Sustainability has always been a very important concern for Nordsee GmbH. The leading supplier of fish specialities in Europe now relies on new sustainable packaging made of corrugated board. The packaging is used in the restaurant chain's out-of-home sales and replaces the previous plastic packaging.
Nordsee GmbH, headquartered in Bremerhaven, offers fish specialities for on-site and off-site consumption in over 350 branches throughout Germany. In order to transport baguettes, burgers and co. safely and also in an environmentally friendly way, the traditional company turned to Thimm: The aim of the packaging development was to find sustainable alternatives to the existing aluminium and plastic packaging.
For the new Nordsee snack boxes, the developers at Thimm rely on "ComBa®" papers with a sustainable water-based coating. These papers for the production of corrugated board for direct food contact, so-called foodWave®, are free of emulsifiers as well as solvents and reliably protect against liquids and fats. The snack boxes are currently produced in two sizes for the restaurant chain, so that all types of burgers, baguettes, burritos or wraps can find their place in them. Due to the high material stability of the F-flute, the boxes have similar properties to untreated solid board at the same specific grammage, but at a lower price. In addition, the snack boxes benefit from the good printability provided by the F-flute, as the low flute pitch creates a flat surface. The printing was done in flexo post print. The boxes are stackable and have retractable tabs to allow steam to escape.
For out-of-home platters, such as plaice fillet with potatoes and remoulade sauce, Thimm has also developed a three-part box: it consists of a printed lid flap box for the fish as well as variable 1/2 and 1/4 trays for side dishes and sauces. The boxes are also produced from foodWave® in F-flute, the inner trays are additionally made of the barrier-coated paper "ComBa®". In addition, the trays can be used to reheat the dishes in the microwave.
After use, consumers can add the new Nordsee packaging to the paper cycle via the waste paper bin. In this way, the sustainable packaging becomes a valuable recycled product from which paper can be made again. In addition to new take-away trays with integrated drink holders, which are also currently being produced by Thimm, the next joint developments for heat-resistant packaging are already in the starting blocks.
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