Sustainable Pet Food Packaging

Mondi expands capacity in sustainable pet food packaging solutions. Mondi is investing approximately EUR 65 million across three flexible packaging facilities in Europe to meet rising customer demand for sustainable pet food packaging solutions. The European pet food market has grown significantly in recent years due to continued increases in pet ownership. This trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and is expected to persist for many years.[1] [caption id="attachment_142982" align="aligncenter"] Image Source: Mondi[/caption] The project is part of Mondi's previously announced EUR 1 billion expansion capital investment programme to accelerate growth in sustainable packaging and will further strengthen the company's leading position in the pet food packaging market. Work has commenced at Mondi Korneuburg (Austria), involving new state-of-the-art machinery and equipment investments alongside an expanded production area. These improvements will increase capacity and consolidate the site's position as market leader in pre-made retort pouches for wet pet food. The group is also investing in new advanced machinery at Mondi Halle and Mondi Steinfeld in Germany to increase production capacity for sustainable ready bag solutions for pet food as well as home and personal care products. This will enable future growth and support customers in transitioning from multi-layer non-recyclable packaging to more sustainable alternatives such as single-material recyclable stand-up pouches and paper-based pre-made bags. Dirk Gabriel, Chief Operating Officer of Mondi Consumer Flexibles, states: "We take pride in being an innovative and agile partner for our customers. With this investment, we continue to lead in design-led sustainable packaging solutions, particularly in the pet food sector. This investment also supports our Mondi Action Plan 2030 (MAP2030) sustainability framework, which focuses on circular-driven solutions created by empowered people taking climate action. Through these projects, we are interconnecting our production network while increasing operational efficiency and reducing our own energy consumption." [1] According to Wood Mackenzie 2020 (PCI), wet pet food demand is estimated to grow at 5% annually between 2020 and 2025. SOURCE