Amcor, Cofigeo partner to create sustainable multi-compartment meal tray

SWITZERLAND – Amcor, a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions, has unveiled a newly developed three-compartment tray tailored for Cofigeo’s latest line of single-serve, shelf-stable microwaveable meals.

This initiative aligns with Cofigeo’s commitment to sustainability and adheres to Design for Recycling guidelines.

The new tray features a lightweight, mono-material polypropylene (PP) construction, making it suitable for collection and reprocessing within France’s recycling systems.

The ready meal trays will be used for packaging five French and Italian recipes from the Cofigeo’s William Saurin Mon Trio Gourmand range.

The design of the tray features starchy food, vegetables and meat, all three key ingredients separated, enabling consumers to choose whether to mix them at the time of consumption.

“The freedom to keep separate or mix the three recipe components has proved popular, and the tray is practical enough to enable consumers to eat straight from it,” stated Cofigeo William Saurin marketing product manager Benjamin Margerand.

“Indeed, in prelaunch testing, depending on the recipe, up to 80% of consumers said they were planning to eat directly from the tray. The colour has also been well received.”

According to Amcor and Cofigeo, the new tray is designed with different-sized compartments that accommodate the various textures and densities of the ingredients.

Additionally, the tray also meets several of Cofigeo’s operational requirements for compatibility with existing filling lines, ensuring ease of use for the end consumer.

The multilayer polypropylene (PP) tray features a barrier layer that extends the shelf life of the meals to more than 12 months at room temperature.

Amcor states that the newly developed three-compartment tray is manufactured with a near-infrared (NIR) terracotta masterbatch, enabling recognition by NIR sensors in recycling facilities.

Cofigeo Group packaging R&D manager Jean-Michel Perquin expressed, “This was a challenging project, especially given its shape, to make the tray as thin as possible, but thanks to the technical support of Amcor, we have managed to achieve the same wall thickness as our standard single-compartment version.”

Recently, Amcor created industry-first shrink bag with reduced environmental footprint. Featuring a built-in handle, the new Perflex shrink bag design reduces packaging material and improves efficiency.

Subscribe to our email newsletters that provide busy executives like you with the latest news insights and trends from Africa and the World. SUBSCRIBE HERE