Parkside is celebrating after its collaboration with Dark Woods Coffee saw it earn a prestigious World Coffee Innovation Award for its remarkable compostable coffee pouch.

The pouch, which took home the prize in the Packaging Innovation category, is entirely compostable, made from a home compostable flexible laminate and an industrially compostable CO2 valve. The pack is central to Dark Woods’ innovative closed-loop waste management system, which saw it collect compostable waste from its customers for use in its onsite composting facilities. The resulting compost was used to fertilize gardens at its roastery near Marsden, West Yorkshire.

“We always take a collaborative approach to any packaging project, and the success of our partnership with Dark Woods shows why,” said Paul McKeown, Group Sales Director at Parkside. “The team at Dark Woods had a clear vision of a zero-waste closed loop for their packaging, and all they were missing was that final piece of the puzzle – the packaging itself.

“The finished pack uses our Park2Nature™ material, which keeps the coffee beans fresh and the aromas locked inside. Meanwhile, the compostable valve lets fugitive CO2 emissions from the roasted beans out, without letting air in,” McKeown continued. “It was a real pleasure to work closely with the team at Dark Woods to solve that puzzle with our packaging solution, which combines great performance and functionality with sustainability.

“This awards success is poignant given much of the work that went into this creative partnership was driven by the late Paul Lenihan, our Sales Account Manager who sadly passed away earlier this year. Paul elevated everyone and everything he worked on, and this pack is no exception – and this wouldn’t have been possible without him.”

The award win comes amidst a string of successes for both Parkside and Dark Woods. Parkside solutions were nominated for five other awards in recent weeks including three Packaging News Awards, a Flexotech Award, and a Stationers’ Innovation Award. Dark Woods, meanwhile, struck gold at the Great Taste Awards 2024, taking home 22 Great Taste Awards plus a Golden Fork prize for Better Business.

“This is a testament to the vision of our brilliant team, and the experts at Parkside who bought into our vision completely,” said Damian Blackburn, Director at Dark Woods. “We’re committed to sourcing and roasting the best coffee in the world, but we’re also proud of our efforts to positively impact our community and environment. Our circular packaging strategy is central to those efforts, and we want to thank Parkside for making our vision into reality.”

To learn more about Parkside and its award-winning flexible packaging solutions, please visit www.parksideflex.com.