PKN presents The Packaging Innovation Edit, a curated selection of standout global packaging innovations. Produced in collaboration with ThePackHub, this monthly series highlights innovations advancing packaging design and function.
Colour-changing label monitors temperature exposure in airline food
Vitsab International, based in Stockholm, Sweden, has developed the Freshtag Flight Label, a temperature-sensitive labelling solution designed to monitor the freshness of perishable food items used in airline catering.
The label operates using cumulative temperature tracking, allowing it to record and reflect the thermal exposure of packaged food from preparation through to in-flight service. It incorporates a stoplight-style colour-changing system that visually indicates product condition: green signifies acceptable temperature conditions, yellow indicates moderate exposure, and red denotes that the product has been subjected to temperatures outside safe limits.
The label is designed to function across frozen, refrigerated, and ambient galley conditions without requiring additional tools or technical calibration. By providing a clear visual indication of food safety status, the system may enable airline staff to make quicker and more standardised decisions regardless of language or training differences.
The solution also supports operational flexibility by allowing unused, sealed food items to be reassigned to subsequent flights or redistributed, potentially helping reduce food waste.
ThePackHub’s View: The use of cumulative temperature-sensitive indicators offers a practical method for improving traceability and decision-making in perishable food logistics.
PKN's Comment: Smart labels are moving beyond marketing and into operational risk management. In complex foodservice environments such as aviation, technologies that simplify safety verification while reducing waste could deliver both commercial and sustainability benefits.
Supplier: Vitsab International | Market: Food | Innovation type: smart packaging, product preservation | Pack type: Label, sensor
Cooking sauces packaged in aluminium cans for ambient storage
Potts, a UK-based food company headquartered in Dorset, has transitioned its cooking sauces into aluminium cans, diverging from the glass jar formats traditionally used in the category.
The move positions aluminium as an alternative packaging material for ambient sauces, leveraging its barrier properties to protect contents from light and oxygen while maintaining shelf stability. The cans are lightweight and durable, potentially improving transport efficiency while reducing breakage risks across the supply chain.
Aluminium also supports strong recyclability performance within established collection systems and can be repeatedly reprocessed without significant degradation in material quality. The format may additionally support faster cooling times during production and improved stacking efficiency during distribution.
From a consumer perspective, the format introduces a different dispensing and usage experience compared with jars, reflecting a broader trend of applying metal packaging formats to categories beyond beverages.
ThePackHub’s View: The use of aluminium cans for ambient sauces demonstrates a material substitution approach that leverages strong barrier properties and established recycling infrastructure.
PKN's Comment: Metal packaging continues to expand into new food categories as brands reassess durability, logistics, and recyclability. The challenge will be whether consumers embrace cans in applications where glass has traditionally signalled premium quality.
Brand: Potts | Market: Food | Innovation type: material substitution, recyclable packaging | Substrate: Aluminium
Push-pop sushi packaging enables on-the-go consumption
Sushi Pops, based in London, has introduced a portable sushi packaging format inspired by the push-pop mechanism, designed to enable convenient, utensil-free consumption.
The concept places pre-sliced sushi rolls inside a rigid tubular container, typically made from cardboard, with an internal mechanism that gradually pushes the product upwards for consumption. A secondary tube containing soy sauce functions both as a condiment dispenser and as a plunger to move the sushi through the pack.
The system allows consumers to eat individual pieces sequentially without direct hand contact or chopsticks, supporting portability and convenience in on-the-go eating scenarios. The packaging also helps contain sauces and food residues, reducing mess during consumption.
Sushi Pops has adapted the concept with a range of flavour profiles while maintaining the same functional packaging approach.
ThePackHub’s View: The push-pop packaging format offers a practical solution for portability and controlled consumption in ready-to-eat foods.
PKN's Comment: Convenience remains one of packaging’s strongest innovation drivers. Formats that combine portability, cleanliness, and user interaction are increasingly shaping the future of ready-to-eat food packaging.
Brand: Sushi Pops | Market: Food | Innovation type: user convenience, material substitution | Substrate: Carton board, paper
Retail pilot tests reusable packaging system for fresh mushrooms
Fost Plus, based in Belgium, is supporting a multi-retailer pilot project to test reusable packaging for fresh mushrooms, involving retailers including Albert Heijn, Aldi, Carrefour, Colruyt, Delhaize, and Lidl.
The initiative, known as REPASYS, has been developed in response to the forthcoming European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which will ban single-use plastic packaging for fresh fruit and vegetables by 2030.
Within the pilot, mushrooms are packed in durable reusable trays distributed through participating retail outlets. Consumers pay a deposit when purchasing the product and receive a refund upon returning the empty container to any participating store, creating a shared return infrastructure across multiple retailers.
The trays are industrially cleaned between uses before re-entering circulation. Each unit carries a GS1-based QR code enabling individual lifecycle tracking and the collection of data on return rates, user behaviour, and logistical performance.
The collected data will be used to assess the feasibility of scaling the reuse model to additional categories and regions.
ThePackHub’s View: The use of standardised, trackable containers combined with a deposit return model provides a structured framework for evaluating reuse systems in retail environments.
PKN's Comment: Large-scale reuse systems are shifting from theory into operational trials, particularly in Europe where regulation is accelerating adoption. The real test lies in balancing consumer participation, reverse logistics, hygiene management, and economic viability.
Supplier: Fost Plus, GS1 | Market: Food | Innovation type: reusable packaging, smart tracking | Substrate: Plastic
Reusable cup system integrates QR tracking without deposit
Circular&Co, based in Cornwall, UK, has partnered with The British Library to implement its Tap&Reuse system, a reusable cup scheme designed to reduce reliance on single-use beverage packaging.
The system operates without a traditional deposit model. Consumers purchase drinks in durable cups designed to be reused up to 1000 times, then return them to designated collection points where they are washed and recirculated.
Each cup contains a QR code enabling digital tracking, providing users with information on return deadlines and nearby drop-off locations. Consumers are given a seven-day return window; failure to return the cup within this period results in an automatic charge, after which the user retains ownership of the cup.
Once cups reach the end of their usable lifespan, they are recycled into new products, including replacement cups. Circular&Co also provides infrastructure support including installation, stock monitoring, and replacement services.
ThePackHub’s View: The integration of QR-based tracking within a reusable packaging system offers a practical approach to managing return logistics and user compliance.
PKN's Comment: Reuse systems depend on digital infrastructure as much as physical packaging design. Removing the traditional deposit model may reduce friction for consumers, but long-term success will depend on return behaviour and operational discipline.
Supplier: Circular&Co | Market: Beverage | Innovation type: reusable packaging, consumer interaction | Substrate: Plastic
About ThePackHub:
ThePackHub is an internationally respected packaging innovation consultancy and essential resource hub for everything packaging. Founded in 2012 by CEO Paul Jenkins (paul.jenkins@thepackhub.com), the company is trusted by leading brands, retailers and packaging suppliers to turn complex challenges into actionable, forward-thinking solutions. At the core of ThePackHub’s offering is a commitment to equipping businesses with effective insights, strategies and innovations that reshape the way packaging is created and perceived. Its flagship Innovation Zone is a comprehensive, searchable database of global packaging innovation, valued by both the world’s largest companies and the most ambitious start-ups. ThePackHub is a community that plays an important role in connecting the packaging world through its events and initiatives, bringing together the brightest minds to share knowledge, spark innovation and drive the industry forward.
