B12 Creative Branding explains the importance of preventing waste generation and protecting nature through edible packaging.

Time to eat the burger wrapper and the coffee cup

In addition to ecological problems such as climate change, rising population, loss of biodiversity, drought and flooding, endless waste is bringing increasingly larger problems with each passing day. In particular, the consumption society created by the growing human population is accelerating the unstoppable rise in waste volume. At this point, ecological solutions, sustainable approaches and innovative technologies come into play. To reduce waste, which is a threat to the ecological system, edible packaging is increasingly gaining shelf space. Bürkan Çiftçigüzeli, Founder and Creative Director of B12 Creative Branding, who draws attention to the importance of packaging that extends product shelf life and can be consumed together with food products, stated that this packaging, also called bio-degradable packaging, would be a strong alternative to plastics. In today's world where sustainable approaches are gaining increasing importance, edible and biodegradable packaging materials offer consumers an ecological option. Bürkan Çiftçigüzeli, Founder and Creative Director of B12 Creative Branding, who states that 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into oceans every year and that food packaging plays a major role in this, emphasized that seeing new packaging materials and technologies in response to classical packaging techniques will be determining in the future understanding of production and consumption.

Edible packaging emerging instead of millions of tonnes of plastic

Saying that 3.5 million tonnes of waste per day is sufficiently alarming, Bürkan Çiftçigüzeli stated: "Even more alarming is where we are disposing of so much waste. The damage that plastic waste causes to nature is increasing with each passing day, even at a micro level, due to particles consumed by living ecosystems. In the face of this problem, scientists are not falling behind in the search for solutions. Making packaging waste much more ecological and even reducing the amount of waste we leave in nature by eating it sounds nice. Although packaging made from many different materials has its most economical production from plastic raw materials, and thus appears as a production method that many manufacturers resort to in order to reduce their costs under current conditions. Although millions of tonnes of plastic are attempted to be recycled every year, environmental pollution has now reached unprecedented levels, with countries looking for ways to send even their own waste to other countries. At this point, edible packaging produced to reduce waste has become the hope for consumers in the effort to save the world," he said.

Edible packaging disappears naturally while protecting the world

Pointing out that packaging made from healthy bio-ingredients such as corn, seaweed, potatoes and starch can be eaten, Çiftçigüzeli stated: "Moreover, these materials naturally disappear while also protecting the world. At this point, consumers become more selective about edible packaging for reasons such as it being environmentally friendly, made from natural ingredients, and consumable together with the product. Seaweed-based packaging developed by an Indonesian manufacturer, in addition to being tasteless and odourless, also contains abundant amounts of fibre, vitamins and minerals. When you don't want to eat it, the packaging dissolves in warm water and completely biodegrades, serving as a natural fertiliser for plants," he said.  

Strengthening brands' nature-friendly argument

Stating that edible packaging, being a different approach to packaging design, would also strengthen the brand's nature-friendly perception, Bürkan Çiftçigüzeli continued: "Rice-based packaging paper produced for a world-famous fast food chain allows burger wrappers to be consumed together with the burgers, while a coffee brand's cup can be easily eaten while sipping the coffee. More widespread use of edible packaging could perhaps be the end of single-use plastics and would be a perfect step in protecting the world."