In a world where more than 5 million plastic bottles are thrown away every hour and the US recycling rate is 34.5%, we need a consumer packaging solution that makes the beverages we consume more sustainable. Finally, it seems there may be a breakthrough in designing better consumer packaged goods – and its coming from a surprising source.
KFC chains in Britain are testing an edible cup for a new coffee brand it will be offering. While the cup isn’t yet available to the public, the concept is to use a wafer coated with sugar paper and lined with heat resistant white chocolate. This push for an eco-friendly cup comes on the heels of other innovations, such as Stonyfield’s Yogurt Pearls that do away with the standard plastic container.
(Image credit: KFC via The New York Times)
Although they’re an early adopter of the edible packaging concept, KFC is certainly not the first to come up with the idea. The question “If we don’t want to throw it away, can we eat it instead?” has been on our minds for some time now, and we’re excited to see this dream start to become a reality.
According to Philippe Loeb, VP Consumer Packaged Goods and Retail at Dassault Systèmes, “the ability to create innovative and sustainable packaging to appeal to consumers is of key importance to CPG brand manufacturers and in particular for Food & Beverage. To better connect with consumers, they want a platform that will let them explore the way new products will perform before, during and after their usage. This consumer-brand social collaborative approach will change the way new packaging are designed to become well eco-designed”
As seen with KFC, soon it may be not just the product, but also the packaging that can be consumed instead of recycled.
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