#THEPACK

Can single-use food packaging be reinvented? The answer is yes. If we ask consumers what an ideal disposable food packaging should look like today, most of them would be clear about this. The prevailing requirement should be sustainability. Containers have to be made of biodegradable and easily recyclable materials. Therefore, if there is one material that meets this requirement, and it is the first that comes to mind, it is cardboard.

The second requirement, but no less important, would be strength. A container must always be capable of fulfilling the function for which it is made. In this case, for serving food, it is essential that a box, a container or a cone for fries does not deteriorate with the moisture or grease that food inevitably releases. A good dish should never be ruined by an unsuitable container.

And last but not least, design. We are not discovering anything new if we say that a modern and attractive packaging makes customers as loyal to an establishment as the product itself. Beautiful packaging enhances a dish and may even end up being immortalised in one of the thousands of photographs that foodies post on social networks every day.

At García de Pou we had these three characteristics very much in mind when we decided to take a step forward and create a new packaging concept. Made of cardboard, but with a new manufacturing system, which gives it all the properties we were looking for: more sustainable, stronger and with an incredibly irresistible aesthetic. The result is called THEPACK® and we are so proud of this new line and its range of products that we never get tired of talking about it.

But let’s take it one step at a time. What makes THEPACK® packaging different from the rest? If we go back to the non-negotiable characteristics that any packaging must have, we have to talk about the environmental commitment. It should be noted that this packaging is FSC™ certified. This means that the raw material used to make it comes from sustainable forests. In other words, from forests that are supervised to ensure their reforestation and improve the quality of their flora and fauna. Cardboard, moreover, as is well known, can be recycled once it has been used, making it a 100% usable raw material.

But the real revolution is to be found in the production of the cardboard used to make the packaging. At first glance, you can see that the cardboard is extremely thin and therefore light, but at the same time it is surprisingly hard when you hold it in your hands. And how is this achieved? A state-of-the-art machine has enabled us to manufacture what we call «nano-micro corrugated cardboard», the thinnest cardboard ever made. It is only 0.7mm thick. It is made from three thin layers of paper, a first outer layer, a second corrugated layer and a third inner layer that is resistant to grease, but on such a tiny scale that it is difficult to see them with the naked eye. In addition, the paper used is light in weight, only 80g/m2, which reduces the amount of paper used in its manufacture.

The end result is lightweight, resistant and environmentally friendly packaging of premium quality. It preserves the temperature of food well and can even be microwaved. We are convinced that THEPACK® has arrived to revolutionise the current catering packaging scene and that it will eventually replace other, less environmentally friendly solutions used until now.

Now we only have to talk about the design. But on that point, we’ll let you judge for yourselves when you hold one of our THEPACK® products in your hands. In that respect, a few pictures and a good hashtag on Instagram are worth a thousand words: #THEPACK.