome those challenges.

Shifting our product offerings toward more sustainable solutions also means working closely with our supplier partners to ensure they are providing the necessary sustainable raw materials. Our ongoing conversations with our partners provide us with visibility into where we are as an industry currently, enable us to develop targets for the future, and show us where the opportunities are to utilize the “five R” approach to bring sustainability solutions to market.

GLOBALLY ALIGNED SUSTAINABILITY GOALS Recognizing that sustainability is a global issue, at Sun Chemical we have aligned our sustainability goals with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with a particular focus on climate change and resource conversation, sustainable use of natural resources, and on food, safety and health.

Through this alignment we are aiming to take the necessary actions to enable a more sustainable packaging industry with an overall positive impact on the environment. We are also implementing specific consistent measures at our own facilities by developing internal goals to contribute to a cleaner environment. And we have introduced a Corporate Sustainability Committee, led by the Sun Chemical executive team, to ensure that we are cohesive and coordinated in our sustainability strategy and efforts company-wide.

For example, our SunVisto AquaGreen biorenewable inks offer foodservice brands and manufacturers printing ink with market-leading levels of biorenewable content.

Use of these inks can deliver substantial reductions in CO2 emissions as compared to conventional inks based fully on fossil fuel–derived raw materials. At the same time, the SunVisto AquaGreen inks do not compromise end-use or on-press performance.

To promote increased recyclability, we have developed our SunSpectro SolvaWash FL, which will be formally launched soon, and SunSpectro SolvaWash GR product lines—washable flexo and gravure ink technology.

Designed to allow inks to be removed in a controlled way from post-consumer printed packaging in typical existing mechanical recycling processes without staining the recovered plastic flake or the process wash water, these inks were developed initially for crystallizable PET shrink sleeves that can be recycled together with PET bottles.

The washable inks enable increased recovery of high-quality, clean, recycled plastic resin.

One of the main reasons plastic packaging is so difficult to recycle is because it is often made up of multiple plastic materials. Thus, flexible film packaging converters are considering ways to simplify the structures by taking out dissimilar layers and shifting to mono-materials. Sun Chemical brings barrier coating and adhesive product technologies, such as SunBar Aerobloc and SunBar Paslim, to enable these transformations, bringing back the functional properties that are lost when those film layers are removed.

Compostable packaging provides another end-of-life alternative, resulting in less waste going into landfill/ incineration. In the area of compostable packaging, a large range of compostable-friendly inks and coatings, including SunUno Solimax and SunSpectro Solvaplast/Aquathene, are available and certified as TÜV OK Compost.

ACHIEVING A CIRCULAR ECONOMY Building a circular economy is not only about using or manufacturing less plastic, but also ensuring that plastic, or any packaging material, can be reused, recycled or composted. As the world’s largest producer of printing inks, coatings, pigments and polymers, Sun Chemical is committed to offering sustainable solutions and working toward a circular economy.

Visit www.sunchemical.com/sustainability for more information on how Sun Chemical is prioritizing sustainability or read our Guide to Sustainable Packaging at www.sunchemical.com/powerofpaperpackaging.

The Authors: Nikola M. Juhasz, Ph.D., is the Global Technical Director, Sustainability, at Sun Chemical and Bob O’Boyle is the Senior Key Account Manager—Consumer Packaged Goods at Sun Chemical. They can be reached at globalmarketing@sunchemical.com or (708) 236-3798.

ECO-PACK NOW

Going the Flextra mile for sustainability

L

eading adhesives manufacturer H.B. Fuller has launched two new compostable adhesive solutions under its worldwide renowned Flextra Evolution brand, which offer many differentiated advantages in terms of sustainability goals and manufacturer benefits.

“When people ask for a compostable adhesive, what they are likely asking for is a package with components that can be composted, and now this can be brought to life with the help of our compostable adhesives throughout the supply chain,” explains H.B. Fuller’s research scientist Wayne Eklund.

Increasing environmental awareness of consumers, strict legislation, and the popularized move towards a Circular Economy is significantly affecting the way we live and do business, Eklund explains.

As a result, the flexible packaging industry is focused on addressing end-of-life issues, such as recyclability and compostability.

In flexible packaging, the adhesive holds the whole structure together, and to make the whole

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Adhesives manufacturer H.B. Fuller has just launched two new compostable adhesives for the flexible packaging market under its renowned Flextra Evolution brand.

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package compostable, the adhesive must also be compostable.

The company’s new compostable solutions for the flexible packaging market include: • Flextra Evolution SF1000CP/ XR2000CP, a solventless adhesive that offers excellent design benefits, such as outstanding sound dampening and excellent adhesion, to a variety of biodegradable film substrates, from bar wrap to snack packaging and much more.

• Flextra Evolution WB1200CP/ XR2200CP, a water-based two-part system that works best with paper-tofilm laminations, is fully compostable according to EN13432, ASTM D6400 standards , and is certified through the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), North America’s leading certifier of compostable products and packaging.

