Zehnder steps up sustainable packaging and TVP products

International packaging company Zehnder Technologies has announced its new range of textured vegetable protein (TVP) and sustainable packaging products.

The company is already producing and exporting TVP made from sunflower while it finalises its patented solution for compostable disposable packaging.

CEO Alexie O’Brien said the company is currently raising capital for the final stages of branding, legal and R&D components and expects to release the packaging range in mid-2021.

O’Brien said Zehnder products will reshape both the $1.5 trillion meat market and the $85 billion fast-food packaging sector.

“We are long overdue for a change to outdated meat alternatives such as soy, pea and wheat, whose production models haven’t improved since the 1970s, and our technology enables this,” she said.

“Interestingly, it’s not the vegetarian or vegan market looking for new answers. Recent statistics show that most consumers looking for a drastic change are Generation-X meat eaters with serious concerns around health and the environment.

“The production of soy is extremely damaging to the environment, using up large areas of land mass and water, resulting in deforestation and existing on the market as a highly refined product.

“Our TVP products are made from sunflower, are firmer and more nutritious than most already in the market and have little to no difference in taste or texture bite than regular meat foodstuffs.

“This is the first real innovation in the meat substitute market since it began and provides a better outcome for the consumer and the planet.”

The company’s TVP product has been in the European market for more than six months as a white label product, with production expected to reach 120 tonnes a month by early 2021.

A fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brand, Botany Fields, will launch in December this year, and the product will be distributed across retail, foodservice and supermarket sectors.

Zehnder’s packaging arm, Zehnpak, is also finalising the commercialisation of its patented solution for compostable disposable packaging.

The company said the technology aims to disrupt the global takeaway disposable packaging market, including coffee and drinking cups, cutlery, plates and fresh food wrapping, which can be made at a lower cost in mass production than current packaging on the market.

O’Brien said that the company has found a cost-effective solution to change the way packaging is disposed of.

“Our packaging does not utilise chemicals, plastics, trees or coatings and uses less water than recycled paper, and the raw materials we use are low cost and available in industrial quantities, with standard base-grade product able to hold liquid for 72 hours,” she said.

“Best of all, it breaks down and starts to decompose within a week, leaving no residuals in the environment — it’s so safe you can eat it.”

The company’s TVP arm is expected to commence retail supply at scale by April, with a European manufacturing facility already in progress and targeted for completion by June 2021.

Product development for its compostable packaging will be finalised by April, with product sales expected to commence by June and a European manufacturing facility completed by September 2021.

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