Sustainability is emerging as the key buzzword for bakery packaging in 2024.

Marc McGregor, Novacart’s national sales manager, North America, pointed out that consumers are actively looking for sustainable types of packaging. 

“For the last few years, we have been getting a lot more requests for plastic alternatives (PET or CPET) and even aluminum foil alternatives,” he explained. “Our Ecos/OP line of bakeable paper molds has been one of our larger moving product categories, including our OP175 - 8” x 8” square molds — used for everything from brownies and cinnamon rolls to cornbread. An added benefit of our paper molds, beside the environmental factor and being a plastic or foil alternative, is that the consumer perceives the product as a higher-end or hand-made baked good.”

Since the majority of Novacart’s products are paper based, using FSC (Forrest Stewardship Council) certified paper, “most of our products have always been a sustainable alternative to plastic and other types of bakery packaging,” he added.

To get a better understanding of changing demands from the market, and to boost Novacart’s presence as a global leader in the innovation of sustainable packaging, Novacart recently joined the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, which is a group of packaging stakeholders who are looking to improve all types of packaging for the betterment of the environment. 

“We have also recently launched a new line here in North America of biodegradable and compostable Dual Ovenable Containers and lidding film,” McGregor said. “The line is called Biopap (www.biopap.com/en/), and is currently being produced by one of the Novacart Group divisions in Italy, with plans to eventually start production in the US.”

This article is an excerpt from the March 2024 issue of Supermarket Perimeter. You can read the entire Packaging feature and more in the digital edition here.