The continued growth of boutique and niche pet food brands the past few years has made for crowded competition at brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers. Gone are the days of limited choice among a handful of legacy brands, with equally limited packaging options.

Energy and raw material prices were already at a high level but surged even further after the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Those increases combined with availability issues have serious financial impacts on the flexible packaging supply chain in Europe, according to a report by FPE (Flexible Packaging Europe, the industry representing interests of 80 companies and manufacturers).

Read up on the growing frozen ready-meal market as well as how inflation has accelerated private label share and penetration in this installment of Nuts & Bolts.

Recent packaging trends have us flashing back but also looking forward in new ways.

The largest industry continues to be the food industry for packaging equipment.

The Tea Spot’s certified organic, non-GMO project verified and certified kosher teas are now bundled in new compostable packaging, which was made possible with a $10,000 grant from Boulder County for pollution reduction initiatives.

Mondi, maker of packaging and paper, and French Les Crudettes, LSDH Group’s Vegetable Division, were recognized as Gold winner at this year’s Packaging Innovation Awards by Dow for using recyclable FunctionalBarrier paper manufactured by Mondi to protect ready-to-eat salads.

Party Horses announced that Maker’s Mark will be its official bourbon partner for 2022 and supply limited-edition Party Horses commemorative labels to 1,000 early adopters in the coming months. NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are produced as generative artwork that live on a blockchain. 

In Italy, the company has achieved 100% recyclability for corrugated cardboard and glass, 98% recyclability for its paper packaging, 96% for rigid plastic, 92% for aluminum and 77% for flexible plastic.

KANHA AND BUDDIES, two award-winning cannabis brands, joined forces to deliver their first Liquid Diamonds live resin gummies. This is the first in an ongoing series of limited-edition products that reflects consumer demand for experiencing the natural effects of the flower in edibles.