Swedish supermarkets replace sticky labels with laser
marking
Food
retailers aiming to cut plastic packaging by ditching stickers on fruits and
vegetables, instead using hi-tech ‘natural branding’
Trials of plastic-free laser labels have begun with sweet
potatoes and avocados. Photograph: ICA/Nature & More
Nina Pullman
Nina Pullman is deputy editor at the Fresh Produce Journal
Monday 16 January 2017 00.00 ESTLast
modified on Monday 16 January 2017 19.01 EST
The humble fruit sticker may seem an unlikely
cause for environmental concern but removing it from produce could create huge
savings in plastic, energy and CO2 emissions.
In response to consumer demand for less
packaging, Dutch fruit and veg supplier Nature & More and Swedish
supermarket ICA have joined forces to run a trial to replace sticky labels on
organic avocados and sweet potatoes with a laser mark.
M&S are also using it on coconuts in the
UK.
Dubbed “natural branding”, the technique uses
a strong light to remove pigment from the skin of produce. The mark is
invisible once skin is removed and doesn’t affect shelf life or eating quality.
“By using natural branding on all the organic
avocados we would sell in one year we will save 200km (135 miles) of plastic
30cm wide. It’s small but I think it adds up,” says Peter Hagg, ICA business
unit manager.
The laser technology also creates less than 1%
of the carbon emissions needed to produce a sticker of similar size.
Stephane Merit, business development manager
of the Spanish company behind the technology, Laser Food, says with millions of
stickers used on food produce around the world everyday, the technology could make
a “significant reduction in the amount of paper, ink, glue” being used as well
as the cutting the energy used to produce and transport them.
Ethical
shoppers
The sustainability saving is particularly
important for organic shoppers, who now account for almost a fifth of all ICA’s
fruit and veg sales, says Hagg. “Organic sales are driven by environmental
awareness, like climate change and belief in health benefits. Younger shoppers
also choose products depending on the environmental impact of the packaging.
And we know that this will be very important in coming years,” he says.
Switching from plastic to cardboard is a
bonus, but selling organic produce as loose is even better says Hagg. Yet under
EU rules all items need to be marked hence the need for stickers if selling
loose.
“This is a solution that permanently marks the
skin of the product, so it’s better from a sustainability perspective, but also
avoids the problem of stickers falling off.”
Laser Food’s technology has been around for
several years but has previously been used for marketing or branding, without
being explicitly linked to sustainability.
“Up to now, no one has used this technique
with the specific aim of cutting packaging. It was used for novelty – which is
nice, but a gimmick at Easter or Christmas isn’t going to pay off,” says
Michaƫl Wilde, sustainability and communications manager at Nature & More.
“What we are saying is, by buying this product you’re saving plastic.”
Photograph: Guardian
The cost of a laser machine is considerable,
but after that initial investment, Wilde says it is almost more cost-effective
than stickers. “You have to invest in an extremely expensive machine, so it’s
very much an investment for the future. This is something we believe more and
more supermarkets will take on. It saves resources, CO2 and energy, so it does
calculate.”
M&S
lasered coconuts
While the ICA trial has begun with sweet
potatoes and avocados, products where sticking labels to skin is challenging,
the supermarket is already preparing to expand onto other products.
“The next step will be to use natural branding
on edible skin products, such as apples or nectarines,” says Hagg. “If
consumers react positively there is no limit. We are planning to try it with
melons in summer, as there is a problem there at the moment with stickers
attaching to the skin.”
Although ICA’s involvement is the largest
retail trial to date, the technology has been used in various other European
markets.
Last year UK supermarket M&S trialled it
on oranges, saving several tonnes of packaging according to fruit technologist
Andrew Mellonie, who supervised the project. However, citrus skin’s ability to
“heal” itself meant the laser mark wasn’t as effective so the trial was
suspended, but the retailer now uses it on coconuts and has plans to extend to
other products.
The reaction of shoppers to laser-branded
produce is one of the only concerns for Hagg and Wilde, but, they say, so far
feedback on Swedish social media has been positive.
For Hagg, no matter how small the story,
nowadays sustainability is “always good news” for consumers and he is hopeful
that other supermarkets will follow ICA’s example.
“The calculations are that it costs the same,
but sustainability for our consumers and ourselves is the biggest gain. I hope
it will take off with more products and also non-organic. I can only imagine
what a bigger retailer would be able to save. I really hope it spreads.”
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