Supermarkets in Germany are leading the way with a new form of eco-friendly packaging.
Lidl and Kaufland will be rolling out cardboard packaging made from the silphie plant fibres for a variety of fruit and vegetables, starting with cress – itself available in Lidl stores in southern Germany since early November.
The innovative and sustainable packaging solution has been developed by STI Group in collaboration with PreZero, the environmental division of Schwarz Group.
The technical properties of the new material have been examined for the last 12 months, with extensive testing finding that it can be used in either cardboard or corrugated board format for making packaging and displays.
Jakob Rinninger, CEO of STI Group, said: “Through a development partnership with OutNature, our in-house materials lab has been exploring the technical properties of silphie material since late 2020.
“Pioneering tests have examined every facet of its production performance, from printability and varnishability to laminating and die-cutting. Silphie material has proven itself and can now be used in cardboard or corrugated board format for making packaging and displays.”
Silphie packaging material is suitable for direct food contact and could be further enhanced with additional barriers to improve its resilience to water and fats.
It provides an eco-friendly take on supermarket packaging by using locally-grown silphie plant fibers, thereby greatly reducing reliance on traditional paper packaging materials.
