Package Design - June/July 2014 - 9

Globespotting

iktorija Gnatoka, global packaging
analyst at Mintel, explores the trend
of biobased packaging as an eco
alternative. Below, she shares some of her
favorite biobased packaging from around the
world.
PRODUCT: Lärabar Alt
COMPANY: Small Planet Foods
COUNTRY: USA

I consider Alt to be a
standout among [the]
big number of the
various snack,
cereal and energy
bars. Its biobased
packaging fits well
with the product
message of natural.
Larabar originally was launched in
2003 and was made by the entrepreneur Lara
Merriken in her kitchen. The idea was to
make a healthy snack bar with ingredients
that will be easy and simple to pronounce.
This fits perfectly with the simplicity and
minimalism trends that we are seeing across
various categories.
To further support its premium and natural product positioning, Larabar improved its
packaging. Today, bars retail in a recyclable
26.5-oz.master carton, containing 15 x 1.77oz. bars and bearing Terracycle and 100%
wind energy logos.
The carton is also USDA-certified to be
31% biobased. The USDA BioPreferred program is part of the U.S. Farm Bill and is an
accreditation for products with biobased
content, i.e. ingredients that come from
renewable ecological resources. The USDA
Certified Biobased product label lists the percentage of biobased content in each product.
The film wrapper of a single bar is made from
a non-GMO, plant based material from a proprietary supplier. In this case, packaging
helps to reinforce the message of simplicity
and purity that Larabar brand stands for.

PRODUCT: Pantene Pro-V Nature Fusion
COMPANY: P&G
COUNTRIES: Western European
P&G introduced one of the first plant-based
bottles in the hair care category. The highdensity polyethylene bottle replaces petroleum-based plastic with plastic derived from
sugarcane-a natural and renewable
resource.
According to P&G, sugarcane-derived
plastic consumes more than 70% less fossil
fuels and releases far fewer greenhouse gases
per ton than traditional petroleum-based
plastic. The package supports P&G initiatives
of being a green company. However, communication on pack is vital to ensure correct
packaging recycling.

PRODUCT: Cascadian Farm Organic
COMPANY: Small Planet Foods
COUNTRY: USA
Cascadian Farm Organic Graham Crunch
Cereal, a USDA organic-certified product
retails in a recyclable 9.6-oz. pack featuring

the USDA Certified-Biobased Product logo.
The manufacturer continues the journey
towards sustainability to protect the earth
and its resources by using 100% recycled
paperboard for the outside carton. The packaging's inner bag is made of up to 57% plantbased material.
The box's front panel has a call out in the
upper right corner that explains what plantbased material means and why it is important. Such approach makes more sense for
the consumers so they can relate to the
impact they are making by purchasing this
exact box of cereal.
Indeed, Mintel U.S. Food Packaging
Report shows that 40% of U.S. consumers are
interested in packaging that is labeled as
environmentally friendly and 54% would like
to be able to see packaging that can be reused
for other purposes.
PRODUCT: Ecover Ecological
Limescale Remover
COMPANY: Ecover
COUNTRY: South
Africa
To solve the plastic
packaging problem,
Ecover uses an innovative plastic called
PlantPlastic in most
of their home-cleaning products packaging. PlantPlastic is
made from sugarcane
and recycled plastic.
Product packaging
has a sticker on the front of the pack indicating that its 100% plant based. On the back of
the pack, Ecover clearly differentiates ecological product attributes and packaging attributes by using different fonts and colors.
Product-related information comes in blue
on the white background, and the opposite
for the packaging information. This helps to
emphasize the information on the pack and
show the different product attributes. l

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Package Design - June/July 2014

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