Huhtamaki has developed a new fibre-based tray, Fresh, for UK supermarket chain Waitrose and Partners’ Italian ready meal range.

The trays are produced as an alternative sustainable solution to replace the plastic packaging of its ready meal trays.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

The packaging firm has sourced the fibre material used for the base of the trays from Swedish forest company Södra. The trays are packed at Saladworks.

Waitrose and Partners UK packaging development manager Nikki Grainge said: “We have made a commitment to move out of black plastic by the end of 2019.

“We have been testing the new trays since May 2018 and have received very positive feedback from our customers. Now, with the current launch on Italian range moving to the new tray, we’ll be able to move nearly nine million meals out of black plastic.”

According to the company, the trays are suitable for use with both microwave and regular ovens, and can be recycled or used for home composting.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Huhtamaki project manager Steve Davey said: “The project started already in 2016 with the aim to find alternative food packaging for trays made from black plastic, most often crystallised polyethylene terephthalate (CPET).

“The reason to avoid this material is not only its fossil origin but also because it is problematic to recycle due to the detection systems used in end-of-life material separation.”

“We’ll be able to move nearly nine million meals out of black plastic.”

The project obtained initial funding from the European Union’s (EU) Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) programme for research and innovation.

The funding was used to build the core team that wanted to spearhead the new concept in the UK.

The EU and the Bio-Based Industries Consortium introduced the €3.7bn BBI JU programme.