Coffee pod firm opts for aluminium packaging

By Paul Gander

- Last updated on GMT

John Farrer & Co has chosen aluminium over bioplastics for packaging
John Farrer & Co has chosen aluminium over bioplastics for packaging

Related tags Packaging & labelling

Coffee and tea merchant John Farrer & Co has chosen all-aluminium capsules for its first range of coffee pods after finding compostable bioplastics had failed to offer the necessary barrier while generating more complexity.

Despite compostable bioplastics being popular with new brands, their viability was “a hotly-debated area”,​ John Farrer & Co general manager Dave Walsh told Food Manufacture.

“The movement to reduce traditional plastics pushed us away from that option,”​ he said. “With compostable bioplastics, they tend to be packed in an outer bag, which provides the gas barrier.”

These biopolymers have the advantage that they can be composted with the used coffee grounds still inside them. But the Cumbrian company said that using aluminium for its Nespresso-compatible capsules inside a board outer was the least complex, and most easily recycled, combination.

“There is also a debate about just how readily compostable ‘compostable’ capsules really are,”​ Walsh added.

Related topics Drinks Operations

Related news

Show more

Follow us

Featured Jobs

View more

Webinars

PRODUCTS & SERVICES