COLPAC (now Sabert & Colpac) has expressed its delight after winning the Cartonboard Pack of the Year category at the UK Packaging Awards 2025.
The firm was recognised for its use of direct food contact inks to replace plastic laminate in Pret’s platter bases to improve pack recyclability, lower material usage, and reduce cost.
This custom food packaging is said to enable simpler recycling of the platter bases, in support of the latest Recycling Assessment Methodology (RAM), food safety requirements, and elevated visual appeal.
“We are absolutely delighted to have won cartonboard pack of the year at the UK Packaging Awards! We work closely with Pret to develop packs that showcase fresh food and support the team’s sustainability goals. This project was a real team effort from many members of our team and I’m delighted to have been at the awards evening to celebrate our achievement,” said Brian Reeder, operations director (Flitwick) at Colpac and Sabert.
By replacing fibreboard composite materials and plastic laminate with uncoated paperboard and direct food contact inks, the platters are said to be recyclable through any paper re-pulping process. This change, alongside lightweighting the paperboard material used, is projected to achieve 9,407kg of packaging material savings/year and reduce projected Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) unit cost by 55%.
“We have built a solid partnership with Colpac and Sabert and we continue to be impressed with the team’s dedication to creating the best possible solutions to present our fresh food. The new platters look superb, and the premise of this project truly represents our pledges to make our packaging 100% recyclable and to eliminate all unnecessary single-use plastic,” added Simon Oxley, global head of packaging at Pret.
