Following its successful introduction with Finnish dairy Valio, Tetra Pak has launched Tetra Rex Bio-based - the world’s first fully renewable package.
Valio has been selling its Valio Eila brand of lactose-free, semi-skimmed milk drink in Tetra Rex Bio-based for the past three months, and now plans to use the fully renewable package for other products in its range.
Valio will also use Tetra Pak’s 100% bio-based closures for all its gable-top packages.
Tetra Rex Bio-based is manufactured solely from a combination of plastics derived from sugar cane and paperboard.
The plastics can be traced back to its origin, affording the package the highest category of bio-based certification from Vincotte, the internationally-recognised assessment body.
The bio-based plastics used by Tetra Pak are produced by Brazilian chemical company, Braskem, which sources all of its feedstock from sugar cane, grown on degraded pastures.
Tetra Rex Bio-based recently won a Gold Award at the Pro2Pac Excellence Awards in the UK for the production of the world’s first carton made entirely from plant-based, renewable packaging materials.
The 100 per cent renewable package can be identified by the words “Tetra Rex Bio-based” printed on the gable of the package.
Tetra Rex Bio-based is now available in a range of sizes, from 250ml to 2000ml, for all chilled milk specifications.
Speaking on the announcement, Charles Brand, executive vice president of product management & commercial operations for Tetra Pak, said: “It is hugely rewarding to get such a positive response from both Valio and their consumers.”
He continued: “Tetra Rex Bio-based offers customers a fully renewable package made from materials that can be traced back to their plant-based source."
It is good for the environment, and it is excellent for communicating with consumers - the product they actually hold in their hands is derived entirely from plants, he said, adding that it is "the pack that grows back".
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