Freshly topped in-store gourmet pizzas are flying off the shelves at participating Foodstuffs North Island New World, PAK’nSAVE and Four Square stores thanks to a new sustainable packaging solution that enables customers to heat their delicious pizza in its home compostable, no mess bake in tray. From shelf to oven to table with no mess, the pizzas really deliver in both taste and convenience.
Rebecca Tuhakaraina, Foodstuffs North Island Category Manager for Delicatessen and Meal Solutions says, “Our pizzas have always been popular with our customers and we’re pleased to now be able to offer shelf to oven to table convenience. Our customers have been incredibly receptive to the new home compostable and recyclable packaging, especially as more people look for in-home meal solutions with packaging solutions which are environmentally friendly.”
Partnering with New Zealand smart packaging company, Trade Island, this latest innovation combines sustainability and convenience and has been a huge hit with customers. New World Gate Pa owner Tony Ford says, “We’ve seen huge growth in our freshly topped gourmet pizza sales since changing to this new type of packaging. The convenience of being able to put the pizza directly in the oven in its tray and all the packaging being compostable and recyclable has really appealed to our customers’ values.”
The new pizza packaging comes with impressive eco-credentials: the round tray, which is made from a by-product of sugar cane and corn, uses less space and fewer materials than a traditional square pizza box. The cardboard sleeve is compostable and recyclable, the bagasse tray is home compostable once used and the transparent plastic lid is made out of rPET, which means it’s made of recycled PET (type 1 plastic) and widely recyclable in New Zealand.
Other benefits of the plant fibre packaging is that it helps keep the kitchen tidy. Since the pizza is cooked in its packaging, customers can look forward to having no more messy ovens with cheese drips to clean up, and even better, any leftover pizza can be popped in the fridge with its resealable lid.
“The sustainable packaging around ready-to-heat meals is a space we will continue to innovate in as our customers live and purchase more sustainably. We’re looking forward to introducing more sustainable packaging solutions soon,” says Tuhakaraina.
