KINGSVILLE, ON - With tremendous growth in organics in recent years, the need for packaging that caters to organic customers is greater than ever. Red Sun Farms is seeking to answer that call with its new fibre base top seal packaging on the company’s organic grape tomatoes.
I spoke with Harold Paivarinta, Director of Sales and Business Development, at Red Sun Farms about the company’s new packaging and how it may be just the thing to catch consumers' attention.
“There are slim options as far as packaging goes for organics, and with the current top seal craze, we wanted to offer something new,” said Paivarinta.
These fiber bases are made of 100% Canadian recycled wood and paper fiber. They are fully compostable, recyclable, and biodegradable, which the company expects will be a strong selling feature with the organic consumer. The only plastic used in the packaging is its signature top seal film, signaling a 90% reduction on plastic from typical rPET packaging.
In a study done by Earthcycle, a company involved in making the fibre bases, on a per unit basis, Red Sun’s new packaging uses 22% less fossil fuel than traditional rPET packaging, and creates 53% less greenhouse gas emissions.
“We developed the packaging with CKF, the company who makes Royal Chinet and they’ve been the perfect partner to work with. We only started working a year ago, and we’re already ready to run,” Paivarinta tells me.
The packaging is currently only being used for the company’s organic grape tomatoes, but mini cucumber packages are in Red Sun’s crosshairs as well. Current cucumber packaging mainly consists of plastic bags and styrofoam trays, but Paivarinta tells me he wants to see consistency in organic products being packaged sustainably as well.
When I ask Paivarinta about what makes Red Sun successful, he tells me simply: vertical integration.
“From seed selection, to propagation, and more, we control every link in the supply chain, and that's how we differentiate,” Paivarinta says. “Having stringent controls over every aspect is important to us, and we’re the only organization in all three NAFTA countries doing this.”
With over 30 new flavor-based product trials in North Virginia, 30 more in Mexico, and a 12-acre organic expansion in Virginia, it will definitely be worth watching what Red Sun will do next.
