Is veganism still shaping the UK’s grocery and foodservice markets?
Trying to pinpoint where veganism stands in the mindset of today’s consumer can be a tricky task. The movement undoubtedly gained huge traction over recent years but has this started to slow down?
Westpak wins ‘Sustainable Sourcing’ category at the ‘Sustainable Packaging News Awards’
Westpak are delighted to have been announced as winners for the ‘Sustainable Sourcing’ category at the first ever ‘Sustainable Packaging News Awards’. The awards are run by the Sustainable Packaging News website (spnews.com) and look to highlight key commitments and initiatives made to sustainability across the packaging sector. SPNews announced that the response to the […]
Grocery sustainability metrics have the potential to redefine the role of food packaging
It’s nearly a decade ago that the familiar ‘traffic light’ labelling system started appearing on supermarket items signalling key health metrics around calories, sugar, salt and fat content. Fast-forward to now, and a similar emphasis is emerging in the grocery industry around the signalling of environmental sustainability data for food items.
Profitability, reliability, differentiation and sustainability… are these your foodservice packaging headaches?
Profitability, reliability, differentiation and sustainability – through close discussion with our foodservice customer-base, these pillars have emerged as the prominent issues facing the UK’s foodservice industry. As we’ve discovered, an innovative approach is the key to overcoming these distinct challenges. Profitability, as potentially the biggest challenge the industry faces, is shaped by a multitude of […]
Is the economy threatening packaging sustainability?
Consumers and businesses alike are in the middle of a storm of economic challenges with spiralling energy costs, increasing business production costs, weakened consumer spending and soaring inflation all taking their toll. This economic backdrop raises key questions for sustainable practices in the food & packaging industry and the broader consumer mindset. Will more environmentally […]
Westpak are proud to be a ‘Smarrt Supporter’ of the Rapid Relief Team’s ‘Operation 322’, Delivering Aid to Ukraine
The Rapid Relief Team (RRT) is a charity offering tangible support and resources to humanitarian crises. As a reposes to the situation in Ukraine, the organisation has launched what it called ‘Operation 322’ with the purpose of delivering essential supplies to those displaced by the crisis.
Is peat the next major grocery sustainability issue?
The UK’s grocery retail industry certainly isn’t short of topical sustainability issues and initiatives. We’re accustomed to regular industry updates on issues such as plastic reduction, recycling figures, carbon footprint reduction, net zero ambitions, and reducing food wastage, to name a few. However, one of the industry’s arguably lesser publicised sustainability developments, the horticultural use of peat, could be starting to build momentum.
Where does vegan fast food go next?
The last few years have been hugely significant for veganism in the UK with many of the nation’s largest and best-known fast food franchises offering vegan menu items for the first time. For many, this was seen as the quick-service-industry’s first mainstream exploration into veganism with many chains heavily promoting their new plant-based menu items.
Production-led innovation sparks opportunities for fresh produce packaging
The food packaging industry is a rapidly evolving landscape of continuous product innovation and sustainable technology. However, sometimes innovations at the point of food production itself can, in turn, spur innovation further up the supply-chain. Similarly, new technologies in fresh produce production and preservation can open new possibilities for existing packaging technology.
Are grocery and foodservice still mutually exclusive?
Supermarket home delivery is something we’ve all become very accustomed to, and it’s easy to see why – determining the delivery date and time-slot for your weekly shop is the ideal convenience for fitting-in with our ever busy lifestyles. In addition to their convenience, these delivery services are also typically defined by their uniformity. That […]
