Today’s consumers are no longer evaluating food products based only on quality, taste, or price. Increasingly,they are looking for products that are environmentally responsible, ethically produced, and packaged in a waythat minimizes environmental impact. For many consumers, the sustainability of the packaging is now asimportant as the sustainability of the product itself. The content and the container carry equal weight in thepurchasing decision, and companies across the food industry must respond to this new reality.
As sustainable packaging evolves with new technologies, it has become a visible symbol of a company’senvironmental commitment. Consumers want packaging that is recyclable, made from recycled materials,lightweight, and designed with circular economy principles in mind. As a result, sustainable packaging is now acentral part of product design and brand strategy across the food and beverage industry.
Food companies have long been at the forefront of packaging innovation because our products are, bynature, perishable. New materials and production methods are essential to prevent food waste and qualitydegradation, which is how companies like ours keep the highest-quality products on the market while meetingour sustainability and quality metrics.
The future of many food industries depends on a holistic relationship between how the product is grown orraised and the packaging used to distribute it. Forward-thinking brands in the sector recognize that the vesselmatters as much as what’s inside it.
Olive oil is a particularly clear example of this relationship. Its quality depends not only on how olives are grownand harvested, but also on how the oil is stored, transported, and packaged. To continue making high-qualitybrands that consumers rely on, we must work in ways that preserve the environment while supporting thepeople who make our businesses possible. The longevity of our planet depends on all of us thinking about sustainability more broadly.
For olive oil companies, staying competitive means keeping up with these changes, both to meet consumerexpectations and to align with stricter sustainability requirements. This becomes even more crucial as ourfarmers face changing climate conditions.
Across our organization, we have seen firsthand that sustainability and quality must begin at the source, duringharvest, and continue throughout packaging and distribution. Over the past three years, we have reducedgreenhouse gas emissions by 30%, while continuing to increase the use of sustainably sourced extra-virgin oliveoil in our bottles.
At the same time, we are moving towards circularity by reducing plastic across all our packaging. Today, 40% ofthe plastic used in our bottles comes from recycled material, and nearly 80% of our bottles are recyclable.Sustainability is part of our DNA. It shapes how we design our packaging, manage logistics and energy, and howwe build long-term relationships with rural communities.
For producers who have spent generations working with the land rather than against it by adapting to shiftingseasons, conserving water, nurturing soil health, the conversation about sustainable packaging is a naturalextension of values already deeply held.
So, how do companies across the food and beverage industry explore new materials and formats designed toreduce environmental impact, without compromising product integrity? They team up with a growing networkof material innovators, packaging engineers, and life cycle analysts who often work out of university researchlabs, specialist consultancies, or dedicated sustainability divisions within larger packaging companies.
These are the experts who help find ways to make packaging lighter, which is one of the most significantdevelopments in the industry. By reducing material usage and transportation weight, companies can loweremissions throughout the supply chain. This is particularly relevant for liquid products like olive oil, whereshipping efficiency plays a major role in overall sustainability.
Food scientists and materials chemists work with environmental analysts who can model real-world impactand designers who understand that sustainability cannot come at the cost of functionality or consumerexperience.
For a product like olive oil, the integrity of the packaging is inseparable from the integrity of what’s insideit. Olive oil is a uniquely sensitive product. Exposure to harsh elements, such as light, oxygen, and heat canquickly degrade its flavor, nutritional properties, and overall quality.
The brands getting this right are those treating high quality packaging as an extension of their broaderphilosophy. The most sustainable package isn’t simply the one made from the most eco-friendly material; it’sthe one designed with the full picture in mind that includes the legacies of the brands making these changesand the expectations of their customers.
We know what our customers expect when they buy our product, and we will continue to deliver that in waysthat will allow us — and the planet — to keep going.
Every global brand has the opportunity to adopt these eco-conscious strategies and sustainability innovations,and they are feeling the pressure to do so from customers,
shareholders, producers, and employees. In the face of a changing climate, each of us has to make changes. Inorder to advance sustainable packaging, companies across the sector must unite in a common goal to betterour planet. This requires collaboration across the entire value chain, from material suppliers, manufacturers,and retailers. At our organization, we’ve recognized the importance of working closely with farmers to implement sustainable practices, expanding better for the planet farming processes across thousands of acres of farmland.
Those of us in the industry have a responsibility to lead by example. This means investing in better solutions,sharing knowledge amongst business owners, and pushing for progress despite complex paths or higher coststo produce.
In the past, our industry has relied on materials like glass and plastics to provide protection for products, but,as a whole, the sector has become more efficient and less dependent on unpredictable environmentalconditions.
For the past decade, for instance, olive oil producers have made significant strides in sustainableagriculture, including improving irrigation systems, water management strategies, and climate-resilientfarming techniques. For companies that ship large volumes of liquid, packaging weight is not a minor detail;it is a central operational and environmental concern, which has driven many companies to find newpackaging materials that reduce the amount of energy needed to transport the product all over the world.
Olive oil is integral to the lives of so many. Those who farm it, make it, sell it, and consume it. Our businessmodel encompasses all stages of the value chain: from partnerships with farmers and oil mills to packaging, distribution, and direct engagement with consumers in 68 countries.
As global stewards of this vital ingredient, we are committed to producing it responsibly, from start to finish.Sustainable packaging protects livelihoods, promotes good health and high quality, and protects our planet.
Through sustainability initiatives, food companies around the world showcase their commitment to making apositive impact on the planet and the people they serve.
Sustainable packaging safeguards the work of farmers, preserves the integrity of the product, and ultimatelyenhances consumer experience at the store. It is imperative for these reasons that packaging is not treated as anafterthought, but rather the final mile in a long journey that begins in the field.
