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Road to Sustainable Packaging: Smart bottles & Edible boxes

Today’s consumer is not only health conscious but also environmentally aware. As we step into the 21st century, people are becoming more n more aware as to what affects their health and their surroundings, more so after the pandemic. Instances of increasing environmental pollution are everywhere, in a survey conducted in 2021, it came into attention that globally 78 million metric tons of packaging plastic produced each year and out of this only 14 % was recycled. the lightweight and floatable plastic that escaped, collected in the oceans, and an approximation bring it to 9 million tons yearly, most of it from the developing nations due to lack of infrastructure to manage it. With the changing evolution, people are finally paying attention to their surroundings and adopting eco-friendly packaging. The switching of the consumer t0 packaging that is environmentally friendly, packaging companies have started to adopt to the going trends and are moving to sustainable choices, coming up with new product ideas. Thanks to the new age technology we have just the items that would help us regulate not only our health but also leave minimal carbon foot print through our packaging choices. Smart bottles and food containers are products that not only regulate our health, but also help decrease environmental damage. New opportunities for personalized eHealth and mobile health services have emerged due to the rapid growth of Internet of thingies and miniature wearable biosensors. In addition, smart devices equipped with physiological sensors can provide a powerful monitoring of the daily activities and surroundings for wearable physiological sensors.


smart bottles a smart choice?

Smart bottles: Smart hydration bottles are becoming increasingly popular as people become more aware of their health needs and realize that they need to be hydrated. The bottles are equipped with technology that allows you to track the water consumption, temperature of your beverage and so on. A smart water bottle is an electronic water bottle that incorporates technology to help you track your water intake, monitor the temperature of your drink, and so on. These bottles designed in a be easy to use way and comes in varied shapes and sizes, to go with different purposes. The smart water bottle detects liquid content with great accuracy and uses inertial sensors to track activity. Touch and photoplethysmography sensors are used to track physiological characteristics.

The key benefits of smart water bottle:

  • Tracks water intake though biosensing
  • Offers temperature control system
  • To help you keep up, some bottles even have a reminder label to make sure that you drink enough water.
  • The key feature of a smart water bottle is to help you set and monitor your drinking goals. The companion app will allow you to indicate your age, weight and level of exercise so that the amount of water for each day can be calculated.

Smart water bottles can bring a lot of benefits. It helps to keep you hydrated is one of the most important benefits. Dehydration can lead to headaches, tiredness and other health problems; it is vital that you remain hydrated in order to stay healthy. Using a smart bottle can also help one save money on bottled water and lessen their influence on the environment by generating less plastic trash.


Is this really necessary:

Smart water bottles may be helpful for older people, sportspeople or those who have trouble keeping up with their drinking habits, but there are also a number of drawbacks to consider. For one, there's a price to pay. The typical smart water bottle is worth between $30 and $100.

Alternatives?

A smart bottle of water is not the sole option if you want more water or wish to begin drinking it. A number of apps are available in the App Store that can help you see how much water is consumed and tell you to drink more. With My Water: Daily Drinking Tracker, the daily water consumption can be estimated and reminders sent to your Apple Watch or iPhone when you need a drink. While it provides a subscription service, its main features are free and sufficient for the majority of users.

Have your plastic and eat it, too!

The form of packaging designed for eating or capable of biodegradation efficiently as the food contained in it is Edible Food Packaging. A variety of forms are used for this kind of packaging, with a constant improvement and innovation taking place to make it from various types of substances. With new emerging trends, as different companies have tried various substances for their product type, there are a lot of different types of edible packaging. Some of these are:

  • Ice cream cones, which is a waffle or sugar-based container containing ice cream were certainly one of the first edible containers.
  • In that regard, a fast-food joint has tried to develop heat-resistant coffee cups composed of hard cookies coated with tiny layers of chocolate. This way the cup can be eaten after coffee is consumed, or if thrown away it decomposes more quickly than polystyrene and plastic.
  • The gelatinic type packaging made by Loliware, which has a number of different flavors such as cherry and vanilla, is another form of edible cup currently available on the market.
  • The wrappers of cupcakes made from potato fibers and wrappers of sweets made from rice paper are also starch based. Milk protein is used as a new form of edible packaging and is used as a casein for food products. In order to maintain the freshness of foodstuffs and reduce exposure to air, they are better protected with these casein film as opposed to plastic. It doesn't contain starch, which means it's less permeable and therefore more efficient in blocking the flow of oxygen. Since casein is derived from milk, it resembles plastic in appearance and lacks flavor—though flavors may be added in the future. Some manufacturers have added citrus pectin, which makes them more resistant to higher temperatures and humidity, in order to enhance their durability.

Advantages of using edible plastics:

The majority of consumers have started to take an interest in the environment. That means they're interested in finding out how their purchases contribute to the environmental waste. The typical waste cycle is eliminated by edible food packaging as it does not need to be recycled. It is very biodegradable, and does not contaminate landfill or recycling centers since most of the edible packaging may be eaten or composted.

So, why is Edible food packaging not a ranger?

There are still certain downsides to edible packaging, despite its benefits. The fact that many edible packaging’s are water soluble and thus break down in water, making them less able to retain their value for a longer period than other packaging types is an important concern. Another important factor to consider in the case of edible packaging is allergic reactions. Due to the use of natural materials for the manufacture of packaging, people with food allergies to these materials may not be allowed to consume them.

Other options available

With the going green wave , consumer go for other packaging methods like aseptic packaging for heat sensitive & nutritional foods , this kind of packaging is very popular among consumer product companies as it is well know for its extended shelf -life attribute without contributing any harmful affects to the environment .

Conclusion:

Clearly, the global food packaging industry is blooming , with new innovations .The market is anticipated to garner a revenue of ~ USD 560.0 billion by the end of 2033.The consumer’s lifestyle , their awareness towards health & environment waste , and active contribution in reducing ecological damage increased oppurtunies for smart , environmental friendly products .

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vishnu-nair
Vishnu Nair

Head- Global Business Development

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