Revolutionary Packaging Designs By M&S Aims To Reduce Food Waste

Published on Monday, Feb 13 2012

Marks & Spencer, a leading department store and food shop, claims to have revolutionised the packaging industry by creating packaging which extends the life of fruit kept in the fridge, therefore reducing wastage.

Marks & Spencer is renowned for their strong marketing campaign claiming ‘This isn’t just food, this is M&S food’ which suggests their food to be superior to any other that of any other supermarket. This campaign has been a great success and M&S are now firmly on the list of top food stores.

This month, they have announced a brand new way of packaging their food to keep it fresher for longer. To coincide with their ethos of taking care of the environment and part of the ‘Plan A, because there is no Plan B’ campaign, the supermarket has been working on the new packaging for quite some time. To keep its fruit fresher for longer will reduce the amount of waste generated whilst not affecting the recyclability of the pack.

The solution is a strip across the bottom of the pack which contains materials known to absorb ethylene – the hormone which ripens fruit. By removing some of this hormone, the fruit will stay fresher for longer and therefore it will not grow mould as quickly. The strip contains a mixture of materials including clay and does not affect the taste or quality of the fruit inside.

People in the packaging industry have commented how this type of innovation will help preserve the food contained within the packaging and is a great move for the industry.

Wessex Packaging specialise in creating bespoke packaging for non-food items using cardboard and polyethylene foam. We are dedicated to providing the best solution so that packaging waste is reduce and also offer environmentally friendly packaging. If you are looking for die cut cartons or composite packs, contact us today on 01722 412333 to find out more about what we can offer.

Share this page