Ambient
Ambient is arguably the broadest of all the grocery categories, both in the number of different products and packaging types used. The ambient category includes all foodstuffs that have a medium to long shelf-life and which do not require chilling or freezing.
The product categories include:
Coffee and Tea
Jams and Pickles
Confectionery
Cakes and Biscuits
Tinned food
Cooking Sauces
Crisps and Snacks
Cereals
Cooking and Salad Oils
Rice and Pasta
Pet Food
Pack formats are glass bottles and jars, cans and cardboard packaging.
Scope for packaging optimisation and reductions in food waste:
There is huge potential for reducing packaging and improving product delivery, for example:
- down-gauging and de-layering to reduce packaging, considering primary, secondary and tertiary as a whole system; e.g. reducing the size of cardboard sleeves;
- compaction and concentration to increase the numbers of uses per pack, e.g. tomato puree, soups;
- use of refills, e.g. coffee;
- larger formats to reduce the packaging per use;
- merchandising solutions which can help reduce primary, secondary and tertiary packaging. Merchandising can also help to communicate to consumers what changes have been made to packaging;
- use of recycled content packaging;
- resealability to keep food fresher for longer;
- portion control to help consumers eat only what they need; and
- extending shelf life through material choice.
Work in progress
- Engagement with key retailers, trade associations, brands and the supply chain to identify priorities, opportunities for collaboration and potential in the sector;
- The creation of working groups from within the sector in conjunction with trade associations to improve resource efficiency throughout the supply chain on own-label and branded products.
- Stimulate innovation for new concepts for products with a low packaging or product impact;
- Self-dispensing to use reusable packaging;
- Review opportunities for further packaging optimisation;
- Greater use of recycled content;
- A number of research projects in the category have already been carried out, including work with brands such as Mars' Uncle Ben's range and Coca-Cola. (See GlassRite). Research will be published online and disseminated through working groups and trade associations, to facilitate change and wider uptake of optimised packaging solutions across the sector.
