Waterless Internet Flower Packaging, a remarkable breakthrough in packaging of flowers by Uflex, has been announced as Diamond Finalist Winner at the 2018 30th Awards for Packaging Innovation by The Dow Chemical Company (Dow). The award recognizes the packaging industry’s top achievement in innovative packaging design, material, technologies and processes.
Waterless Internet Flower Packaging has become increasingly popular among global flower companies for the myriad benefits that it brings to the table. It works on the principle of Active Modified Atmospheric Packaging (AMAP) through Flexfresh, a special patented polymeric film,offering shelf-life extension solution for fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers. The special film is the first 100% biodegradable film that maintains the hydration of flowers during transpiration, thus creating a closed loop system. Flowers are put to slow respiration mode by reducing the oxygen availability preventing excess oxidation and dehydration. The film keeps the flowers breathing in hydrated oxygen and releases excess humidity keeping them touch dry. The flowers thus can go without water for a significant number of days as the humidity is fed back and continues to breathe in the modified atmosphere.
On winning the Dow 2018 30th Awards for Packaging Innovation, N Siva Shankaran, vice president, Flexfresh at Uflex said, “Our entry complied with all three critical judging parameters of the award – technological advancement, sustainability and enhanced user experience. By offering the longest shelf life coupled with the sustainable solution, we foresee that Flexfresh is serving to be a boon for flower companies across the globe. The uniqueness of this film is that it is adapted to the living conditions of the flowers. We are introducing similar concepts in other markets and you will see them across geographies soon.”
Uflex is now offering a film which has worked across the world for range of fresh produce. We are working on several projects with leading supermarkets and producers, in a wide range of fruits, vegetables and flowers. Flexfresh is now available across different continents and major produce areas. Europe has been using these bags for asparagus, bell peppers, brussels sprouts, broccoli, blueberries, cauliflower, cherries, cucumbers, flowers, french beans, green onion, green peas, kiwi berries, herbs, leeks, salads, strawberries, stone fruits, sugar snap, etc. We have also developed solutions for tropical products such as banana, chillies, dragon fruit, gourds, guava, limes, litchi, m,angoes, mangosteen, okra, papaya, passion fruits, pineapple, pomegranates, rambutan, sapodilla, etc. Flexfresh brings in significant competitive edge to supermarkets around the world for providing sustainable solutions to their fresh produce packaging. Uflex is currently testing its new improved Flexfresh with high clarity which could replace conventional bags/pouches in supermarket shelves. This change would facilitate supermarkets to achieve their sustainable goals in the short term.
Ashok Chaturvedi, chairman and managing director added, “Uflex has taken the lead as more supermarkets come under pressure to eliminate plastics from their counters. In a bid to cater to ever changing consumer demands coupled with eco-friendly solutions, this technology is a major shot in the arm for e-commerce companies that enables florists and retailers to stock up large inventory thereby leading to enormous savings. A third-party validation by a Dutch flower quality evaluation company earlier had also revealed that our technology allowed them to serve their consumers better, thereby reducing wastage and passing on the benefits to their customers”.
Dow’s 2018 30th Awards for Packaging Innovation successfully continues the DuPont Awards forPackaging Innovation program, which is the industry’s longest running independently judged packaging awards program. The judging panel featured experts with diverse backgrounds, providing global perspectives across design, engineering, retail, converting and academia. The judges evaluated more than 200 entries from companies in 30 countries.