Wanted: 10 innovative solutions for packaging

Ten leading companies are looking for packaging solutions in the KVK-KIDV Business Challenge Innovative Packaging. The issues are diverse: they range from a wrinkling and tearing proof paper wrapper for chocolate to a sustainable packaging for a bunch of flowers and from a new system for waste streams of the catering industry to the reduction of packaging for construction materials. Hello Fresh, Heineken, UPS, Daklapack, Vermaat Groep and Tony's Chocolonely are among those participating in the challenge. The Chamber of Commerce (KVK) and the Netherlands Institute for Sustainable Packaging (KIDV) are calling on start-ups and other innovative companies to offer their solutions.

KVK and KIDV started working together on the Business Challenge in January. "Every organisation has innovative challenges, for which you can make good use of the brain and cloth power of other smart entrepreneurs" says Juri Heise, Corporate Innovation Manager at KVK. "We have been working with Business Challenges for 8 years now and this has generated many great solutions in all sorts of sectors. This is the first series focused on packaging. The knowledge and network of the KIDV make this special extra interesting."

In recent months, companies were able to submit their issues. This resulted in ten different challenges:

• How can HelloFresh, in collaboration with its ingredient suppliers, find new opportunities to reduce the weight of plastic used to package its in-box food products?
• How can Tony's Chocolonely make a flexible paper packaging for chocolate wrinkling and tearing proof on a shelf where you can still find a lot of plastic packaging?
• How can Heineken use innovative and inspiring solutions to engage their consumers to increase the amount of high quality glass recycling?
• How can BMN deliver palletized building materials at their customers with minimum or no packaging material?
• How can UPS provide biodegradable climate-friendly packaging and incentivize customers to industrially compost them through UPS?
• How can Koen Pack wrap a mixed flower bunch as sustainable as possible?
• How can AB Mauri develop packaging material with antimicrobial properties for packing industrially produced sliced bread?
• How can DaklaPack efficiently add a transparent window on a 100% recyclable paper-packaging for dry-foods?
• How can Vermaat Groep gain insight into the type of material and origin of waste flows (excl. organic waste), in a workable way at 400 restaurants? (Waste flows mainly consist of packaging materials.)
• How can DPD improve their (plastic) waste footprint in their end-2-end supply chain?

"The diversity of challenges shows that sustainable and innovative packaging is not only about less packaging," says Chris Bruijnes, managing director of the KIDV. "We want packaging to be harmless to people and the environment, but we are not there yet. This cooperation takes us one step further in that direction." 

National and international start-ups and other companies can offer their solutions for the above challenges. You can react via the chat on the open platform of the KVK Business Challenge. There you will find more information about the challenges and a short video or podcast. Questions can also be put to the challenge owners on the platform. The challenge closes on 12 July and each company will select its five best solutions. On 23 July, KVK and KIDV will hold a digital meeting between the challenge owners and the selected parties. After this meeting, the challenge owners can start to work with one or more parties to tackle the issue further together.

www.kvk.nl/businesschallenge