Packaging giant Sealed Air is striving to double its business in the soft-fruit industry this year, and the company is pulling out all the stops to achieve its goal. “The issue is how do we create packaging that will keep the fruit clean and safe at a time when consumption is going through the roof,” says sales manager Stephen Fieldhouse.
The US corporation has considerable experience in the packaging industry, with an annual turnover of $2.5 billion (£1.26bn) in the food-packing sector, which amounts to 62 per cent of the business. The Cryovac brand - under which Sealed Air operates - is a well-known name in the industry. “There is a value attached to the brand,” says Fieldhouse. “We have a close relationship with our customers in the food industry, many of whom we have been dealing with for more than 20 years, and this gives them confidence in what we do.
“We aim to invest for the long term - we are here to stay,” he adds.
Sealed Air operates under a five-point priority list, which includes putting the customer first, investing in innovation, a focus on cashflow and return on assets, and safety and environmental excellence, all with the intention of carrying out world-class manufacturing.
“We are looking to grow the company at a double-digit rate,” says Fieldhouse, “and we invest twice the industry average into R&D.”
The company acts as a single point of contact with customers, taking care of all their packaging needs, says Fieldhouse, by providing a sales team, technical advice and equipment, as well as a wide range of packaging products.
Two plants serve the UK market - a flexible packaging plant in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, and a rigid plastics plant in Poole, Dorset, while an R&D site in Milan acts as the nerve centre for innovation.
The firm provides packaging for all the major soft-fruit suppliers in the UK, according to Fieldhouse, and the berry sector is the fastest-growing area of the business and the most rapidly developing.
The aim is to add value to the product by maximising the protection of the fruit but minimising the weight of packaging, he adds.
Pack formats are driven by what retailers want, according to business development manager Ian Grimbly, but they must be designed in line with the UK distribution system.
A life-cycle analysis, which evaluates the environmental impact of the product and manufacturing process as well as the life of the punnet through the retail chain, is key to creating the right product. “The knowledge of the fruit and packaging industries must come together to create the best packaging,” Fieldhouse says.
Design teams are working hard to improve on the product offer, looking at the material used - polypropylene for soft fruit - or how to get more vents on punnets without reducing the strength of the packaging.
A number of environmental factors are taken into account throughout the manufacturing process. The packaging sector, as a whole, has had to confront a barrage of environmental concerns this year and, like any number of packaging specialists worth their weight, Sealed Air is taking steps to address the issues. “Everybody is asking for sustainable packaging and for a reduction in existing packaging, but what is considered sustainable and acceptable is up for debate,” says Fieldhouse. “There are no agreed standards for sustainability that packaging companies can follow.”
Bio-based, biodegradable, renewable and recyclable packaging are the buzzwords at the centre of the debate, says Fieldhouse. “Retailers are trying to create the debate and are aware of the issues, but its such a long and complicated subject - we need to transform the debate into action,” he says. “The multiples know they have a larger responsibility.”
The long-term aims are to eliminate waste before it occurs, recycle and reuse plastic and, where possible, use renewable materials, says Fieldhouse, but, in the meantime, the use of thinner plastic is a tangible step for retailers.
“Packaging reduction is at the centre of what we can do, with the maximum amount of good product going out the door,” says Fieldhouse. “All retailers are harnessing themselves to reduce the weight of packaging in the short term, as this fits in with green initiatives and reduces their packaging levy - a financial incentive for them,” he adds.
Sealed Air has introduced a number of initiatives to lessen its own impact on the environment. Recycling is an everyday policy at its plants and a Poole-based initiative that will see workers receive a bonus if they achieve total process yield targets was introduced by plant manager David Lloyd last month. “This is something we want to build on in the future,” Lloyd says.
Sealed Air continues to develop alternatives to plastic, and research is well underway at its R&D department.
The company is determined to deliver what its customers are looking for. “Some of the products are limited, and some of the technology is just not available at the moment,” says Fieldhouse. “But it will be, and we have to drive with the industry to invest in solutions that will create a range of products to meet the aspirations of society.”
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