Stora Enso and Picadeli Join Forces to Reduce Single-use Plastic in Salad Packaging

Stora Enso and Picadeli, Europe’s leading take-away salad bar company, are introducing renewable formed fiber lids to replace single-use plastics in take-away packaging. The lids are made of PureFiber™ by Stora Enso, and they are plastic-free, recyclable, and biodegradable. The innovation will help Picadeli reduce approximately 120 tonnes of plastic waste annually.

“Our strategic aim is to grow with sustainable, scalable, and innovative packaging solutions. We do this by supporting strong forerunner brands such as Picadeli in meeting the growing consumer demand for plastic-free and circular solutions. A salad bowl lid is a good example of an everyday single-use plastic item that can make an important difference on climate footprint when replaced by a sustainable alternative,” says Sohrab Kazemahvazi, SVP Formed Fiber at Stora Enso.

Packaging accounts for 40% of the world’s plastics, most of which are made from fossil oil. The carbon footprint of the PureFiber™ lid is up to 75% lower compared to alternative materials such as plastic or bagasse. PureFiber™ products are produced from wood-based formed fiber using green energy. They contain no plastic, no per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or any other forever chemicals. The lids provide a good user experience and tightly seal the food inside. The new formed fiber lids will be available for consumers at Picadeli salad bars starting March 2022.

“Food and sustainability have been much discussed in recent years but knowing how to make choices that are both healthy and come with a low carbon footprint is not always easy,” says David von Laskowski, Group CEO at Picadeli. “We work continuously to make tasty, sustainable, and healthy fast food more accessible. Launching the formed fiber lid will further reduce our carbon footprint, supporting our business strategy for sustainability.”

PureFiber™ can be used in a wide range of applications including single-use food packaging items such as plastic-free cups, bowls, clamshells, plates, and lids. PureFiber™ can also be used to replace plastic packaging for other industries, such as in agriculture, electronics, and cosmetics. Formed fiber is a growth business for Stora Enso, and the Group recently announced expansion of its formed fiber production capacity in Europe. The fiber raw material comes from sustainably managed forests.

About Picadeli

Picadeli is a Swedish salad pioneer, driven by the belief that fast food should be food that’s good for you. The idea is simple; through self-served salad bars, democratize healthy food by making it accessible, affordable and appetizing. Since the start in 2009, Picadeli has enabled the grocery retail and convenience stores to offer consumers a fresh and tasty concept and the high-tech salad bars are now to be found in some 2000 stores around Europe and the United States. The company currently has an annual turnover of more than SEK 1.4 billion which represents close to SEK 3 billion in retail value.

About Stora Enso

Part of the global bioeconomy, Stora Enso is a leading provider of renewable products in packaging, biomaterials, wooden construction and paper, and one of the largest private forest owners in the world. We believe that everything that is made from fossil-based materials today can be made from a tree tomorrow. Stora Enso has approximately 22,000 employees and our sales in 2021 were EUR 10.2 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy (STEAV, STERV) and Nasdaq Stockholm AB (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the USA as ADRs (SEOAY). storaenso.com

Contact:

Eeva Taimisto – Head of Communications, Packaging Solutions – tel. +358 40 172 3832

Source:  Stora Enso Oyj