The Bonduelle family business was founded more than 160 years ago and is the world’s largest vegetable brand. Bonduelle’s mission is Let’s create a better future through plant-based food and looks to make plant-based food attractive, accessible and easy for consumers.
The company also has an eye for the future, working with no fewer than 3,100 growers and sharing its rich knowledge and many years of horticultural experience with others.
Two thirds of Dutch people didn’t know that a can is endlessly recyclable according to consumer research conducted by Bonduelle.
Research showed that only nine per cent of consumers buy long-life vegetables in metal packaging because metal is recyclable, even though 59 per cent see sustainable packaging as being important. Only 35 per cent of all respondents were aware of the fact that metal is endlessly recyclable and less than half were under the impression metal is more sustainable than plastic.
In addition, Bonduelle wanted to contribute to consumer well-being by making plant-based nutrition accessible at any time, in a tasty, simple and responsible way. The challenge was also to achieve environmentally friendly cultivation with a focus on healthy soil and minimal environmental impact.
Canned vegetables are processed within three hours of harvesting, and once they have been canned the nutritional value barely decreases. Bonduelle wanted to increase awareness of this against the fact that fresh vegetables are often harvested earlier and cover a long distance, where the vitamin content often decreases as a result.
As well as supplying packaging steel to create food cans used by Bonduelle, Tata Steel in Europe is also a supporter of the company’s ongoing campaign to make consumers aware of the can’s excellent recyclability.
The campaign aimed to put a spotlight on metal to correct any misconceptions via social media and was clearly visible on the shop floor too, as the vegetable brand promoted the ‘metal recycles forever’ message via millions of Bonduelle cans, made from Tata Steel’s packaging steel.
As part of the campaign, a round table session with stakeholders was held to prepare for consumer research and to emphasize that in addition to its status as the most sustainable form of packaging, metal is also most effective against food loss or waste, reducing environmental impact across two approaches. Bonduelle also offers small cans, for example for single-person households, again with reduced food waste in mind.
One of the most unusual ways in which Bonduelle addressed their environmental impact was to work with farmers to keep records for each plot on which vegetables are grown for the brand. These records contain information about the plant variety, sowing and harvesting times, fertilisation and irrigation. Each can includes a code that allows the company to check which plot the vegetables came from. As a result, Bonduelle maintains full control over the way in which its vegetables are grown.
Tata Steel produces a variety of packaging steels for cans which are used to protect and preserve everything from meat, fish, soups to tea, coffee and milk. The heat sterilisation process preserves food naturally without having to rely on additive or preservatives, providing brands with a reliable, safe and secure packaging format. Tata Steel’s laminated steel, Protact®, is also both Bishphenol A and BADGE free.
EN-Packaging-Contact TSE
Packaging
Trostre Works
Llanelli
Carmarthanshire
SA14 9SD
United Kingdom