Feneberg Lebensmittel GmbH, a retail chain from southern Germany, now uses MonoFlow(re) PXC, a high-barrier PP flow-wrap film by Schur Flexibles, for its self-service minced meat products by Feneberg Butcher. The recyclable and sustainable flow-wrap is transparent and designed for fresh meat, cheese or fresh pasta, winning the German Packaging Award 2020 in the sustainability category.

The companies say that the switch to MonoFlow(re) from tray or thermoformed packaging allows for a 70% reduction of plastic used, saving 36 tons of plastic per year and optimizing energy consumption and space requirements during manufacture, storage and transport.

According to Christian Gareiß, head of production technology at Feneberg, it has seen a significant reduction in transport volume for packaging material by reducing the delivery from several pallets of trays down to only a few rolls of film instead. “By converting our minced meat packaging to a flow-wrap, we bring 35,700 kg less plastic into the market each year. This plastic no longer needs to be produced or transported as raw materials and as finished goods nor recycled by the consumer. In the past, a maximum of around 5,000 sales units were made with one pallet of packaging material. With our flow-wrap packaging we can produce up to 81,000 sales units with one single pallet. This means that if in the past 100 trucks have been needed to deliver the packaging material 'tray,' today only a maximum of seven trucks are on the road to deliver the film material that will then produce the same number of sales units.”

The packaging’s wide sealing range enables processing on existing flow-wrap lines and provides various levels of oxygen and water vapor barriers and flexo, gravure or digital printing. “A product as sensitive as fresh minced meat places high demands on the packaging. It goes without saying that this requires specialised, flexible packaging that does not compromise in terms of product protection,” says Max Wolfmaier, sustainability manager at Schur Flexibles.

For more information visit www.feneberg.de and www.schurflexibles.com.