At the ElitePlus 2025 Conference held in Mumbai, Robert Cotton, R&D director – packaging sustainable materials at PepsiCo, took the stage to shed light on the company’s ambitious journey toward sustainable packaging solutions. Speaking candidly about the evolving landscape and the hurdles ahead, Cotton emphasized how PepsiCo is leveraging research, innovation, and industry partnerships to redefine the future of food packaging.

“It’s really a conversation about our journey as we’ve been embarking on trying to make our conventional materials more sustainable,” Cotton began. Representing PepsiCo’s research and development organization, he talked about the scale of responsibility that comes with managing packaging for a global food business. “With great scale comes great responsibility,” he said, noting how scale can drive both the right economies and critical sustainability solutions.

Cotton explained that moisture barrier remains the cornerstone of their packaging structure. “We get that through metalized films – primarily not aluminum foil but metalized films – and depending on the geography, the basic construction is the same,” he said, adding that this global consistency enables faster deployment of innovations based on local regulations and market needs.

He remains a strong advocate of flexible packaging, citing its sustainability potential. “Flexible packaging is the most sustainable thing from a least packaging material and product program. But the challenge… is because of insufficiency, it’s not collected, and it doesn’t have a good home just yet.” He acknowledged the industry’s strides toward circularity but stressed the continued need for investment in collection and sorting infrastructure. “Extended producer responsibility taxes are starting to play a role so we can build that infrastructure,” he said.

A significant focus of Cotton’s presentation was recyclable paper-based packaging – a material long replaced by plastics for performance reasons but now re-emerging due to consumer demand. “Moisture barrier with paper is really a challenge,” he admitted. “The plastic makes the paper functional. The forming of a paper package impacts barrier properties. It’s a fine balance.”

PepsiCo’s efforts include launching paper multi-pack sleeves in the UK and innovating paper-based single-serve oatmeal packaging under the Quaker brand, though achieving full recyclability remains an ongoing challenge. “Recyclable and biodegradable is aspirational, but it’s something we’re striving for,” he said, applauding industry advancements in dispersion coatings, extrusion coating, and metallization for foil replacement.

Among the breakthrough technologies, Cotton highlighted their work with biodegradable films, especially polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA)-rich materials. “When I joined PepsiCo in 2009, we launched a noisy PLA-based bag. That was exciting at the time, but the polymers weren’t ready. Today, we have solutions that meet home compostability standards,” he explained.

He emphasized how the development of biaxially oriented PHA structures, combined with new heat seal coatings and specially designed machinery parts, is enabling scalable, compostable film solutions. “Most of these polymers didn’t exist five years ago. The evolution is a testament to our industry’s entrepreneurial spirit,” he said.

On the topic of biodegradability certification, Cotton explained the rigorous process: “You have to prove that it biodegrades at least 90% in six months, disintegrates fully in 26 weeks, and is not ecotoxic. Inks and other components are carefully certified.”

A key principle guiding PepsiCo’s approach is openness. “Our patent portfolio and knowledge are free to practice by anybody. We patented them to secure our right to practice but not to keep them proprietary. The more scale we get, the healthier the market will be,” Cotton asserted.

However, the biggest challenge, according to Cotton, isn’t technical development but advocacy. “Ensuring these materials have an opportunity to compete in the marketplace is the harder part,” he said. He pointed to the importance of fair regulatory frameworks in different geographies, emphasizing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Closing his presentation, Cotton encouraged industry collaboration: “We see a portfolio of solutions – paper-based, bio-based, conventional plastics – necessary depending on legislative environments and scale. India is a great example of entrepreneurial spirit driving costs lower and innovations forward.”