Packaging Happenings: Retail-friendly downsizing, Asia's sustainable packaging advantage, refillable packs and more feature in our round-up

Sizing down to make it big: Ulu Hye revamps size of dairy-free mylk base jars amid retail push​

World-first dairy-free mylk base creator Ulu Hye has launched smaller versions of its products in preparation for entry into major supermarkets as well as expansion to overseas markets.

Ulu Hye established an entirely new plant-based dairy category with the invention of its dairy-free mylk bases, made with nuts and seeds, but all along its products have only been available in larger jars which would contain enough product to make 10L of mylk in total.

Having made its mark in the Australian market via health and bulk food stores as well as online platforms, the firm is now looking to enter major supermarkets as well as start exporting and has launched new ‘Mini Mylk Bases’ which can be made into 3L of mylk in total.

“The mylk bases are actually a very complex product to create, so we started with just the 10L jars only because that gave us enough margin for operations,”​ Ulu Hye Co-Founder Heidi Peuten told FoodNavigator-Asia​.

Asian advantage: Region has packaging sustainability edge over the West, but will retailers capitalise?​

Asia has the potential to lead the way in the food and beverage sector’s packaging sustainability endeavours, but retailer red tape and legacy mindsets need to quickly be overcome to achieve maximum impact.

That’s the view of Marina Tran-Vu, founder of eco-friendly drink straws firm EQUO, and the latest guest in our Trailblazers podcast.

Vietnam-based EQUO is best-known for creating eco-friendly straws with even higher sustainability and hygiene credentials over current metal or paper straws, which have also been launched internationally in Singapore.

Consumers more accepting of biocides in ‘environmentally friendly’ dairy drinks: China-NZ study​

Consumers tend to be more accepting of biocide labelling on dairy beverages if the term ‘environmentally friendly’ is also used on the packaging, according to researchers in China and New Zealand.

The joint study was conducted to provide industry guidance in view of several countries having implemented mandatory biocide labelling regulations, with New Zealand expected to follow suit in future.

Most (73% of Kiwi and 80% of Chinese participants) preferred the term 'sanitised production' to 'biocides used in production', mainly because ‘biocide’ was an unfamiliar word and sounded 'like something bad, like a pesticide', while ‘sanitised’ sounded 'clean'.

However, if a product had 'environmentally friendly biocide used in production' on the packaging, some participants were more accepting of biocide use.

Re-use and refill: Watsons retails Singapore’s first omega-3 refillable supplement pack​

Watsons Singapore has introduced a refillable omega-3 supplement pack for the first time in the country – with local supplement brand Ocean Health.

Retailing at SGD$29.90 (US$21.95), each refillable pack contains 190 soft gels, with each containing 1000mg of omega 3.

Prior to the launch, the product was sold at SGD$21.60 (US$15.86) for a regular bottle of 60 soft gels and SGD$32.50 (US$23.86) for a large bottle of 180 soft gels. The idea is that consumers refill their old plastic bottle with the new pack.

For a cleaner India: Food safety authority tightens proposals for recycled plastic packaging after pushback​

The Food Safety and Standards Authority India (FSSAI) has issued new, stricter standards to govern the use of recycled plastic for food packaging after facing pushback from a group of concerned scientific experts.

Previously all use of recycled plastics to package, store, carry or dispense any food items was prohibited in India under its Plastic Waste Management Rules. But in September last year, FSSAI released draft plastic waste management guidelines proposing to allow the use of recycled plastic for ready-to-eat or drink products.

According to FSSAI CEO Arun Singhal, this revision was designed as a positive move towards more efficient management of the country’s massive plastic waste, reported by a 2021 Minderoo Foundation report to stand at some 5.58 million tonnes annually.

“We are in the process of setting standards for recycled plastics, [and] as soon as that is done I think all of us can move towards reducing the plastic load of food industry in the country,"​ he said.