UK – Mondi, a sustainable packaging and paper company, has partnered with rice supplier Veetee to introduce new recyclable paper-based packaging for dry rice.
Veetee’s new rice packaging has been created using Mondi’s FunctionalBarrier Paper, providing a safe, secure, and environmentally friendly alternative to the industry standard plastic packs.
Veetee and Mondi are the first in the UK to launch a paper-based alternative for dry rice, which has been customized in direct response to consumer demands for more sustainable packaging.
James Yarrow, Regional Sales Manager for UK & Ireland Consumer Flexibles at Mondi, says, “This collection of food products is of high quality and is being sold by a recognized UK retailer.
“Like us, Veetee has its eyes on sustainability at all times: targeting net zero carbon emissions, reducing single-use plastic and increasing closed-loop recycling – our MAP2030 target is to make all our packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable.
“It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Veetee on their transition to paper-based packaging.”
Mondi utilizes a customer-centric approach to assess the requirements of the product, customer, and consumer in order to provide a solution that is suitable for its intended purpose. This involves utilizing paper whenever feasible and plastic when it serves a practical purpose.
The company provided a complete in-house solution for Veetee, which included sourcing certified renewable materials, producing certified kraft paper, adding barrier functionality, printing it, and delivering the final paper-based reels to Veetee for conversion and filling.
The two companies collaborated closely throughout the entire creation process. As is the case with all food products, the packaging needed to have suitable barrier properties to protect the contents, in this instance, providing protection against moisture and ensuring a long shelf life.
The new packs have been certified by OPRL as widely accepted for kerbside recycling in the UK, making disposal easy for end users and supporting a circular economy.
Thanks to the high printability of Mondi’s FunctionalBarrier Paper, Veetee is able to communicate disposal messages on-pack, and retailers can clearly promote the brand and its different products on-shelf.
James Brett, Group Marketing Director for Veetee, added, “Our objective was to eliminate unsustainable packaging, and we are very proud to be the first in the UK market to achieve this with our paper packaging and unique Rice Box.
“Mondi shared our vision and was committed from the outset; the team’s expertise is second to none and we have both thoroughly enjoyed the collaboration.
“Following recent capital investments that have allowed us to handle this new paper packaging, we are thrilled to announce this launch, which we believe will be well-received by consumers.”
In January of last year, Veetee partnered with the Austrian company Coveris to introduce rice packaging that is fully recyclable. This packaging is intended for use by the supermarket chain Aldi.
