With OutNature, PreZero brings sustainable packaging based on the silphia plant to the retail trade.
With OutNature, PreZero is developing new and sustainable fibre and paper products for packaging solutions in trade and industry. After a successful pilot phase, the packaging based on the silphia plant is now being launched in the fruit and vegetable sector at Kaufland for the first time.
"The sustainable concept of OutNature has fully convinced us. With the new silphia packaging, we are strengthening the identity of our own brand K-Bio", says Jürgen Schartschinski, Head of Purchasing Fruit and Vegetables at Kaufland. Initially, the vegetable varieties cress, white and brown mushrooms as well as tomatoes of Kaufland's own brand K-Bio will be offered in the innovative packaging.
The silphia paper can be used in a variety of paper applications. The focus is on packaging applications, especially those with direct food contact. Dietmar Böhm, Managing Director of PreZero, adds: "The launch of our Silphie packaging at Kaufland is an excellent starting position for OutNature's market entry, so that in the future other customers will also be inspired by our innovative packaging solutions. With OutNature, we are tapping into a completely new source of raw materials and want to continue breaking new ground."
At the end of 2020, OutNature was awarded the German Packaging Prize in the "New Material" category for its novel idea of producing sustainable packaging from silphia fibres. This was followed at the beginning of 2021 by winning the prestigious WorldStar Award of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) in the category "Packaging Materials & Components".
The special thing about the idea is that the silphia is an energy plant that has so far been used exclusively for the production of biogas. By means of a biothermal process, OutNature separates the plant fibres before bioenergy production and thus makes them usable as a new raw material produced in Germany. In addition to replacing paper and cardboard packaging, the silphie products will also be tested as an alternative for conventional plastic packaging in the future. With OutNature, PreZero is making an important contribution to REset Plastic, the Schwarz Group's cross-group plastics strategy.
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