A Dutch supplier to cheese retailers is looking for sustainable transparent packaging film technology

Summary

A Dutch family owned business that develops and sells supplies to cheese retailers wants to make its product range more sustainable. Their PVC transparent packaging film is used to cover and keep pre-cut cheese parts longer fresh in the shop. For this film they are looking for a sustainable alternative with comparable food safety and user characteristics within the framework of a commercial agreement with technical assistance. This request is part of an open innovation challenge.

Description

A Dutch family owned business has been active in the development and sales of supplies for cheese retailers for more than 100 years. In the last 15 years the company has expanded internationally. Their product range consists of cutting, displaying, packaging tools and materials. In addition they also have a variety of table ware for consumers preparing and eating meals containing cheese. The company has the ambition to make its product range more sustainable which is also driven by current environmental regulations.
The specialist cheese shops, which can be regarded as their clients, apply a transparent polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cling film to cover, keep fresh and store pre-cut Gouda cheese. Due to environmental regulations PVC will not be allowed anymore for this application. The company has been scouting for sustainable alternatives intensively. And the companies clients already tested transparent PE film but this proved not to be strong enough for the Gouda cheeses that have a sturdy crust. Also did the PE film not cling as good to the cheese as the PVC.

That is why the company is looking for a sustainable alternative that fulfils the needed food safety and user characteristics. More in detail should the foil be able to endure the direct contact with food for a longer time. Tear resistance, clinging properties and transparency should preferably be comparable to PVC. When it comes to sustainability the company is interested and open to a broad field of possibilities such as:
- Base material: preferably recycled or biobased material
- Recyclability: only monopolymer, no PVC, material must be recyclable not only in the Netherlands but also in Europe and US.
- Biodegradable could also be an option as long as it meets food safety standards.
The company foresees a cooperative pilot project to test potential sustainable film innovations with the foreseen partner and together with their clients. And tune the characteristics of the film technology to their specific needs, leading to a commercial agreement with technical assistance.

This technology request refers to an innovation challenge published on an online open innovation platform till Nov 8th 2021. Organizations are invited to express their interest before the closing date. Interested parties can get additional information on the platform and browse free through other submissions. However to contribute to online discussions registration is necessary. All submissions on the platform will get feedback by the company. Mind that posts on this platform are not confidential. Besides open discussions on the platform, sharing of confidential information will be made possible on demand.
After closing of the challenge, the company will select some organisations from the ones that they have met on the platform for an online meeting November 19th to explore cooperation possibilities. In case there is still need for additional solutions after closing of the challenge, expressions of interest will be treated in the traditional way.

Expertise sought

See the description field for the (wish) list of technical specifications.
Specific expertise is sought in the field of: material science related to the field of food safety, food quality, film characteristics and film manufacturing. In addition also expertise in the field of plastic film recycling and environmental impact.

Stage of Development Comment

Since the company has not found packaging film technologies that fulfils their functional demands and is a leap forward when it comes to sustainability they are interested in innovative sustainable film technologies that could be tuned to their specific needs.

Requested Partner

Type of partner: company (SME), research organisation, university or combination of previous organisations.

Area of activity: material science related to the field of food safety, food quality, film characteristics and manufacturing. In addition also expertise in the field of plastic film recycling and environmental impact.

Task to be performed: set up a cooperative pilot project to test and evaluate an innovative sustainable cling film technology on functional aspects (tear resistance, handling) and sustainability. Sufficient food safety aspects are pre-conditional. Tune the film technology so that the most important demands are met.