At Del Monte Fresh Produce, being innovative with packaging means enabling its products to be both accessible and convenient in a way that won’t be harmful to the Earth. Finding creative and sustainable solutions (the freshness of the product itself being paramount) is the most important aspect of the brand’s packaging efforts.
Having recycled more than 130,000 tons of plastic in Central America since 1994, Del Monte Fresh Produce remains at the forefront of developments in packaging technology to reduce plastics. Always working toward a more sustainable food future, innovation in packaging is necessary to overcome our food system’s dependency on single-use plastics.
Due to its packaging innovation efforts since 2010, Del Monte Fresh Produce has been able to save nearly six-million lbs. of plastic from its four-oz. plastic fruit cups. This comes from a massive effort to trim, lessen and remove all unnecessary materials from Del Monte Fresh Produce products.
Dionysios Christou, vice-president of Marketing at Del Monte Fresh Produce, says this effort to reduce single-use plastics and eliminate unnecessary packaging has largely fuelled Del Monte Fresh Produce’s quest for packaging innovation. Recently celebrated were Del Monte® film-sealed fruit cups — the brand’s approach to prepared fresh produce packaging, which keeps the product fresh and juicy (thereby enhancing overall consumer experience) was recently awarded Best New Packaging from the United Fresh Produce Association’s Innovation Awards.
“Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc. was thrilled to be awarded this year’s Innovation Award in Best New Packaging from the United Fresh Produce Association,” Christou says. “We’re extremely proud of our new Del Monte® film-sealed fruit cups and are confident they will meet the needs of consumers looking for wholesome snacking solutions while also aligning with our long-term sustainability goals.”
