Having previously offered a rear-loading version of the pack alongside wrap and salad boxes, the new offering is the first to be heat-sealed, with no glues or plastics involved, allowing for a slightly longer shelf life. Including its transparent window, the entire piece is plastic-free and can be recycled without dismantling by the consumer.

Currently a higher-end proposition, the Bedford-based operation is angling for “the Prets and the Eats” in the food-to-go market, though European marketing manager Kate Berry expressed hopes at the show that the product may disperse downwards into the general consumer market in the future.

“Our new heat-sealed pack comes as a stock item, but it is an incredibly flexible material that can be recalibrated easily for our customers’ needs,” she said.

“We can also add a recyclable laminate to protect perishable food and are looking into adding augmented reality attributes that could make recycling and composting advice accessible to general consumers.

“Promoting the eco aspect to the end-user is important to our clients, but consumers don’t want to think too much about disposing their waste so we want to make this pack as easy to dispose as we can.”

The new Zest pack, along with its predecessors which were also on display at the Birmingham NEC show on 27-28 February, meets the EU Directive Standard EN13432 which means it composts in the correct conditions within 90 days.

Another launch at the show was Colpac’s ‘Let’s Do Lunch’ range of 100% recyclable paperboard platters designed as a response to caterers’ desires to move away from single-use plastics. The trays are available in three levels of sophistication, the cheapest of which comes at the same price point as its plastic alternatives.

“Our design team is awesome at coming up with solutions to these ecological problems,” said Berry. “And all of these pieces can be printed on – it is our raison d’etre that you can do anything you like with our packaging, print-wise.”