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Shipping disruptions in the Red Sea have had a significant impact on supply chains, leading to increased prices of European flexible packaging materials in the first quarter of the year. Prices across almost every flexible packaging material posted modest price rises in first quarter of 2024, compared with the end of 2023, due mainly to disruptions in the supply of resin and film caused by the shipping security issues in the Red Sea. Demand remains flat across all material markets. Both HDPE (up 2,3%) and LDPE (up 4,1%) continued the steady upward trend seen in the second half of 2023. 20-micron BOPP film surged 12% and now stands at a price last seen in Q2 of 2023. 15-micron BOPA film added a more cautious 2%, while 12-micron PET gained 4%, pushing it close to its early 2023 price. Only 60gsm one-sided coated paper held steady, with no change compared to the final three months of last year. Across the board prices are still well below the levels seen at the start of 2023, with both aluminium foil (down 16%) and 60gsm one-sided coated paper (down 24%) leading the way. However, in comparison with the benchmark of Q1 2020 prices remain between 27% (BOPP) and 57% (aluminium foil) higher. Santiago Castro from leading analysts Wood Mackenzie interpreted the latest figures, “Prices paid in Europe for flexible packaging materials mostly increased in Q1 2024. This was the case for BOPET, BOPA, and BOPP, which experienced the most significant increase. Prices paid for paper remained unchanged, but price increases are expected during Q2 due to increases in the cost of pulp. Aluminium foil saw additional price decreases due to conversion cost reductions. Although overall demand has improved for all substrates, mainly this has been due to restocking. End-user demand remains weak, but there are signs of improvement.” Guido Aufdemkamp, Executive Director of FPE commented on the latest figures, “If anything there is more uncertainty in the market than there was at the end of last year. Escalating tensions in the Middle East generally and the continued threat to shipping in the Red Sea have caused major disruption in the supply chain. The war in Ukraine also continues to have an impact both on supply and wider European demand of packaging materials and packaged goods. These issues are not likely to go away in the near future. But it seems the extreme destocking has come to an end in most segments and restocking to a more normal level has begun slowly. This factor, combined with a cautious upturn in demand, as prices and inflation stabilize, could mean the market for flexible packaging materials in Europe is set for modest growth later this year.”

GNT, which supplies plant-based Exberry® colors, has identified “Regeneration Rising” as a key trend in the food and drink sector. The company’s analysis explores the growing global appreciation for the natural world and desire to protect the planet. This mindset is now intensifying the focus on the origins of raw materials and sustainable production. The Regeneration Rising trend is also inspiring new color palettes as brands seek to convey instinctive messages about how their products are created. The use of visually impactful colors that can be found growing on land and in the sea helps manufacturers to showcase products’ eco-credentials and build emotional connections with consumers. GNT has identified three new color directions in line with the trend. “Elevated Earth” involves earthy shades from red-browns and warm oranges to textured purples and inky teals, elevating products with an organic but premium look and feel. “Nature Lab” is about pushing the boundaries of what is considered natural and features a kaleidoscopic spectrum of green, pink, red, yellow, orange, and blue. Finally, “Wholesome Nostalgia” features yellows, greens, blues, peaches, and pinks that range from velvet-like to milky, translucent, muted, and dreamlike. Dieuwertje Raaijmakers, Marketing Communications Specialist at GNT Group, said: “Consumers of all ages are developing a much stronger interest in sustainability and rebuilding their relationships with the natural world. To appeal to these shoppers, food and beverage companies have to showcase their commitment to the planet. Color can play an important role in telling that story, helping brands create appealing products that send out strong visual signals about how they’re produced.” GNT has set out an ambition to lead the food coloring industry on sustainability. The company creates its Exberry® colors from fruits, vegetables, and plants and has set out a series of ambitious targets to optimize its environmental and social impacts at every stage of the value chain. Dieuwertje Raaijmakers said: “Our plant-based Exberry® colors can be used to deliver a full spectrum of shades while supporting products’ sustainability credentials. They allow brands to create products that tap into the new trends for earthy, rich, and dreamlike colors inspired by the planet.”

Throughout 2023, Cabka remained steadfast in its commitment to sustainability, achieving significant milestones, which underscore its leadership in the circularity movement within the Reusable Transport Packaging industry. Cabka's dedication to sustainability is exemplified by its remarkable achievement of 89% of raw material originating in plastic material recovery. This means that the company was able to increase the already high proportion of recycled materials intake by a further 3% compared to the previous year. This accomplishment significantly surpasses the European average of 14% recycled plastics and the target to get to 33% by 2030.¹, highlighting Cabka's pioneering role in reshaping industry standards. Notably, all products are 100% reusable, with clauses for take-back and recycling, further supporting the circularity ethos.

In recognition of its commitment to sustainability, Cabka attained "gold" status in the prestigious EcoVadis assessment for the first time in 2023. This underlines Cabka's exceptional performance across various sustainability metrics, elevating the company to be within the top 6% of rated organizations, a leap from the top 25% in just one year.