Says Eklund: “These new solutions from our Flextra Evolution product line have similar performance to conventional multilayer packaging adhesives, show great printability and appearance, and work seamlessly with standard equipment.

“Most importantly, in industrial composting facilities the adhesives decompose with no toxic residue, microplastics, or other pollutants,” Eklund explains.

Compostable adhesives are difficult to formulate without the right polymers and expertise, but the innovation-driven scientists and engineers at St. Paul, Minn.headquartered H.B. Fuller are highly capable to provide unmatched knowledge and service in collaboration with customers to help them solve their adhesion challenges.

For the company, this means going beyond simply developing products that fit a particular adhesive application.

“It means thoroughly understanding customers’ businesses and processes to respond to changing consumer demands, new product designs, and upcoming regulatory and sustainability efforts,” Eklund states.

“As part of the broader market move toward sustainability, compostable flexible packaging allows converters and brand owners another tool towards reducing, reusing, composting or recycling,” says Eklund, noting that flexible packaging produces less waste than other packaging types, such as glass, use less resources for transporting the packaging, and utilizes fewer natural resources to make the final packages.

48 CANADIANPACKAGING · June 2021 CPK_Harlund_REV_Ocr20_MLD.indd 1

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hat a relief! One quick jab in the arm and more than a year’s worth of anxiety and fear seemed to drain away. After more than a year-and-a-half in lockdown (some self-imposed), it felt like I was getting a new lease on life, a new beginning. I imagine many people felt the same way after getting their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, knowing that an end, of sorts, to this tragic pandemic was (maybe, hopefully) just around the corner. As one of the lucky ones who was able to work from home, it also signalled time for a reality check: I have got to get in better shape if I’m going to venture out into post-lockdown life. For more than a year my slothful tendencies have gotten the better of me, and the waistline has paid the price. So it is a time for renewal.

Time to get the mojo flowing again, cuz this peacock needs to get out and strut.

For me, my personal fight against COVID-15 (the 15 or so pounds I’ve gained after more than a year of lockdown) has got to start with diet—snacks in particular. No more chips, nachos or other such carb-heavy treats for me.

From now on, it’s Smartfood Delight from Cambridge, Ont.-based Frito Lay Canada. This seasoned popcorn has got to be good for me, as the minimalist graphics of the 35-gram bag pretty much scream “Healthy Choice!” Aside from the Smartfood corn cob logo, a few splashes of blue and some oversized popped kernels, the most prominent graphic elements on the package are the health claims, of which I count no fewer than seven, not including the guaranteed fresh until date. For the weight-conscious types, the “35 calories per cup” claim is placed right smack dab in the center of the package. Other claims let the health nut in us know that there are “no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives” in the snack, and that it has “30% less fat” than the regular Smartfood brand product.

(Left to right) the charcoal-infused toothbrush with a biodegradable bamboo handle from Colgate-Palmolive; The Smartfood Delight brand of low-calorie popcorn snacks from Frito Lay Canada; the Halls Soothe line of throat lozenges from Mondelez Canada uses soothing graphics to project a message of welcome relief and well-being.

Another part of my renewal plan is in the area of oral health, by way of a new toothbrush. For me, the days of the plastic environmental disaster are over. The new me is going to make the right choice and go with the earth-friendly bamboo and charcoal-infused toothbrush from Colgate-Palmolive Canada Inc. With a 100%-percent natural, biodegradable handle made from sustainably grown bamboo, not only will this help keep my teeth clean, it’ll also absolve me of a bit of guilt. Do you know how many plastic toothbrushes one person uses over a lifetime? A lot, and I’m sure they’re all sitting in a landfill somewhere just waiting out eternity. It was nice to see an environmentally-friendly option in the toothbrush section, and kudos to Colgate for working its signature red-and-white brand colors into the background design, with its earthy brown and green tones, so seamlessly.

on gum and breath mint sales being down this past year due to the pandemic, I couldn’t help but wonder if this renewal wasn’t part and parcel of that same phenomenon. Since I’ve been hibernating indoors, hiding from the virus, I have managed to avoid any need for throat relief. I haven’t even had a sniffle in over a year. So what made me reach for them?

Primarily pure impuls:tThe beige-andbrown color pallet used across the Halls Soothe family of throat candies leverages earthy simplicity to distinguish itself from the varied assortment of more colorfully packaged lozenges. I also liked the pool of honey (real honey is the distinguishing factor behind the Soothe line), which acts as a backdrop for the vanilla bean graphic. To top it off, the stand-up pouch features the ingenious “Cooling Flavour Meter” that indicates how much menthol is contained in the pouch and individual pieces. Bravo!

I’m not the only one up for a renewal.

Toronto, Ont.-based Mondelez Canada Inc. is also looking to put a new face on its Halls Soothe line of throat lozenges. Having read a few reports recently

PAUL PETHICK is a healthcare communications editor currently working from home in downtown Toronto.

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A shot in the arm with healthy packaging innovation / Paul Pethick

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