Lima: home compostable packaging for an organic brand
Lima is a Belgian-based company offering high-quality, nutritious, organic food for conscious consumers. With more than 65 years of experience, they pioneered a return to organic agriculture and even lay the foundations for the European legislation. Reco2Bio is proud to have partnered with them in the development of a new, home compostable packaging for dry goods. Read on for more details on this innovative project.
Project challenge
As innovators with clear values, Lima's packaging is in line with their values: as environmentally friendly as possible. Yet, the packaging for some of their dried products (rice and pasta) was made from a multi-layer non-recyclable plastic film. The goal of the project was ambitious: develop a packaging that could guarantee a shelf life of 18 months for the food, provide a barrier against moisture and oxygen and that could be composted by the consumers themselves, at home.
Materials, technical design, production & legislation
During our collaboration, Reco2Bio advised and guided Lima in the development, production and implementation of their new, home compostable packaging. The technical composition of the packaging was redesigned and is now made of biomaterials rather than plastic. One of the goals of the project was to have a packaging that's durable enough to guarantee a shelf life of 18 months, yet at the same time compostable. Not just compostable in an industrial facility, but at home. It's these technical and design matters that make a project interesting! It requires all the expertise on the quality of the materials: thickness, density, impenetrability, how they decompose in different circumstances, ...
Obviously, all the legislative requirements for food safety were taken into account, so that Lima can confidently maintain its high-quality standards. The new packaging is certified along with the requirements of European bioplastics norm EN13432 and the available HOME composting regulations by e.g. TüV-Austria and DIN-Certco.
We are proud that we were able to design a packaging which met all the requirements and could still be produced in the same facility that Lima already had a long-standing relationship with - without the need to change machinery. It's this holistic view, during the entire design process, that makes all the difference.
Designing a new packaging is so much more than just assembly of new materials. It's the experience and insight in how materials interact and degrade, what is possible in terms of production facilities, how to not just comply with legislation but be on the forefront and develop solutions for the long term.
Work with us
Are you inspired by this project or interested to learn more details? Want to explore if we can help you with your packaging? Don't hesitate to contact us!