Moreover, Cabka's engagement with the Carbon Disclosure Program (CDP) underscores its dedication to addressing climate impacts. With a commendable B score, Cabka aligns itself with the overall performance of European companies, demonstrating its proactive stance in combating climate change. Cabka's performance surpasses the sector's average, being an average grade C across the plastic products manufacturing industry.

New training machine moves into the Gerhard Schubert Training Centre Schubert is continuously developing its state-of-the-art top-loading packaging machines. To ensure that customers and employees are always up to date with the latest technology, the company offers regular training courses at its Training Centre. The demand for these courses is high and Schubert has now invested in a new training machine so that it can continue to meet this demand. Schubert opened the new Training Centre at its main site in Crailsheim at the end of 2022. And a great deal has been achieved since then. The existing training portfolio was scrutinised and revised in view of responding even better to the specific requirements of customers and employees. In doing so, Schubert developed new formats and content and designed a series of online training courses in addition to the face-to-face courses. Schubert is currently supplementing its offering with a recently developed digital learning platform. Personnel capacities have also been increased. What was lacking, however, was a new training machine. Sarah Busch, Head of Customer Training at Gerhard Schubert, explains: “Our training concept is based on a well-balanced mix of traditional and digital learning content. Interactive courses and explanatory videos are a great way of understanding and familiarising yourself with certain topics, but some subjects are easier to learn when you are standing right at the machine with a trainer and a small team, and you have the opportunity to get hands-on and try things out. As our previous training machines were always fully booked, we decided to invest in a further model.” Typical exercises that are carried out on the new and previous packaging machines include standard activities such as referencing the robots, selecting new programs on the control panel, as well as relevant checks, maintenance, recognising and rectifying error messages and troubleshooting. The training also covers the various system components of the training machine, which is at the cutting edge of technology. From the Transmodul to the F2 and T5 robots to the 3D scanner, the aim is to build up important knowledge. Sarah Busch adds: “The training courses are very popular with both our employees and customers. With our new training machine, we can expand our capacities and offer significantly more training courses. Our customers and employees benefit from a practical training experience, which ultimately benefits everyone in their day-to-day work.”

The companies from Verden/Aller and Stuttgart have founded a sales and service company in the Netherlands. The newly established Vemag-Seydelmann NL B.V. is taking over the joint sales of the mechanical engineering companies as of March 1, 2024. Vemag CEO Andreas Bruns explains the customer benefits of the cooperation: "Thanks to the new partnership, we can offer our customers in the Netherlands an even broader machine portfolio and optimise planning, expert advice and service. This will enable us to support our customers even better, faster and more efficiently. The establishment of the new company brings together two strong partners who offer customers individual process solutions. With around 400 employees, Maschinenfabrik Seydelmann KG manufactures high-quality, high-performance machines for food processing such as cutters, pulverizers and mixers. Vemag Maschinenbau GmbH has around 900 employees and offers a comprehensive and innovative range of services for a constantly growing customer base. The Vemag concept consists of a standard filling machine and customized attachments. This modular system is flexible to meet the specific needs of the user and offers efficient solutions that cover production capacities from small to large and all applications from filling and portioning, forming and grinding, dough and batter dividing to innovative portion-to-pack solutions.

Herbstreith & Fox presents customised solutions for the development of recipes with reduced sugar for use in products such as confectionery and jam. Sugar holds an irresistible attraction for our palate and is a versatile foodstuff with many different uses. In food production it substantially influences the mouthfeel, consistency, viscosity, color and aroma of a product. Its conserving properties are a further plus point for the development of food products. In order to balance out all these functions in a reduced sugar product recipe, it is necessary to carefully balance the combination of ingredients. The popularity of reduced sugar versions is primarily influenced by the sensory qualities of the product. The more similar the mouthfeel and the taste experience is to the classic version, the more popular the product is with consumers. This means that focussing on a balanced combination of ingredients is not only of decisive importance for the sensory aspects but also for the market success of newly developed products with less sugar. Herbstreith & Fox presents customised solutions for the development of recipes with reduced sugar for use in products such as confectionery and jam. Our experienced specialists work closely with you on new developments or reformulation of existing recipes. The aim is a perfect solution for
• jams and fruit spreads with less sugar that satisfy the sensory requirements of consumers.
• fruit gum and jelly products with sugar substitutes that set reliably in the same way as customary sugar products.

15 April 2024 marks the start of the submission phase for the German Packaging Award 2024. Companies, organisations and individuals from home and abroad have until 31 May to submit their innovations and best solutions to Europe’s largest independent showcase for packaging. The award, organised by the German Packaging Institute (dvi), is decided by an independent jury of experts in 10 categories across all materials and sectors. And this year the application process is being made even easier with a new portal. “Innovations play a crucial role in shaping the future. They create new opportunities and overcome challenges. This is particularly the case with packaging, where innovations are the basis for growth, success and competitive advantage, for health, diversity, zest for and quality of life, for environmental and climate protection. The German Packaging Award puts this achievement centre stage – from the seemingly small detail to the all-encompassing new design. It celebrates the best solutions and pays tribute to the people behind them,” says Oliver Berndt, Head of Events & Marketing at the dvi.