One of the best ways for a brand owner to determine what aspects of their packaging have the greatest environmental impact is to conduct a thorough Life Cycle Assessment. Recently, Mars Drinks, a division of Mars, Inc. that provides vending and single-serve hot-beverage systems for workplace environments, commissioned such a study of its Freshpack pouch.
The Freshpack, which measures 2¾ x 4 in. for coffee and 2 x 4 in. for tea, is used in conjunction with Mars Drinks’ workplace brewing systems to produce single servings of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or specialty drinks. Engaging with the brewer by way of a polypropylene fitment at its top, the pouch protects the coffee and tea ingredients from light and air, keeping them fresh until the moment the drink is brewed. Says Samantha Veide, Global Director, Corporate Sustainable Solutions, Mars Drinks, “The Freshpack technology ensures quality and consistency cup after cup.”
As part of its goal to become “the most sustainable workplace drinks solution by 2020,” Mars Drinks recently analyzed the environmental impact of its Freshpack through all stages of production—from raw material extraction through distribution—to determine where changes could be made to reduce its carbon footprint.
“Increasingly, people at work want to know they have chosen a sustainable workplace drinks solution,” says Veide. “Customers have told us their number-one sustainable issue when it comes to workplace drinks solutions is solving the packaging challenge. That’s why we placed such a priority on rethinking our Freshpack design.”
The LCA was conducted by WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff of Montreal. They discovered that raw material extraction of aluminum was the most significant contributor to the carbon footprint of the raw materials in the package. The pouch at that time was constructed of three layers: one aluminum layer sandwiched between two layers of film.
By removing that layer, Mars Drinks was able to reduce the carbon footprint of the Freshpack by 31%. The pouch is now a two-layer lamination of polypropylene and polyester, from a proprietary supplier. Despite the change, Veide notes the pouch still provides the same functionality. “The aluminum provided the protection for ingredients to maintain freshness,” she says. “Through our packaging innovation process, we were able to remove the aluminum, while maintaining the high quality that people have come to expect.”
With the change in structure, Mars Drinks also updated the graphics for the pouch to signal to consumers that something had changed. The new look streamlines drink selection by including a bright navigation tab at the top of the pack. Also new, a quality descriptor highlights that there is fresh ground coffee inside, and creative icons invite customers to try new flavors. On the back of the coffee and tea packs, a see-through window reinforces the freshness of the ingredients. “Overall, the new look complements the modern workplace,” says Veide.
When customers are finished with the packs, they can recycle them through Mars Drinks’ Recycle Your Freshpacks program. Once the pouches are collected, they are shredded, and the material is sorted into compostable and non-compostable materials. Compostable materials, such as spent coffee grounds and tea leaves, are sent to a composting facility and become natural garden fertilizer. Non-compostable packaging materials are combined with similar materials and are reprocessed into pellet form.
Mars Drinks distributes its products in Canada, the U.K., Germany, France, China, and Japan. As of year-end 2016, all 36 of Mars Drinks’ U.S. Freshpack SKUs became available in the new package.
