Edible Food Packaging as an Eco-friendly Technology using Green Marketing Strategy
Plastic has been a mainstay in the food industry for decades, and concerns about its environmental harm have reached global levels. As we learn more about the importance of sustainability and the various initiatives taken to reduce our dependence on plastic, we must consider the many alternative options and innovations becoming increasingly available as technology advances.
One such alternative worth considering is edible packaging, which has recently gained traction in recent years due to the clear paradigm shift toward eco-friendliness. Governments, businesses and packaging experts are already beginning to invest more money into this alternative, resulting in a quickly expanding market ready to be tapped. In fact, according to Allied Market Research, the global consumable packaging market was valued at $697 million in 2016 and is on track to reach $1.10 billion in 2023.
What is Edible Packaging?
As the name suggests, it is a type of sustainable food packaging designed to be eaten or biodegraded as efficiently as the food it protects. Commonly made from natural, plant-based materials such as seaweed or casein, any type of film, sheet, layer or coating qualifies as edible packaging so long as it can be eaten alongside the food product.
And with the package being consumed instead of disposed of, this sustainable packaging method is perfect for helping reduce our dependency on plastics while naturally generating less waste as everything is eaten, leaving nothing behind.
This alternative comes at a crucial point in time for the food industry as it has recently come under fire for the sheer amount of waste produced. Most traditional food packaging comes from materials that are not biodegradable or natural, and statistics from the United States Environmental Protection Agency show that food and plastic accounted for over 30% of solid waste in 2018.
Thankfully consumable food packaging is available in various types, bio-materials and plant-by products, making it a solid choice to swap traditional packaging for an eco-friendlier option. So now that you know what edible packaging is and its role in reducing waste in the food industry, you may wonder what types are available.
It is typically used as a kind of package. Packaging is necessary for food quality maintenance so that it can stay in good condition. The utilization of plastic as a fabric of food packaging gave rise to a range of issues to the surroundings or environment, after its utility it becomes plastic waste and most of this waste ends up in landfills, rivers and oceans and solely tiny percentage of this plastic waste is recycled because of the undeniable fact that plastic can never degrade and can remain on the landscape for many year and later onraises environmental problems. Keeping in view all issues, the use of edible film for packaging material over the plastic packaging is an effective alternative to resolve these kind of environmental problems. Edible films and coatings are made up of edible parts and could lead to the reduction of environmental pollution. Edible food packaging technology or eco-friendly packaging plays vital role in green marketing for sustainable environment. Edible films and coating is a thin layer of eco-friendly edible material made from natural polymer like lipids and proteins. Mainly the edible films are made from milk protein casein which act as an oxygen blocker and prevents food spoilage. There are variety of edible packaging available in the market, starch based edible packaging is the other one but it allows oxygen to enter through the micro-holes.
Edible Packaging Options
Although consumable packages are a newer addition to the many sustainable options, you’ve probably encountered them before and will definitely see more variations soon! Ice cream waffle cones, for example, are edible packaging. And as more innovations reach the market, more options are on the horizon.
Edible food packaging Industry
In today’s world consumers and several food companies have started to show concern about the environmental impact of products and are becoming more environment conscious. The reason for the concern could be perceivable climatic change, increasing air and water pollution and global warming. By identifying the changing consumer behavior and competition in market, most of the food companies were shifting their focus from normal plastic packaging to green or ecofriendly edible packaging. WikiCells, is the edible skin or a food wrapper that takes the place of plastic packaging and acts as a protective peel of an orange, which protects ice cream (Magnum bar), yogurt, cheese, food from spoilage and are totally biodegradable. MonoSol Inc. is a Water Soluble Film Technology whichhas developed water soluble (hot or cold water) sachets or wrappers.
Green Marketing
The idea of green marketing or inexperienced marketing has been widely practiced in vehicles, batteries, refrigerators, microwave ovens, airconditioners, soaps and detergents, paints, energysaving lights and in many agricultural inputs like fertilizer and pesticides.Green Marketing is the marketing of product and services supported by environmental factors. According to the American Marketing Association, green marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. Green marketing is also known as environmental, ecological and Sustainable marketing. Green Marketing includes several activities like modifying the merchandise, making changes within the production method and packaging, furthermore as modifying advertising or eliminating activities that impact the surrounding in negative manner. Green Marketing is a holistic Marketing concept where the production, promotion, consumption, disposal of merchandise and services happen in a manner that are less damaging to the atmosphere.
