If food processors—particularly those of alternative proteins—view packaging as an afterthought, they may find it difficult to succeed in today’s market.
Consumers who purchase and eat alternative protein products typically want them packaged in a responsible way, too. “These [alternative protein] products are mainly consumed by people that care a lot about the environment; they also want to have a packaging that goes with it. So they would like to see packaging that also cares about the environment—and more than the average product,” says Marcel Veenstra, marketing and communications manager at Sealpac, a packaging equipment maker. “For that reason, we do get a lot of requests for what they call sustainable packaging—which has as little plastic as possible.”