Marketing organic and fair-trade dried fruits. Agro-Sourcing is considering the packaging of its products in order to minimize its ecological footprint. A challenge facing the entire organic sector.
Depuis plus de 15 ans, Agro Sourcing travels the world in search of dried fruits sold under the brand "Direct Producers Fruits Secs" (became a Nugget in October). Its success is based on the construction of exemplary sectors, based on the highest standards in organic farming and fair trade. Selection of the best fruits, researches the most gentle drying methods, and constant support for producers, all in total transparency. It is in this logic that the company is considering the problem of packaging : plastic including the food sector, including organic, fails to happen due to lack of completely satisfactory alternative solutions. Designing greener packaging is not easy. Several constraints must be taken into account. Compliance with food regulations. Optimal preservation of products to preserve their taste and nutritional qualities (the pack must act as a barrier to light and humidity to guarantee good storage). The visibility of the fruits, acclaimed by consumers. Practical packaging to use (that is to say reclosable and which stands up). A design that makes people want and lets consumers know what they are buying (traceability, origin…). And of course a specific effort for the recyclability of packaging. Le chemin vers un pack « 100% propre» est donc long et n’est pas complètement abouti à ce jour. Even if the industrial solutions of packaging professionals and recycling channels are constantly evolving, things are not going as fast as we would like.
Ecological
The bi-material stage
In terms of packaging, AgroSourcing explains where it is, Consequently, in a process of continuous improvement allowing solutions to be advanced combining product integrity and respect for the environment. On this plane, the bi-material constitutes for the company, in 2020, une nouvelle étape après la passage en 2018 au doypack (with closable zip and visibility window to see the fruits) which reduces the size of the packaging and therefore reduces the amount of plastic used. Après aussi en 2019, commitment to the Collectibio program, a collective of organic brands implementing the recycling of their plastic packaging that is not covered by the current channels Citeo. Près de 20 tonnes de plastique récupérés par TerraCycle ont ainsi pu être broyés puis transformés en granules de plastique pour devenir de nouveaux objets du quotidien. The bi-material combines kraft paper and plastic in the packaging. Benefits: elle réduit de 63 % la quantité de plastique, and the new bags are now recyclable in the paper sector. Kraft paper is made from wood pulp from French and European forests, sustainably managed and PEFC certified. Polyethylene plastic (ON) remains necessary to meet the constraints of barriers to humidity and oxygen for the good conservation of our fruits. Finally, the glues and inks are of plant origin.
"Manufactured, printed and soon recycled in France, these packs contribute, in the context of a long-term commitment, to reduce our ecological footprint ”
summarizes AgroSourcing.
A new brand name : PEPITE
In a desire for simplicity and modernization, The AgroSourcing company has decided to rename the brand "Direct Producers Dry Fruits" to "Nuggets". A shorter name, easier to remember and more "communicative". At the store, les emballages passent progressivement sous la marque « Pépite » depuis octobre 2020 et la transition s’opèrera jusqu’en 2021.