Why green marketing for sustainable growth?
Green marketing is a buzz word and it is very necessary to implement as humans are getting over dependent on the natural resources for their wants. It is important for all the manufacturers to use all the required resources efficiently without wasting the resources as to achieve the organizational objectives. Growing interest among shoppers and their changing buying behavior everywhere regarding protection of environment hasmade companies to switch over green products or marketing and has emerged that speaks for growing marketplace for property and socially accountable merchandise and services.
Sustainable Development
Physically better environment
Conservation of natural resources
Environment friendly
Consumer benefits
Health and safety
More fulfilled life.
Performance Improved Organization
Better quality products
Competitive advantage
Improved profitability
SWOT Analysis
STRENGTHS
• Edible films are eco-friendly in nature as it can be fully consumed and is biodegradable.
• Nutritional value of food can be enhanced by supplementation.
• It is helpful in reduction of solid waste disposal problems.
• Lower processing cost makes it more efficient.
WEAKNESS
• Lack of awareness among people about edible food packaging.
• Poor mechanic.
• The packaging can develop off flavour.
• People may lack confidence by the idea of eating a package.
OPPORTUNITY
• Due to rising environmental threats, consumers are now inclined towards green products and technology.
• Edible films can tolerate high temperature and thus can also be used as oven bags.
• The fruit and vegetable films can also be consumed as snacks.
THREATS
• Being a new technology it may be difficult to establish market.
• Competitors may pose threat by imitating the same technology.
• Consumption habits and consumer believes.
Target Market
Target market would have those consumers who are more aware about green products and are more concerned about environmental threats that synthetic packaging material can cause. Moreover, consumers of such group are more inclined towards the use of eco-friendly products.
Positioning
Green products already have a positive image in consumer’s mind, so, mentioning the green properties of packaging material would enable consumers to distinguish it from synthetic packaging and would also increase its value in consumer’s mind.
Green Marketing Mix
It is necessary to gauge the green marketing in order to grasp the position of green product. There are four element- Product, Price, Promotion and place.
Product
The green technology has the ability to produce better quality product and is ecofriendly too. These products carry higher value than typical products. For instance, upon opening an outsized packet of 20 individual sachets of coffee, one can simply place a sachet in a cup of hot or cold water without peeling off the seal. The edible layer that holds the coffee powder can dissolve upon contact with water.
Price
Environmental goods are supposed to be expensive but instead they are affordable compared to normal goods.
Place
The mode of distribution holds great importance. This eco-friendly packaging would be more comfortable for local and seasonal products in comparison to imported products. Grocery stores can provide the products wrapped in edible packaging, fruits and vegetables can also be provided wrapped in same.
Promotion
The promotion of edible food packaging should stress on its eco-friendly properties and also on the fact that it can be consumed. Consumers should be made aware about its contribution towards the environment and also towards the food industry. With rising environmental issues, this technology can easily make its place in the market.
Hard cookie coffee cups, sweet gelatin packaging, fruit-like casings, and candy wrappers made of potato fibers or rice paper are just some examples of companies experimenting with new ways to make consumable packaging.
Some other popular innovations include;
Straws: Consumable straws, such as the ones showcased here, are a trendy innovation to reduce dependence on regular drinking straws. Tasteless pasta made of wheat and water, fruity apples made from leftover apple fibers, or sweet sugar straws are available for whatever beverage you wish to drink, whether it’s something fizzy, fruity or alcoholic.
When used, these straws last for nearly an hour and can serve as a sweet snack along with your beverage. Or, if you would like a less intrusive experience, pasta straws provide no taste and are even suitable for hot drinks! Regardless of your choice, all straws can be eaten or are 100% biodegradable.
Food film: A more recent development. Researchers from the University of Nottingham developed edible and 100% biodegradable food film using plant-based carbohydrates such as konjac flour, starch, cellulose and proteins. This innovative food packaging film offers better storage, safety and shelf life while being much more environmentally friendly than plastic.
Eco-bags: Indonesian company, Avani, developed a consumable, biodegradable eco-bag from cassava root that can dissolve in warm water, but the intention of this bag wasn’t to be consumed by humans. Avani’s eco bag nourishes fish and insects when consumed instead of poisoning them with plastics!
