CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Made from polyethylene( PE), the new packaging was designed for recyclability and is a departure from traditional structures that are made with multilayer structures that combine plastic, paper and aluminium, which offer excellent barriers but make recycling processes difficult.“ We developed the first coffee packaging in Brazil that is fully recyclable. It’ s full PE packaging, so it can be recycled in a mechanical way or chemical way,” says Larissa.
The package design removes the internal metallisation layers of traditional coffee packaging, Valgroup says. But it meets the strict technical requirements of coffee packaging while maintaining the product’ s quality. Fully recyclable and aligned with the principles of the circular economy, the solution was adopted by Brazilian specialty coffee brand Catarina Coffee & Love.“ It’ s a perfect packaging, and we are trying to expand this with brands in general,” Larissa says.“ What is difficult is that people are resistant to not having multiple layers. They think it will not be as good as [ other products with ] multiple layers.“ But the packaging is totally perfect with multiple layers. What we are trying to do right now is show people that, where there is more technology involved,
96 June 2026