ILIP AT FRUIT LOGISTICA 2024: SUSTAINABILITY IN FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PACKAGING
The Bologna-based company heads off to Berlin with a range of industry solutions able to satisfy the renewed market demands. New features include the updated version of the protective punnet, the B40 Air Wave in R-PET.
(Bologna, 20th January 2024) The start date of Fruit Logistica, the Berlin trade fair scheduled for 7th to 9th February, is fast approaching and this year too, ILIP will be taking part with its innovative packaging solutions designed for the fruit and vegetable industry. Thermoformed punnets, trays and fruit nest trays will be presented in both traditional and recycled plastic, designed to protect and lengthen the shelf life of packaged products and satisfy packaging sustainability criteria increasingly demanded by industry operators and retailers.
The ILIP range is enhanced with an important new product set to draw the spotlight: the protective punnet B40 Air Wave in R-PET, 100% recyclable, with the base designed to cushion any impacts suffered during transport and in the sales outlets, with no need for the micro-bubble or cellulose absorbent pad. This product, which was already presented during the last edition, here flaunts a renewed version: the shape of the base has been redesigned to increase the cushioning effect.
Since it was first established, ILIP’s main aim has always been to reduce the environmental impact through specific programmes and projects throughout the value chain: from the raw materials to the production plants and logistics. Working in respect of the environment, employing the very best technology available, guaranteeing efficient use of energy, materials and natural resources, ILIP is committed to seeking out ever greater environmental sustainability. The group’s commitment in implementing the circular economy will be represented by the layout of the stand, situated in pavilion 5.2 Stand D-41.
“We develop our packaging to be sustainable” – Roberto Zanichelli, Director of Business Development and Marketing for ILIP explains – not only “because the interest shown by retailers, packagers and consumers in this aspect remains high, particularly when involving the start and end of the life of the product they are buying, but also because it is a precise company commitment. We are therefore strengthening our R-PET production capacity from tray to tray in a closed loop system that is part of our environmental sustainability policy hinged on three pillars, the 3Rs: Reduction in the use of raw materials and food waste, Recycling of R-PET plastic packaging in a closed loop in line with the concept of the circular economy and Renewable resources like bioplastics and cellulose materials. When developing new products, we always keep sustainability and ecodesign in the forefront. We will be unveiling “Air Wave” at Fruit Logistica, our heat-sealable punnet based on our B40 range, designed to package and protect soft and fragile fruit without the need for absorbent pads”.
The R-PET used by ILIP, which is one of the few European companies to have vertically integrated the PET recycling supply chain, is entirely traceable and the result of a virtuous process that makes it possible not only to recycle post-consumer bottles but also trays, to produce new food trays, thereby closing the tray-to-tray cycle.
From 7th to 9th February, it will therefore be possible to discover all the circular innovations and solutions on which ILIP is working at Pavilion 5.2, Stand D-41 of Fruit Logistica at the Berlin trade fair.