08.13.19
Paulig, the owner of the Santa Maria brand, worked with Flextrus, a member of AR Packaging, for a few years to develop packaging which protects its products while minimizing its environmental impact.
Santa Maria produces tortillas without preservatives. This means they are more sensitive; if not packed in a thoroughly evaluated and optimized packaging mold will form.
The new packaging is made of a lidding film based on unbleached paper which is coated with a tailored barrier material to secure the shelf life of the tortillas and thereby minimize food waste.
The base web is a combination of environmentally sound plastics to ensure product protection with efficient use of material.
The carbon footprint is reduced by 35% in comparison to the former packaging (Comparison done by IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet (Swedish Environmental Institute).
And substituting plastics with paper means that Santa Maria will reduce its plastic consumption by 150 tons per year
“We have jointly done a great job to make this happen. Several departments and different areas of expertise have been heavily engaged in the project to make sure to deliver a great packaging for the consumer," Sales Manager Mattias Söderholm said.
“This new packaging for our tortilla is an important milestone in our sustainability work," said Anders Jonebring, R&D director at Paulig. "However, we continue to strive for even greater, sustainable innovations. We are already investigating solutions that will make our packaging even better. As of now, we celebrate saving 150 tons of plastics per year...”