Constantia Drukpol, a Polish plant of leading flexible packaging converter Constantia Flexibles, has collaborated with ExxonMobil, a prominent supplier of polyethylene resins, to develop an innovative freezer film for the plant-based food brand Bonduelle. The new mono-material polyethylene (PE) solution aims to replace traditional multi-material metalized films, making the packaging easier to recycle and better suited for a variety of vegetables.
Arnaud Warusfel, Packaging Development Manager at Bonduelle Europe Long Life, emphasized the project’s environmental goals, stating, “For our retail Frozen Bag Category, we aimed to replace our historical multi-material metalized film, which can be difficult to recycle. We selected a mono-material PE solution without adhesives to facilitate easier recycling compared to multi-material solutions.”
The collaboration faced challenges, but with the technical expertise of Constantia Drukpol and ExxonMobil, they successfully developed a solution suitable for both “easy to pack” vegetables such as peas and green beans, and “challenging to pack” vegetables like spinach and broccoli.
In lab tests, the reinforced solution for “challenging to pack” vegetables demonstrated superior puncture and tear resistance, leading Bonduelle to conduct a factory trial. The film performed excellently on Bonduelle’s vertical form fill seal (VFFS) packaging line, showing robust abrasion resistance and maintaining high speeds.
Marc Rademacher, Executive Vice President of Consumer Commercial at Constantia Flexibles, highlighted the collaboration’s success, stating, “ExxonMobil was responsible for polymer production, and our team at Constantia Drukpol focused on film production and excellence in printing. The results were impressive: The new packaging has also been positively welcomed by the market in terms of quality and aesthetics.”
The new packaging is recyclable in communities with programs and facilities in place that collect and recycle plastic film.