Quotables/By the Numbers

BY THE NUMBERS

84%

The percentage of shoppers who say they’re concerned about plastic and packaging waste, with 47% saying they would opt for recyclable products over compostable, according to a survey from Consumer Brands/Ipsos

4.9 lb

The amount of trash produced per person in the U.S. each day; considered one of the most wasteful developed countries, the U.S. produces more than 292 million tons of trash yearly

15 days The shelf life of cucumbers in properly designed compostable packaging, compared with less than 10 days in conventional plastic, according to scientists at the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), The Volcani Institute (Israel)

1.8X

The estimated growth in revenue of the global paper bottles market from 2021 to 2028, totaling $48 million by 2030 versus $25 million in 2020, according to a study from Fact.MR “The new [Snapple] package substitutes post-consumer recycled plastic, or rPET, for glass and nonrecycled plastic, and it also contemporizes the Snapple brand look and feel. The consumer reception has been very strong … However, an unexpected shortfall in committed glass bottles from our supplier required us to transition our new rPET packaging faster, which pressured material availability from our supplier of rPET and stretched the startup curve for our new production lines.”

–Robert Gamgort, CEO of Keurig Dr Pepper, in a call with investment analysts, as reported by FoodNavigator.com in an article, “Keurig Dr Pepper cautions ‘2021 arguably more difficult … than 2020’ despite strong Q2 results”

“The plant-based and lab-grown dairy space has hugely accelerated in the last year, thanks to heavy investments, including investment banks ‘pouring money’ into the industry. And this is likely to speed up more acutely with the entry of big consumer companies, such as Nestlé and Danone, who are investing in start-ups that are ahead of the game.”

–Maria Mascaraque, Industry Manager at Euromonitor International, in a release from the company, “Non-Soy Milk Alternatives Becomes The Fastest Growing Dairy Category”

“Food safety is our company’s top priority. I urge consumers to take this recall seriously and return any and all recalled products to the place of purchase for a full refund or discard the product. Do not serve it to humans or pets, as illness or injury could occur. We take this situation seriously. We have already begun aggressive steps to prevent this from happening again, including the rigorous examination of long-standing raw materials suppliers.”

–John Weber, President of Smith Provision Company, Inc., in a press release from the company regarding its recall of over 2,900 pounds of smoked and fully cooked boneless ham because the product may be contaminated with extraneous metal

“Omnichannel sales of produce are influencing packaging design in that we need to find ways to provide a package that is easy for selecting in-store for curbside pickup, but also creates a sturdier barrier to protect fruit if it might be shipped through non-traditional retail.”

–Chuck Sinks, President of Sales and Marketing for Sage Fruit Co., in an article from The Packer, “Online sales and omnichannel expansion bring challenges to packaging”