Juice bottles that are square instead of round and wine in lighter bottles or slim cans will become a more common sight on supermarket shelves as food and drink manufacturers prepare to make packaging lighter, cleaner and easier to recycle.
As Australians cycle through more than 7 million tonnes of paper, glass, plastic, metal and wood a year – the equivalent of 264 kilograms per person – food manufacturers are innovating on packaging to save on costs, reduce waste and stay a step ahead of new laws.
These moves are also likely to improve margins for major food retailers, as more compact packaging can mean more units can fit per pallet, making transport more efficient and reducing fuel costs. They’re also easier to stack, leading to fewer broken items.
Changes in food packaging can have a powerful effect on influencing shopping habits, said ANZ head of agribusiness insights Michael Whitehead. “Consumers talk about how much their buying behaviour is impacted by sustainability of a product,” he said.
“Does it irritate you when you see all the cucumbers wrapped in plastic? How do I make my muesli stand out on the shelf better than yours? Packaging is always mini-advertising.”
Innovation in food packaging has already resulted in lighter wine bottles and cans, salad packets that keep leaves fresher for longer through “tiny laser pinholes” that prevent fog and keep leaves crisp, and clearer labels that indicate whether something should be rubbished or recycled.
In his latest Food for Thought report, Whitehead outlined that packets that used multi-layered film now use a single plastic type that is detectable by scanners, ready-made meal trays are moving away from black (which is hard for scanners to detect), while more bottles are starting to shift towards a tethered cap that means the bottle and the lid can be sent to recycling together.
The developments can open up new markets, too: clever use of labels and QR codes readable by scanners can address specific requirements of various countries such as allergen and recycling information.
“One smart change at the factory can open several export markets at once,” Whitehead said. “Packaging has shifted from an end-of-line cost to a strategic tool that can boost product sales, unlock export access and shape brand reputation.”
About half of the wine industry’s carbon footprint comes from the production of glass bottles, said a spokesperson for Endeavour Group, which operates Dan Murphy’s and BWS. The company is a member of a global collective called the Sustainable Wine Roundtable, which has committed to reducing the weight of wine bottles.
“Traditional heavy glass packaging is estimated to generate about 34 per cent of all emissions from wine production in Australia, excluding emissions from transporting these bottles,” the spokesperson said.
“Endeavour Group aims to lead the Australian wine industry by partnering with our wine suppliers to reduce the average weight of glass bottles gradually.”
Supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles have their own sustainability targets aimed at circularity, or using materials that are recyclable or have recycled content. Woolworths has a target of 60 per cent recycled content in own-brand packaging, and says it has already achieved 51 per cent, while the majority (87.6 per cent) of Coles and Coles Liquor own-brand packaging is recyclable.
New rules loom
Currently, food packaging laws, waste management and single-use plastic vary across states and territories, which add extra burden to manufacturers, said Sarah Collier, the director of sustainability at the Australian Food & Grocery Council.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has indicated it will conduct further industry consultation to refine its approach to national packaging reform, following consultation held in late 2024 that garnered more than 400 submissions.
The draft regulation is expected to move the industry away from voluntary targets to a mandatory system that will set a minimum percentage of recycled material in packaging and ban toxic chemicals.
“We are hopeful the upcoming consultation to drive the federal government’s packaging regulations will remove the need for states to respond independently,” Collier said. “Changes to regulation must reflect the complexity of the food and grocery manufacturing sector and consider the whole packaging system and life cycle as part of a circular economy.”
Manufacturers had already been investing in innovation to improve packaging before the anticipated government reform, she said.
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Jessica Yun is a business reporter covering retail and food for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via Twitter or email.
