Finding the balance between sustainable solutions and consumer acceptance

Better packaging is one of the priorities of our sustainability programme ‘Nourishing a Better Planet’. The people who are part of our Packaging Development team play a key role in achieving a circular and net climate-neutral packaging portfolio. The innovative nature of our people is essential when exploring and developing new technologies and materials to achieve our goals.

As FrieslandCampina brings nutritious products to different parts of the world, in each country, the level of recycling facilities differs a lot. For instance, in Europe, most countries have a full collection and recycling system in place, while in African or Asian countries like the Philippines, this is hardly available. Therefore, the focus and communication towards consumers and customers have to be different. In Europe, it’s about introducing recyclable formats with the lowest carbon footprint. In Asia and Africa, the first step is to drive collection and recycling to create awareness. This means the potential solution can also differ per country.

Finding the balance between sustainable solutions and consumer acceptance can be a challenge as well. A good example is the introduction of yogurt cartons in the Netherlands without a plastic screw cap to reduce a large amount of virgin plastic. This introduction led to concerns from our customers, as the ease of use was not the same. While upfront, the consumer said they really wanted a more sustainable pack. In the end, we had to reintroduce the screw cap again. Interestingly, consumers are now again asking to get rid of the screw cap because of sustainability concerns. It is precisely this field of tension that makes it interesting for our people to continue working on the best, sustainable solutions.