Innovative packaging solutions for food

As part of the program to promote innovation of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), corsus is conducting the research project InNoPack together with ÖKOPOL GmbH and plietsch GbR. Behind the acronym is the title of the project, which already provides information about the objective: “Innovative and waste-avoiding system solutions for packaging-free grocery shopping”. The central question is how food can be brought to consumers in a more environmentally friendly way.

With the help of life cycle assessment studies, corsus is investigating the question of how unpackaged foods compare with packaged foods in terms of environmental impact. The results contribute to the development of holistic models for the environmentally friendly sale of unpackaged food.

To do this, a life-cycle perspective is adopted and particular attention is paid to how wholesalers handle unpackaged food and how packaging designs and logistics processes may differ from those of packaged products. There is also a particular focus on food waste, because if more waste is generated by unpackaged products, this could partially negate the savings made on packaging. Last but not least, unpackaged concepts must fit into the everyday lives of consumers: Only if the unpackaged products are suitable for everyday use and are also in demand can they make a noticeable contribution to waste avoidance and thus help to protect the environment and conserve resources. For this reason, the models developed will be tested in consumer studies and will continue to be developed even after the end of the project.

Duration: 1.1.2023-30.6.2025