The Best Packaging contest promoted by Istituto Italiano Imballaggio is Italy’s key event to highlight the best packaging solutions – whether they are being prototyped, engineered, or already sold on the market – from the previous year.
In 2021, the initiative renewed its determination to foster sustainable and ethical innovation in the field, with the support of Fondazione Carta Etica del Packaging and the introduction of ten values for the future of packaging, inspired by the ten categories in the Packaging Charter of Ethics: Reliable, Balanced, Safe, Accessible, Transparent, Informative, Contemporary, Forward looking, Educational, Sustainable. Meant to encourage companies to work and innovate towards the common goal of ethical and sustainable innovation, these were the criteria used to shortlist this year’s 27 products from leading and pioneering Italian companies including, of course, Gualapack.
Our Group was indeed selected for two products: Pouch5, our flexible, mono-material standup pouch, recyclable as polypropylene within existing PP streams; and Tethered Cap, which offers a significantly lighter, litter-reducing cap solution for flexible packaging – far in advance of the European SUP directive’s application in 2024.
Pouch5, in particular, won in the Balanced and Safe categories: two prestigious accolades that recognize and confirm our company’s strong commitment for the environment. As a global player in flexible packaging, Gualapack is determined to make a positive impact by putting sustainability at the heart of its mission.
Pouch5 is the first-ever high-performance, monomaterial, flexible spouted pouch designed for infant nutrition, fruit purees and other shelf-stable, pasteurized food, and ready to be recycled in the PP stream. This means it offers convenience and ease of use, as well as the added benefit of recyclability – which brands can clearly communicate to leverage consumers’ rising awareness and growing preference for “green” packaging options.
Pouch5 uses the same technologies as the multilayer, multimaterial laminates and pouches typically used for food packaging, but replaces traditional raw materials with more sustainable alternatives for collection, sorting and convenient recycling.
Furthermore, Pouch5 boasts a smaller carbon footprint compared to similar solutions made with a traditional laminate structure: we estimate it contributes to a 34% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (measured as CO2 equivalent released throughout the pouch’s lifecycle), thanks to the use of materials that have a lighter impact than PET and aluminium.
We are proud to receive recognition for Pouch5’s extraordinary features, and more importantly for our ongoing environmental efforts. Our Group is actively committed to launching sustainable products, and to making plastics and packaging increasingly environmentally friendly – as presented more in depth in the Sustainability Report we publish every year.
Our clients are right on board with us, responding with great interest to innovations like Pouch5. Indeed, after a successful launch in Spring of 2020, Pouch5 has now consolidated its presence in the international market with 12 brands ranging from yogurt, baby food and fruit purée products.
Last but not least, as a growing number of our clients choose this breakthrough sustainable option for their products, end consumers are discovering how purchasing easy-to-use and appealing pouches off the shelf can support conscious decisions for their wellbeing and the future of the planet.
For more information:
- Carta Etica del Packaging
- Istituto Italiano Imballaggio: Gualapack Pouch 5
- Istituto Italiano Imballaggio: Gualapack Tethered Cap