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Edible Packaging – The Fast Approaching Eco-Friendly Packaging Trend
Plastic has been used in the food industry, harming our natural environment for decades. As we know, sustainability becomes very important and several initiatives have been taken to reduce the production and dependence on plastic. But we have to consider many other alternatives to protect our environment.
And using edible packaging is one of the most effective alternatives to plastic packaging and has recently gained popularity across the globe. Now governments, packaging manufacturers, and businesses are investing in environment-friendly packaging boxes. According to Allied Market Research, in 2016, the consumable packaging market value was $697 globally and is now on track to cross $1.10 billion in 2023.
1. What is Edible Packaging?
Edible packaging is a type of eco-friendly and sustainable packaging that is specifically made to protect food items. This packaging material is usually made from plant-based materials, such as casein, seaweed, and a type of sheet, coating, or layer is as much edible as it can be eaten with the food items.
As this type of packaging is consumable instead of disposed of, so using this type of packaging is a great way to reduce dependency on plastics and use sustainable packaging for products. According to a report from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, plastic and food were the reason for over 30% of solid waste in 2018.
There are several types of food packaging such as plant-by products, and bio-materials can be used and replaced by traditional packaging options.
2. Edible Packaging Options:
Although, this is a new trend to use consumable packaging the many sustainable options, and will definitely see new trends in sustainable options. There are many consumable packaging options that include, ice-cream waffle cones, sweet gelatin packaging, cookie coffee cups, fruit-like casings, and candy wrappers made from rice paper or potato paper are common examples of edible packaging.
3. Some Popular Innovations Include;
- Straws
Consumable straws are one of the trendy innovations to eliminate the use of plastic and regular drinking straws. You can drink any type of beverage, drink, with the help of these sweet straws. These straws last for an hour and also provide a sweetened taste along with your beverage. Moreover, if you want to drink your beverages with a less intrusive experience, you can use pasta straws with no taste are appropriate for hot drinks.
- Food film:
Food film is a most recent innovation. This innovative product is developed by researchers at the University of Nottingham and is 100% sustainable and consumable food film. This food film is made from plant-based carbohydrates such as starch, cellulose, konjac flour, and proteins. This ground-breaking food packaging film offers safety, better storage, and increased shelf life.
- Bottles:
The edible bottles are also one of the leading consumable alternatives to plastic bottles. These edible bottles are totally consumable and developed by Rocks Lab. These bottles are made from calcium chloride and sodium alginate. Firstly, they developed a transparent wall that is strong enough to hold the spherical pouch-like containers. These bottles are sustainable and consumable and do not leave any waste behind.
4. Why you Should Need to Select Edible Packaging for Your Business
According to a survey conducted in January 2023, 83% of customers are now demanding sustainable packaging boxes for their products (Protega Global). So, after analysing the facts and figures the demand for sustainable packaging is increasing day by day. Moreover, this edible packaging added more innovation to sustainable packaging and is beneficial for the environment as well as for your business.
5. Meet Customer Expectations:
Meeting the customer’s expectations is a win-win strategy to grow your business in a short period. This is the most important business concern. The whole world is converting towards sustainability and consumers are also expecting their brands to use sustainable packaging for their product packaging.
So, using edible packaging is a great way to fulfil your consumer’s demand as this packaging is biodegradable and natural which helps your brand to meet the expectations of your customers.
6. Diverse Purposes:
There are new innovations are being developed to use consumable packaging and plenty of options and customizations are available to make your packaging stand out from your competitors. Moreover, edible packaging can be used in different ways such as for versatility, cost-efficiency, and sustainability.
There are many examples you can include single-use items such as ice-cream waffles for refrigerated items, food film, straws, and consumable bottles.
7. Doing Your Part for the Planet:
Using edible packaging for your products does not only help you to grow your business but is also a great way to protect our planet. Even, though there are many other sustainable packaging options but this one is the best.
8. Future of Edible Packaging:
One thing has become significant is that the future of packaging is starting to change. Now, the government, businesses, industries, packaging manufacturers and are adopting eco-friendly packaging options that will significantly help in reducing waste such as toxic materials, plastic, and non-biodegradable things.
Although, we know that more developments and research are required to scale these new sustainable packaging options to make them appropriate for larger scale. So, if you want to get rid of traditional and plastic packaging boxes, you can contact Emenac Packaging Canada to get the perfect sustainable packaging solutions for your products.
