The need for “greener” food packaging is increasing and will continue to do so according to many reports published recently by market research firms. Whether it’s called biodegradable packaging or compostable packaging, the reports indicate a growth rate of 18% annually over the next 5 years, with the fastest growth opportunity in the food and beverage sectors. Many factors are sited for this growth, but the two most prominent reasons are consumer awareness, which is great, along with governmental legislation, which is not so great. If you are a regular reader here, you’ll understand I’m not in favor of local governments deciding which packaging can and can’t be used. I won’t get into that rant here, but if you are interested you can always sift through previous posts on that subject.
For now though, I think it would be a good idea to review the options we have available for compostable food packaging starting with our Harvest Fiber products whose features include:
- Compostable
- 100% all natural material
- Microwave safe
- Non-absorbent
- Genpak engineered designs including Snap-It closures and stacking features on hinged containers
I think that last bullet point is what really separates Genpak from the rest of the field. Our customers have come to expect a higher level of quality in both material and design. It did not seem right to introduce compostable packaging that did not have the same great features as our traditional packaging. That why, when you utilize our Harvest Fiber hinged containers, you’ll enjoy the same great features such as our Snap It closures and stacking rims. Our finished product is also superior in strength and moisture resistance which is important. Consumers do not want to eat out of a package that feels like a wet sponge which is what you can get with inferior products.
Our Harvest Fiber offering is 8 items deep on hinged containers (and growing – stay tuned) from the HF225 medium sandwich container to our popular HF203 large hinged dinner container. The plates, bowls and platters make up 6 items within the line. Now, if you really want to set yourself apart, be sure to use our square Harvest Fiber dinnerware offerings. They include the HFSQ20 – 20 oz bowl, HFSQ10 – 10″ plate and HFSQ11 – 11″ platter. Each of these great items has a clear, over-cap lid available which, while not compostable, are made of 30% post consumer recycled material and are also curb side recyclable! Lastly, rounding out the line is our HF105, 5 compartment school tray.
As you can see, we have all our most popular configurations available for our customers to choose from. We’ve also taken the time to do it right with 3rd party certifications and our own Genpak designs. But we did not stop there. We recently expanded our compostable offering to include our entire line of paper cone, portion and pleated water cups which we call Harvest Paper. As with our Harvest Fiber items, these paper products are also compostable. We have 6 cone cup configurations to choose from, 12 portion cups and 4 pleated cold drink cups.
Since Genpak was the first to offer a full line of compostable products back six years ago, we thought it important to have the fullest and highest quality line available for our customers. If you are new to Genpak products or compostable packaging in general, we suggest you try it before you buy it. Our hope is that you will join our family of satisfied customers and allow us to become Your Food Packaging Company!