Spoons: Bakeys have created the world’s first consumable cutlery line from rice flour, wheat, and sorghum to combat plastic cutlery pollution. Designed to be fully vegan with no trans fat or preservatives, this company aims to create an eco-friendly eating utensil suitable for mass audiences. With over 40 billion plastic utensils used yearly in the United States alone, cutlery plays a massive role in the environmental harm caused by the food industry, and Bakeys aims to lessen that impact.
Bottles: Ooho, the edible bottle, is the leading consumable alternative to plastic bottles. Developed by Skipping Rocks Lab, Ooho uses a technique popularized in cooking spherification. By utilizing a double membrane of sodium alginate and calcium chloride, Skipping Rock Labs developed a transparent gel wall solid enough to hold liquid in a spherical pouch-like container. Unlike a traditional plastic water bottle, this container is completely consumable and leaves no waste behind.
How is Edible Packaging Made?
As shown in the above section, consumable packaging comes in many forms. This type of sustainable packaging is relatively new, so innovation and experimentation are a constant, and there is no one method to make edible packaging. However, there are several guidelines packaging innovators must follow to ensure their invention is the least intrusive to consumer experience and is indeed environmentally friendlier than traditional means.
The ultimate goal for packaging is, first and foremost, to protect and preserve the product. Since many common resources used in edible packaging consist of some shortcomings, the packaging is usually made with several different components to balance and support each other’s weaknesses.
Secondly, to be eaten or biodegraded without harmful environmental impact, you do not want to include synthetic, toxic materials such as plastics; that would be counter-intuitive! Natural materials such as wheat, seaweed, alginate, fruit, or plant fibers should be considered in combinations that complement each other.
After selecting the appropriate materials, films and coatings are created by emulsifying or dispersing film-forming polymers into a solvent such as water or ethanol. It is then applied directly to the food item with the assistance of the solvent.
Finally, though a good amount of consumable packaging on the market may include complimenting tastes, the packaging should have a neutral or tasteless flavor in most cases. The reason for this is that if the taste is too strong, there’s a risk that the item inside will absorb the flavor and compromise the product. To avoid this, always consider tasteless or subtle, complimenting flavors to accompany your product.
Why you should consider Edible Packaging for Your Business
But now that we better understand this new type of sustainable packaging and covered the extensive innovation going into its development, you might wonder what the benefits of joining the edible packaging market are. Like other sustainable packaging options, the benefits are the same and more!
Meet customer expectations
The first benefit is the most significant business concern: satisfying customer expectations around sustainability. We’ve seen a global shift towards eco-friendliness, and customers are increasingly scrutinizing brands to ensure sustainability is a core practice.
Edible packaging is one of the best ways to accomplish this.
Because there is inherently zero waste tied to this type of packaging, and it is natural and biodegradable, it can be a great way to show that your company is willing to commit to the environment in the long run and will help build a loyal customer base that your business can rely on.
Diverse purposes
With plenty of innovations in developing new ways to use consumable packaging, many options are available to make this packaging your own and stand out from the rest. This type of sustainable packaging is multi-purpose and can be used in various ways for sustainability, versatility and cost-saving.
Some examples of this diversity include single-use items like the ice cream waffle cone mentioned earlier in this article or packaging for refrigerated items. This usage range is even expanding further with the advancement of technology into the territories of hot liquid containers and food preservation!
Doing Your Part for the Planet
Lastly, edible packaging is a great way to protect our planet. Even among the other sustainable options, this is one of the best. By eliminating the typical waste cycle and circumventing recycling methods, no traces are left behind to end up in landfills or improperly disposed of. Even when consumer behaviors cause improper disposal or littering, 100% biodegradability still ensures a safe and happy planet.
Drawbacks of Edible Food Packaging
But just like with any other sustainable packaging, there are still disadvantages. This packaging method still needs to be perfected and, at the current time, may still need non-consumable materials, negating some environmental benefits.
Furthermore, because edible packaging can be more sensitive to temperature and heat, more care is required during shipping, which may be costly for some businesses to maintain.
And while plenty of research has shown its safety and effectiveness, there may be difficulty in gaining customer trust for edible food packages. People are so used to throwing away packaging or seeing it as a disposable item that it will take time for the culture to shift towards consumable packaging. But the good news is that it isn’t impossible.
The Future of Edible Packaging
One thing that has become apparent is that the future of packaging is starting to change. We’re moving towards more environmentally-friendly options that can significantly help reduce waste, such as plastic packaging and other toxic materials while creating a new standard of sustainable initiatives.
