Alcohol Packaging is Changing Fast—Is Your Brand Ready?
The long-standing popularity of glass bottles for alcohol is slowly shattering. Their energy-intensive production and heavy weight in transportation increase carbon emissions, prompting stricter regulations. The European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), requires all packaging to be recyclable by 2030. Meanwhile, the UK’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) tax could push glass recycling costs […]
Alcohol Industry Found PPWR Compliant Solution with PET Refillable Bottles
The European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which took effect on February 11, 2025, aims to reduce packaging waste and promote a circular economy. This regulation mandates that all packaging be recyclable by 2030, with specific targets for waste reduction: a 5% decrease by 2030, 10% by 2035, and 15% by 2040, using […]
Membrane-Based Lithium Extraction: Sustainable Solution or Overhyped Promise?
Membrane-based lithium extraction has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional lithium extraction methods, offering cleaner and more efficient processes. Some advanced membrane technologies, like ElectraLith’s DLE-R, can extract lithium without water or chemicals. This process significantly reduces the environmental footprint of lithium extraction. However, it also has some drawbacks. These include high cost, durability […]
Promising Innovations that Address the Gallium Supply Shortage in 2025
China’s recent gallium export restrictions have shown how easily shaken the global supply chains are. The country holds over 98% of the worldwide primary gallium production, which has caused massive global price fluctuations. This is because China has rich bauxite and zinc ore deposits with extensive refining infrastructure to extract gallium. Recent export restrictions from China have […]
Nestlé and Danone’s Baby Steps Towards Solving Digestibility & Allergy Issues in Infant Nutrition
In 2022, Abbott’s formula contamination led to a $170 million sales drop in the U.S. in one quarter. This opened the market for infant nutrition companies like Nestle and Danone to fill the gap with safer and more compliant formulas. Nestlé developed age-specific formulas with the right protein and fat to help infant growth and […]
Safe & Scalable Red Dye No. 3 Alternatives for Food and Pharmaceuticals
The U.S. FDA banned Red Dye No. 3 in foods, dietary supplements, and oral medicines. The dye’s links to potential health risks have fueled public demand for cleaner, additive-free products. U.S. food manufacturers must find Red Dye No. 3 alternatives and remove them by January 2027, and pharmaceutical companies by January 2028. Globally, the issue […]
What Packaging challenges the Pharma Industry should focus in 2025?
According to Deloitte, the biopharma industry generates 300 million tons of plastic waste annually, much of which is single-use. In 2025, three significant challenges stand out for the pharmaceutical packaging industry. Key challenges in pharmaceutical packaging include balancing sustainability with drug protection, as eco-friendly materials must meet stringent safety standards; improving anti-counterfeiting and supply chain […]
5 Bottle Caps and Closure Innovation Trends to Watch in 2025
CG Roxane has recently changed its Alpine Spring Water bottle lids from detachable screw closures to EZ-Caps (tethered caps). Coca-Cola, The Absolut Company, and Coverpla make similar changes to their caps. What’s driving these changes? The three main reasons are sustainability goals, consumer preference, and updated government regulations, including EU directive 2019/904 and California’s AB […]
Make your company EUDR compliant and save forests with this nut
The European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requires companies to ensure their commodities—like palm oil, cocoa butter, and shea butter—are free from links to deforestation. However, traditional shea butter production methods rely heavily on firewood, leading to deforestation. This puts brands at risk of non-compliance. Set to take effect in 2025, food and cosmetics brands face […]
Ex-IBM leader turns brewery waste into sustainable egg white protein alternative
Replicating the unique functionality of egg whites, like foaming, binding, and gelling, has long been a critical challenge for the alternative protein industry. Their traditional production comes with steep trade-offs, requiring large amounts of water, land, and feed for chickens, and have Carbon emissions ~2,600 kg CO2-eq per cycle, with chicken feed contributing the majority. […]
This 3000x sweeter than sugar protein secured US regulatory approval
Reducing sugar in food without sacrificing taste has been one of the toughest challenges for the food industry. Many sugar alternatives either don’t taste the same or fail to work well in recipes. With over 74% of packaged foods containing added sugars, the global sugar reduction efforts have intensified. Yet, natural sweeteners like stevia and […]
This device could double IVF treatment success rates by 2030
Sperm selection is one of the biggest challenges in fertility treatments today. Nearly one in six people globally face infertility, yet current technologies struggle to match the natural process of selecting the healthiest sperm. This gap often leads to lower success rates in treatments like IVF, leaving couples with limited options and uncertain outcomes. A […]
How is this bio-Ink 3D printing skin, cardiac tissue, and blood vessels?
Creating complex tissues and organs in the lab is a big challenge in tissue engineering. The lack of high-quality biomaterials for stem cell growth only adds to the difficulty. This slows progress in developing treatments for conditions like neurodegenerative diseases and spinal cord injuries, leaving millions of patients waiting for solutions. A Canadian startup, Axolotl […]
Former Apple exec turns 500 years of ocean waste into backyard compost
Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) has long been a go-to material for electronics and automotive packaging due to its lightweight and protective properties. However, EPS takes up to 500 years to degrade and contributes to 11 million metric tons of plastic in the ocean annually. With less than 10% of EPS recycled due to contamination and high […]
This startup is making plastic-free goods without cutting down a single tree!
Most alternatives to plastic (e.g., paper products) rely on tree fibers. A World Wide Fund for Nature survey shows that the Pulp and paper industry consumes nearly 40 percent of the industrial wood traded globally. Replacing plastic with paper is easy, but ReStalk is taking it to another level. The regenerative packaging startup offers an […]
How regenerative packaging is cutting costs and waste in supply chains?
Supply chain waste remains a critical challenge for businesses, with over 7 billion tons of plastic waste generated globally each year, of which less than 10% is recycled. For industries relying on single-use materials, packaging waste contributes to environmental issues and leads to inefficiencies in material usage and compliance costs. Companies like Nestlé and Unilever […]