ofi (olam food ingredients), a global leader offering naturally good food and beverage ingredients and solutions, wins in the beverage category with a recyclable mono-material polyethylene (PE) laminate pouch developed for the European market for cocoa-based beverages. The award recognizes a packaging solution that helps beverage manufacturers and private label brands meet their sustainability goals while protecting product quality – supporting the way ofi delivers value-added ingredients and customer solutions at scale.
For customers developing beverages and finished products, packaging performance is fundamental to product performance. This pouch format is designed and developed to preserve taste and freshness, and with changing consumer expectations in mind, helping brands bring differentiated beverages to market.
A verified, recyclable pouch format
The award was presented during the ceremony at the Indian Packaging Summit 2026, in Mumbai, India on March 17, 2026. With over 200 entries received across all categories, the SIES School of Packaging (SOP) Star Awards recognizes companies in the Indian packaging sector for packaging excellence in development, innovation, creativity and sustainability.
Developed for cocoa-based beverages, the pouch replaces the traditional multilayer, non-recyclable laminates with a structure that is recyclable within existing European PE recycling streams [1]. The pouch achieves high recyclability as independently verified by cyclos-HTP Institute, a leading institute specialising in the assessment and certification of packaging recyclability.
Advancing recyclability through material science
The pouch combines developments in material science and packaging engineering to improve recyclability while maintaining functionality. It uses a carefully formulated PE based laminate with a controlled Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol (EVOH) barrier layer, providing essential protection against moisture and oxygen – critical for cocoa-based products – while maintaining compatibility with standard recyclability streams and thresholds. A PE reclosable zipper helps ensure the entire packaging solution remains mono material, avoiding components that would otherwise disrupt recycling processes.
Additional sustainability benefits include;
- Clear, on-pack mono PE resin identification for correct sorting at recycling facilities. This increases the likelihood that the pouch is correctly recycled and reduces the chance of packaging being sent to landfill or incineration.
- The PE re-closable zipper helps maintain product freshness after opening and reduces likelihood of food waste at the consumer level.
ofi Business Development Manager for Private Label in Europe, Valentine de Parisot, said: “This recyclable mono-material pouch demonstrates how thoughtful development and design can support circularity without compromising product protection or quality – helping food and beverage manufacturers and retailers deliver cocoa-based beverages and other private label products in recyclable formats, while strengthening sustainability credentials with a practical, scalable solution.”
Material efficiency was also central to packaging development. The pouch's thickness and geometry were optimized to reduce total material use while maintaining strength, shelf presence, and pack stability. ofi Senior Manager Packaging – Centre of Expertise (COE), Aniruddh Gavane, adds: “Its flatpack format improves pallet utilisation and reduces transport volumes, with the potential to contribute to lower logistics related emissions across the supply chain.”
The packaging solution was also recently recognized at the Packaging Innovation Awards 2026 in Pune, India, in the ‘Excellence in Circular Packaging Innovation’ category.
Integrated food and beverage ingredient solutions
With a global ingredient sourcing network and footprint, alongside deep sustainability expertise and sustainability experts embedded in farming communities, ofi offers customers and partners the traceability, capability, insights, and choices to drive positive change. Combined with exciting advances in ingredient innovation and technical capability, ofi collaborates with customers across manufacturing, retail, food service to develop market-ready food and beverage solutions across categories.
Learn more about ofi’s retail and private label solutions: https://www.ofi.com/nl-nl/cocreate/retail-and-private-label-solutions.
[1] The requirements for recyclability in accordance with ISO 14021 are fulfilled for the following countries: Austria (AT), Belgium (BE), Germany (DE), Finland (FI), France (FR), Ireland (IE), Luxembourg (LU), Netherlands (NL), Norway (NO), Portugal (PT), Sweden (SE), Slovenia (SI), Spain (ES).