Consumers are now actively considering the environment alongside their individual health when buying food, according to Tetra Pak’s Index 2023. These environmentally conscious consumers labelled 'Climatarians’ are willing to alter their eating habits to protect the planet. The market for healthy foods is already well established, as consumers actively seek products that will have a positive impact on their physical wellbeing. But a significant majority now take a more holistic view: 70% say that healthy products should not harm the environment, while another 54% are willing to take responsibility for the planet and change their diet to contribute to a better world. This dual focus is reflected in the rising number of consumers consciously reducing the amount of meat they eat, known as 'flexitarians', with nearly half of all consumers saying they are reducing meat intake or excluding meat altogether.

Transcontinental Inc. announced that it has acquired Les Industries Flexipak Inc., a flexible packaging supplier located in Montréal, Québec, employing 55 people. The company is a converter specialized in flexographic printing, lamination as well as bag and pouch making, and has other value-added capabilities. Les Industries Flexipak Inc. offers a wide range of flexible packaging products serving consumer goods companies, food processors and retailers across several markets including frozen fruits and vegetables, seafood, snacks, grains, nuts and beverage (shrink films). It is the first flexible packaging company in Québec to be awarded BRC Packaging certification, a standard recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), with an AA grade. "I am excited to announce this fifth flexible packaging acquisition in North America – our first in the province of Québec – which marks yet another step in the development of our North American network," said François Olivier, President and Chief Executive Officer of TC Transcontinental. "This transaction extends our footprint to Eastern Canada by adding a Montréal-based facility equipped with a state-of-the-art platform, and gives us the opportunity to further develop our existing business relationships with retailers in the country. Driven by its belief in outstanding customer service and innovation, Flexipak has a strong family business culture that will naturally blend with ours. We are truly delighted to welcome Flexipak's employees to the TC Transcontinental family and look forward to growing our flexible packaging business with them." Click Read More below for additional information.

Mondi worked closely with Noel Alimentaria to identify the best possible packaging solution for their range of plant-based and meat food. The collaboration resulted in Noel Alimentaria choosing Mondi’s PerFORMing paper-based tray to pack its rebranded range of sliced plant-based food and vegetarian burgers ‘Verday’. Verday is used by Marks and Spencer’s for its ‘Plant Kitchen’ range in the UK and supplied to Nordic markets for ham and charcuterie products. Being formable, the trays can be moulded and adapted to a range of different-sized food products, with high symmetrical stretch for uniform formability, ideal for shallow food trays. PerFORMing offers strong barrier protection against moisture and oxygen, keeping the food fresh throughout the storage and distribution process. The trays consist of 80% paper compared to the industry standard where they are made of 100% plastic, which means the plastic content of the tray has been greatly reduced. The paper tray is designed for recycling and passed the recyclability tests by German institute PTS (Papiertechnische Stiftung, method RH:021/97).