Peeze wins award with circular coffee packaging

Koffiebranderij Peeze from Arnhem has won an innovation award for a new packaging concept. The company finished first at the Gelderse Circulaire Innovatie Top. The award was presented in the category Circular Chain Collaborations. The jury honored the concept Geen Verpakking©, developed by Peeze together with customers and cupXchange.

Reusable buckets instead of foil

In the out-of-home market, large volumes of coffee move through the supply chain. That also means a lot of packaging material. Plastic foil and cardboard in particular create substantial waste streams. Peeze wants to address that. With the concept Geen Verpakking©, Peeze replaces traditional foil packaging with sturdy, reusable buckets. The buckets are filled, delivered, collected, cleaned, and then used again.

After use, they are cleaned and put back into circulation.

This creates a closed system without single-use packaging. According to Peeze, this leads to less waste and reduced use of raw materials. The environmental impact of the packaging is also lower. This only works with strong collaboration across the chain. Suppliers and customers align their processes. The result is a circular system that the company says can be scaled.

Concept already in use at several organizations

The system is already being used at multiple locations. These include Burgers’ Zoo, Unigarant, Witteveen+Bos, FMO Bank, Apenheul and Nyenrode. The packaging concept has now been in place for about two years. During that time, around 15,000 square meters of plastic foil have been saved annually. That equals roughly three soccer fields.

Cardboard use is also reduced. The saving amounts to about 7,500 square meters per year. In addition, the system creates jobs for people who are distanced from the labor market. In total, it accounts for more than 900 hours of employment each year.

Jury highlights environmental and social impact

For the jury, the packaging itself was not the only factor. The broad vision on sustainable packaging was cited as an important reason for the award. The research behind the concept and the practical tests with different customers also played a role. According to the jury, the initiative shows that circular collaboration is achievable.

“This prize is a wonderful recognition of the belief and hard work of our team and our partners. We are showing that reusable packaging can scale and truly make an impact,” said Rik van Paassen, Sustainability Manager at Koffiebranderij Peeze. With this win, Peeze will represent the province of Gelderland in the national final of the Circulaire Innovatie Top. Inexeon and Circle Solution will also participate as winners in other categories.

Peeze.nl