Although more research and development are needed to scale this new sustainable packaging option and make it suitable for large-scale use, the current results show a lot of progress. So as more policies change and resources are invested into sustainable, edible packaging, we’re poised to see more innovation for more than just the food industry.
Expect to see changes in various industries, not only for edible packaging but sustainable packaging as a whole.
Advantages of Edible Food Packages and Customer acceptance
Edible packaging provides replacement and potential barriers for the layers at the outer surface of packaged products that prevent loss of moisture, aromas and ingredients out and between the foods. Moreover, they accelerate controlled exchange of essential gasses, such as, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and ethylene that are involved in food product respiration , Edible packages provide various flavors and colors and reduce surface properties like hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity that enhances the organoleptic properties of the packaged foods and thus serve as a carrier of functional components with potentially added health or well-being benefits . Lipid-based edible packages usually preserve the color, flavor, sweetener and salt concentrations though they have poor mechanical and optical properties due to their thickness, fragility and hydrophilic nature . Recent studies reveal that the preparation methods, types of the additives, nature of the materials, such as, the composition, molecular properties, crystallinity index etc, of the package forming materials can significantly affect the digestibility and digestion rates. Although edible packages are consumed along with the contained food often, very few evidences on biodegradability and edibility of the packaging materials are reported in literature . The acceptability of edible food packages from customers significantly depends on several factors, such as, the film appearance, organoleptic properties, marketing cost etc. Thus in order to draw customer attention, it is important to emphasize on marketing strategies, such as, conduction of awareness programs, price discounts along with attractive offers and advertisements . Moreover, special care related to the labeling strategies like information regarding allergens and presence of animal derived materials should be properly incorporated and all ingredients used for making an edible film must attain Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) status, as per Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations to improve the customer acceptability. Issue related to Customer acceptance can also be improved through suitable cost-benefit analyses and adapting edible films or packages the cost of which should be lower than or equal to petroleum derived plastics.
Nanotechnology in edible packaging
Development of nanoscale edible coatings (around 5 nm thickness) that contain essential- bioactives are found to enhance smart packaging options and thus being expected to be potentially promising materials to manufacture edible packaging for food like meat, cheese, fruits, vegetables, confectionery, bakery and fast food items. Like other edible coating materials, these nanoscale coatings not only provide efficient moisture barrier for food stuffs but also control gaseous exchange, act as vehicles to deliver color, flavors, antioxidants, enzymes and anti-browning agents and thus enhance the shelf life of manufactured foods Conventionally, nanopackaging is manufactured with nanoparticles or nanomaterials that possess different chemical and physical properties than that of larger particles . Nanoparticles, such as, silver, gold, iron, zinc oxide, silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide, titanium nitride, alumina, iron oxide, copper, copper oxides, gallium and palladium are incorporated into edible packaging materials to improve the mechanical, physical and barrier properties of the coatings that leads to the manufacture of reinforced edible materials commonly known as ‘nanocomposites’ . Besides these, nanoparticles like nanostarch, starch nanocrystals, chitosan, nanoclay, and nanocelluloses that are well known for the preparation of nanoparticle based edible coatings are also derived from non-metals, clays or organic materials , food grade biopolymers such as polysaccharides, proteins or natural bioactive compounds (e.g. curcumin, lipids) and naturally occurring compounds with antimicrobial and antifungal activities . Though recent studies reveal that the demand for food products derived from nanotechnology will grow very fast among the consumers worldwide in near future , more knowledge and rigorous analysis on standard test procedures to study the potential hazards relating to human exposure to nanoparticles originating from food stuffs are yet to emerge.
Edible food packaging is a new and innovative packaging technology and can also be a great medium in promotion of green marketing. The adoption of this technology will also reduce the use of plastic, which is one of the main causes of environmental deterioration and will help in achieving ecological balance and improving human health. Edible packaging is the ones which can be used for packing food by increasing food preservation capacity, shelf life and other properties, without wasting materials or reduced pollution in the environment. It is efficient but also sometimes costly and otherwise products to be used for the packaging are not easy to receive.
Compiled & Shared by- Team, LITD (Livestock Institute of Training & Development)
Image-Courtesy-Google
Reference-On Request.
Application of Aseptic Packaging of Livestock Products: A Generalized Overview
