“For every sustainable food conversation you hear about, I feel like there’s a third as many things about the packaging, and that’s sort of the elephant in the room.” Mike Lee, Founder, The Future Market
Jason Young from the Durban South Africa office attended the Canton Fair Phase 2 in Guangzhou China, as well as the Hong Kong Lifestyle Fair at Hong Kong Airport with Connie, Alex, Jeffery and Ivy from the OMNI Hong Kong office. This was also Jason’s experience as far as non-food goes. In his own words:
Sustainability:
One of the most noticeable step changes was the implementation of sustainability across all platforms. The use of packaging, going from the “normal” LDPE or Polyprop, to biodegradable and compostable paper/cardboard and PLA material.
The use of PLA (polylactide resin) was evident in everything, from the main component of a toothbrush (being the handle) down to the lining of a coffee cup to prevent leakage. There was also a great shift towards “natural” products such as bamboo utensils, bamboo toothbrushes, wooden plates and begasse moulded plates and cups.
‘Begasse’ as Jason explained to me, is a by-product from sugar cane processing.
Packaging:
Besides the growth of paper packaging there was one product which stuck out to me as beautifully convenient. Peanut butter in a doy pack, allowing easy transfer of product to bread/toast/mouth without the use of extra utensils and making more mess for yourself. It’s also travel friendly making it a snacking alternative whilst on the go. This type of convenience, with sustainable packaging would be a win win in my eyes.