Sports supplements packaging: Suppliers present flexible plastic as solution to food waste, convenience and marketing

14 Jul 2021 --- As COVID-19 social restrictions gradually ease, global consumers are returning to gyms and reengaging with more active lifestyles. The burgeoning nutritional powder and energy bar markets resulting from this trend require increasingly convenient and environmentally responsible packaging, where flexible plastic formats remain a dominant force.

PackagingInsights explores trends in supplements packaging with flexible packaging suppliers Innovia Films, ProAmpac and Swiss Pack. This special report also zones in on Aptar Food + Beverage’s latest sports drinks closure innovation.

“The current trend within the protein and energy bar sector is focused on more healthy options, less sugar, and fewer preservatives,” explains Stephen Langstaff, business manager for packaging and industrials at Innovia Films. “This means the flexible packaging chosen to wrap them must provide protection and extend shelf life to prevent food waste.”

Innovia’s film barrier properties offer many options for keeping energy and protein bar taste, texture, and flavor intact. Notably, its Propafilm Strata range of monoweb or laminate films provides an effective barrier to aroma, mineral oils, and oxygen, even at high humidity. Meanwhile, its Encore films are manufactured from renewable non-food-based raw materials, reducing fossil-based material dependency.

Fighting food waste
Food waste is a major economic and ethical problem. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), it also represents approximately 8 percent of the world’s total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, making it a severe climate change contributor.

Ben Davis, ProAmpac’s product manager for pouches and bags, explains that extending the shelf life of food powders through packaging innovation requires some unique considerations. “From a product protection standpoint, a high moisture barrier and excellent drop performance are critical. Moisture ingress could cause the powder to clump together and reduce the shelf life,” he notes.

Innovia Films’ high-barrier protein bars wrapper.“Many protein powder pouches contain quantities intended to last for 30 days, so they may range from 1 lb to 12 lbs or more. The package must be designed to withstand a drop from the counter or pantry shelf without rupturing and spilling the product.”

ProAmpac is a leading supplier for various powdered food packaging formats, ranging from small single doses to large bulk packaging, spanning numerous material substrate options. For applications in the 1 lb to 15 lb range, it offers Pro-Pouch stand-up and quad seal pouches engineered to produce a reliable, high-performance package. For institutional or foodservice powdered food applications up to 50 lbs, it has a range of paper-based and film-based options available. Moreover, its Pro-Tear Stick Packs provide brands with a to-go or single-use option for supplement powders like fiber or hydration drink mixes.

Lightening the carbon load
Flexible plastic also helps alleviate the climate crisis by offering a lighter solution to plastic tubs, as well as carbon reduction and recyclability gains over paper-plastic pouch combinations or bioplastics.

“Traditionally, protein powders were packed in large plastic tubs to hold 5 kg or 6 kg of powder,” explains Keval Malde, sales director at Swiss Pack. “The trend is now moving toward flexible packaging in smaller product weights of 500 g to 1 kg or 2 kg. The main advantage of flexible packaging against the traditional plastic tub is a lower environmental impact, as pouches are much lighter, hence easier and more cost-effective to store and transport.”

Swiss Pack offers recyclable, monolayer plastics as well as compostable materials. It has partnered with environmental consultant Giraffe Innovation on carbon footprint calculations for all its pouch types. Moreover, its pouches with multilayer films can also be recycled industrially by waste managers like Enval and TerraCycle, while UK supermarkets Tesco and Sainsbury’s also accept them in their in-store recycling schemes. Swiss Pack’s customers include USN, Everlast, Protein Works, Applied Nutrition, LighterLife, and Harrison Sport Nutrition.

“An added benefit of flexible material compared with a rigid tub or canister is it can be folded or rolled to take less space in the pantry as the product is consumed,” adds Davis at ProAmpac. “It can also be easier to hold for various hand sizes.”

Not papering over the cracks
Meanwhile, Langstaff at Innovia warns that replacing plastics with paper-based or bioplastic alternatives will not improve environmental sustainability. “Paper has been shown to have a very energy-intensive production process and therefore gives a higher carbon footprint than the equivalent plastic film,” he points out.

ProAmpac’s reclosable protein powder pouch.“Packaging designers and technologists will need to start considering the life-cycle assessment (LCA) of the materials they choose. Replacing a fully recyclable plastic tray or flexible film with paper laminated to film to make the packaging look more natural only makes the issue worse, as this is harder or impossible to recycle.”

Innovia has developed an in-house LCA system to provide carbon data for its packaging. According to Langstaff, paper or biopolymer packs can also increase carbon footprint due to their lack of functionality in preventing food waste.

“Equally, brands need to realize bioplastics cannot be recycled with traditional flexible films as they would contaminate the process. If collected, they would require their own waste stream, which may confuse consumers,” he adds.

“Biodegradable products are also being promoted as the optimum end-of-life solution. However, this will add significantly to the carbon footprint as these products release carbon dioxide and methane.”

Flexible marketing platforms
Both ProAmpac and Swiss Pack offer paper surface enhancements for packaging that look and feel like paper but are made of plastic films. These enhancements elicit perceptions of nature, while avoiding the recyclability issues associated with the inseparability of paper and plastic films. 

“The ability to stand out on the store shelf is key,” notes Davis at ProAmpac. “Clear messaging and an eye-catching graphical appearance help the product stand out at the point of purchase. Maintaining a brand presence in the home is also a helpful way to drive repeat purchases.”

ProAmpac offers premium graphics through high-definition flexographic printing and various options for package finishes and textures, including PaperTouch, SoftTouch, and the Registered Matte option for glossy areas that “pop” against a matte background.

Likewise, Swiss Pack’s pouches can be enhanced with vibrant finishes like metallic and holographic, including for its most recent spout pouches for ready-to-drink protein shakes and meal replacement powders.

Aptar’s tamper-evident Rocket closure.“As protein products are now sold in multiple countries, flat bottom pouch packaging formats provide enough space for all nutritional information and multiple language formats to be displayed clearly as opposed to limited space on plastic tubs,” highlights Malde at Swiss Pack.

Since powder packaging is often intended to be used multiple times, robust reclose features are also a “must-have,” Davis adds. “Zippers are the dominant reclose form, and they should be specified to function well, even if powder falls into the zipper’s crevices.”

Sports cap innovation
Meanwhile, in the sports drinks closures space, environmental sustainability, affordability, safety and convenience are the key innovation drivers, Arthur Lenoir, product marketing director for EMEA at Aptar Food + Beverage, tells PackagingInsights.

Aptar’s sports cap NPD centers on lightweighting, reducing resin and masterbatch usage, and creating non-detachable solutions.

“We work closely with non-profit associations, making sure the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) tethered cap requirements are met,” says Lenoir. Tethered caps will become a requirement for EU Member States from July 2024.

Moreover, all Aptar’s closures – including its most recent launch, the Rocket closure – use only PP and HDPE resins, as these materials are compliant with existing recycling streams.

The tamper-evident Rocket closure provides a convenient opening through improved finger reset functionality, comfortable drinking through a hinge with no spring back effect once opened and large opening angle, and ease of closing while ensuring the cap makes a sound during closing to avoid leakages.

By Joshua Poole