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What opportunities do regenerative materials present for consumer goods and packaging value chains? Is it a scalable solution?
Pakka Inc. works to transform the sphere of Regenerative Packaging through innovations, collaborations and impact investments. The organisation focuses on the food carry, packaging and service space by manufacturing materials utilising sugarcane fiber (YashPakka.com), distributing compostable food serviceware (CHUK.in) and enabling solutions and collaboration in the space (GCAimpacts.org).
Founder, Ved Krishna, is passionate about leaving the planet cleaner and has over 20 years of experience with compostable packaging and agri pulping. Read on for his perspective on the possibilities of regenerative packaging, latest innovations and opportunities for scalability.
How would you define regenerative materials and what opportunity do they present for packaging suppliers?
Everything is packaged perfectly in nature. We can look at fruits, vegetables, organisms and even ourselves; we breathe through our skins, they give us form, keep us together, providing indications for expiry date nearing and eventually become nutritious for other organisms at the end of use. The packaging we create needs to be the same.
Humans have built excellent, well-designed substrates that enable our projects to have wonderful shelf life and increase value but we need to do more when it comes to resource planning, production systems and end of use.
We know that human ingenuity can change and adapt towards providing better biomaterials for packaging. Materials that will have a much lower footprint when it comes to input resource and production systems and materials that will eventually prove life enabling at the end of use. It is our responsibility to move fast towards that aspiration as packaging creators and suppliers.
How are material scientists innovating with packaging solutions that are regenerative? How are the complexities for flexible and rigid packaging being addressed?
It is wonderful to see the quantum of innovations and solutions that are becoming physical manifestations. We are seeing various solutions being created through uses of celluloses and starches ranging from Paper based to PLA, PHA’s and various other substrates using sea kelp and microbes.
The biggest challenge with packaging is that of barriers which have used a complex array of combinations and materials to block air and moisture to provide longer shelf life and performance characteristics to products being packaged. This is a challenge for natural materials as natural packaging is alive and breathing. That said, there are numerous examples in nature that use complex methodologies (lotus effect/ collagens) to block both air and water. We have to find and provide those solutions for protection.
Can regenerative materials meet demand at scale? How are brands and converters currently engaging with these materials? What needs to happen to scale these solutions in your opinion?
We have to meet demand at scale. That is the only way change can happen. I am seeing various solutions come in through the cellulosic and PLA route that are scalable. I am also hoping that more novel solutions like PHA’s and nano materials would be scaled. The immediate solutions could come
from celluloses but there will continue to be development specially utilising industrial wastes and offering value added solutions.
You’ll be joining us for the summit in London in May. What topics on the agenda are you most looking forward to hearing, and are there any connections you want to make from a networking perspective?
We are on a quest to find better natural barriers for building compostable flexible packaging solutions and creating large manufacturing facilities. I am excited to learn about development in the space and meet both potential customers and investors who are searching for regenerative packaging solutions.
To find out more, join Ved’s keynote pitch on ‘Innovating and Scaling Regenerative Packaging Globally’ at the Rethinking Materials Summit in London this May 16-17.