When California seafood canning company Chicken of the Sea International saw more of its customers buying multi-packs of shelf-stable seafood, it decided it needed a new bundling machine that could shrinkwrap multiple cans into a package.

Though sustainability solutions are rarely restricted to a single focus, packaging plays an important role in cost effectively minimizing waste, without sacrificing form or function.

Food and beverage packaging solutions receive three gold awards.

Last year, some members of the dairy industry thought it hip to be in square packaging. But Dean Foods, Inc. is taking a more circuitous route. Its Land O’Lakes brand sour cream and cottage cheese products are appearing on retailer shelves throughout the upper Midwest in curved packaging.

 A pet peeve for some dog owners is not being able to feed their pets a warm meal. But that problem is being addressed with a heated, moist supplement for dry food in a package familiar to the world of single-serve soups, pastas and snacks. 

Packaging manufacturers continue to push performance boundaries, but oftentimes little consideration is given to the impact on the recycling stream.