Case Study

Introduction

A leading US-based global food retailer required a circular solution to eliminate single use EPS (styro/polystyrene) packaging used in their seafood supply chains. They had conducted a global search for a viable replacement to EPS fish boxes without success.

As a responsible food retailers, they had growing concerns around the potential for micro plastics entering our oceans and impacting the marine food chain. With landfill costs and compliance rising, future taxes, and potential bans in some US States, and a drive to show leadership in sustainable business practices they concluded if they could not find an existing solution, then they needed to partner with a company to develop the solution.

Challenge

FoodCap took on this task and we formed a team that included key personnel from the retailer and representatives from their seafood producers and US seafood packers.

Our retailer customers requirements were substantial, including:

  • A food safe, reusable and easily washable fish box with a long use life and insulation performance equivalent to EPS/styro boxes.

  • Lightweight to enable economic airfreighting when required, and be compatible with industry standard handling, conveying and pallets.

  • High strength and impact resistance to protect its valuable seafood contents better than the current EPS/styro boxes, as fish losses from crushing and contamination were common, due to the bottom layer of boxes on pallets arriving broken at the packer.

  • 100% recyclable, crumble resistance to eliminate micro plastic’s pollution, with a low environmental impact from manufacturing and no toxic chemicals used in their production.

  • Needed to be cost competitive.

Solution

The project took close to 30 months to complete. This included resin formulation, box design, prototyping and accelerated life cycle testing.  A substantial intercontinental proof-of-concept trial was carried out testing hygiene and robustness during multiple reuse circuits, with the result being FishCap Seafood Handling.

Design prototype FishCap capsules were produced with a nestable design ultimately being chosen due to its improved reverse logistics efficiency and cost.

FishCap met all of the retailers' requirements listed above and are now being used to transfer salmon into US packers.