Mondi, a global supplier of packaging and paper materials, IMA Ilapak, and Les Crudettes, a French company in the fresh vegetables market, have won three prizes at the French packaging awards and the Trophées de l’innovation LSA for a new paper packaging.

Mondi developed a recyclable functional barrier paper, which is converted on VFFS machines of IMA Ilapak, for a selection of Les Crudettes’ pre-washed, ready-to-eat salads.

Their solution won the environment and production categories at the French packaging awards, as well as the Trophées de l’innovation LSA.

Les Crudettes decided to replace the plastic bags for its fresh salads with Mondi’s new packaging. The new solution is 95% paper and verified as recyclable in the waste paper stream in France while keeping the salad fresh for up to 10 days – the same amount of time as with the previous plastic packaging. Mondi used its EcoSolutions approach to work closely with Les Crudettes in order to help the company meet its sustainability goals of reducing the amount of plastic in its packaging. The new packaging also supports Mondi’s MAP2030 sustainability goal to make 100% of its products reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

IMA Ilapak’s R&D efforts have resulted in the first solution specifically designed to perform using paper while ensuring the same performance as plastic packaging materials. The Vegatronic 6000 bagging machines produced for Les Crudettes are part of the Corporate Sustainability Program IMA Zero and IMA NOP (No Plastic), which have the ultimate goal of minimizing environmental impact in industrial manufacturing, embodying the Group’s dedication to change and aims to make a positive and eco-friendly impact.

Falk Paulsen, sales and business development director, Functional Paper and Films, Mondi, says, “The key to getting fit-for-purpose packaging solutions is to ask the right questions, and these awards recognize that. We worked closely with Les Crudettes and their machine manufacturer IMA Ilapak to ensure the transition to our functional barrier paper was smooth and effective, resulting in a truly ground-breaking packaging that can now be rolled out across other food groups.”

Géraldine Collet, marketing and innovation director, Les Crudettes, adds, “Making changes like this when existing solutions have worked for three decades is always a challenge for brands. When there is a strong desire to create better products and sustainable packaging, combined with collaborative effective ways of working, you often find success. These awards, given by packaging and retail experts, are a recognition of our ground-breaking innovation for the ready-to-eat salads market.”

Grégoire Duvot, managing director at IMA Ilapak France, states, ‘’These 2021 French packaging awards are the result of our IMA Ilapak R&D efforts to run quicker on vertical form fill seal machines when using paper-based material. In line with the IMA group’s NOP (‘NO Plastic’) project, our ultimate goal, we are accompanying manufacturers towards recyclable packaging, with profound consultancy on machine compatibility of different materials.”