TC Transcontinental Packaging recently won a 2021 Flexible Packaging Achievement Award for its Maxwell House Coffee Canada bag.
This product resulted from TC Transcontinental Packaging’s partnership with Club Coffee, a leading innovator in the rapidly expanding single-serve hot beverage market and creator of PῧrPod100, and Kraft Heinz Canada.
“It demonstrates how collaboration can bring breakthrough packaging to life and divert waste from landfills with inventive and innovative solutions,” says Yair Gar, product development engineer at TC Transcontinental Packaging. “The packaging features a circular design with renewable inputs into the materials and a no-separation pod design that ensures easy consumer disposal through the growing number of local food waste collection programs.”
Currently, coffee pods are viewed as single-use plastic waste. TC Transcontinental Packaging’s goal was to help its customer change that view.
The following criteria needed to be met:
- The entire pod needed to be industrial compostable
- Materials used had to be safe for food contact
- The new material had to perform on current filling equipment
- BPI (Biodegradable Products Institute) certification
- Material for lidding and outer (mother) bag had to have excellent sealing properties
- Coffee shelf life had to remain the same
Here, Gar answers some questions about printing the bag, including challenges, press speeds and what it takes to make an award-winning print.
FLEXO Magazine: In evaluating this job, what did you identify as potential obstacles or difficulties?
Yair Gar: Achieving the required barrier (OTR and WVTR) and building the supply chain to meet the demand.
These new compostable pods and mother bags are certified by BPI, meaning that they are verified to break down in industrial composting and in a period of less than 12 weeks. Crafting these industrial compostable films is a challenge. While being sustainable, it is vital to ensure they do not sacrifice performance and machinability. As well, there is much to be considered when creating a BPI industrial compostable packaging film. For one, we need to ensure the printing inks meet the BPI standards and will not create any soil toxicity in the composting process.
“We are driven by innovation. Our research and development doesn’t end in the lab.”
FLEXO: How did your operators go about executing the job and meeting the customer’s requirements?
Gar: We are driven by innovation. Our research and development doesn’t end in the lab.
This project demanded true collaboration and partnership between the Club Coffee product engineering team and TC Transcontinental Packaging’s research and development team. Engagement from both parties was key to ensure the performance of the compostable films. Many trials were done, field technicians and technical support onsite were involved to make sure the new films would run effectively on the customer’s equipment.
FLEXO: Talk about some of the significant technologies used in printing the job: What press was used? What plates and plate processors were used? What inks and substrates were used? What screening technology was used? Were any special effects or embellishments added? How did you apply targets and tolerances to the job?
Gar: While creating these industrial compostable films, it was vital to ensure they did not sacrifice performance and machinability. As well, there is much to be considered when creating a BPI industrial compostable packaging film. In order to use inks in compostable packaging, the inks have to meet heavy metal, fluorine and eco-toxicity requirements.
We are using a unique printing technology that allows us to use inks that are OK to use in compostable packaging at a very low percentage. Our experience, knowledge and leadership in graphic design of compostable packaging is another requirement for success—certain ink formulations have higher levels of heavy metals, which can impact passing the BPI certification.
FLEXO: Running the actual job: What speed did you run the press at? Were there any notable aspects of makeready and setup?
Gar: Our goal was to be sure the film was compatible and performed well on our customer’s equipment. The challenge: making sure it is a film that seals well and runs on current filing equipment.
We learned how to produce compostable sealants and how to print and laminate the compostable film with good productivity. We also added a layer of oxygen barrier coating to make sure the OTR will be stable over the product shelf life.
FLEXO: Examining the final print: How did your team feel about its color and consistency? What about its future repeatability and predictability?
Gar: We are pioneers in this innovation. We’ve been running compostable films commercially for a number of years. We help our customers give their customers what they want: an environmentally friendly package solution that eliminates single-serve packaging waste.
Also, we understand our role in promoting good composting practices and we commit to collaborating toward increasing reuse, recycling and composting rates for plastic in the communities where we operate. In other words, we promote the use of sustainable materials and we collaborate closely with our supply chain to make strides toward a circular economy for plastics. In addition, every day, our focus is on safety, performance, quality and sustainability: from sourcing to end-of-life, we make sure to use a circular approach in every step of our product design.
FLEXO: How can the fact that the Maxwell House Coffee Canada job is an award winner help to win new business?
Gar: In this product, the entire solution is a circular design with renewable inputs into the materials and a no-separation pod design to ensure easy consumer disposal into the organics collection to be processed as compost. This new, innovative product reflects commitment to a more sustainable future and to the next generation of coffee drinkers. It responds to the demand for sustainable packaging without sacrificing product freshness, performance and convenience.
At TC Transcontinental Packaging, the development of sustainable products is firmly rooted in our long history of social responsibility. The FPA award underscores our leadership position in crafting commercialized, sustainable packaging solutions. The award indicates that our values of performance, teamwork and innovation have culminated in this and future sustainable products.