On meeting Stephen Lowe and Marco Verri, co-founders of the Italian start-up Compopack (based in the famous “packaging valley” of Bologna) one is reminded about how so much has changed since early 2020 when the Company was set-up. Notwithstanding the one year Covid pandemic, economic turbulence, inflation and ongoing wars these professionals have remained steadfast in the world of coffee & beverages and more precisely into improving the primary packaging solutions that the industry has long since commoditized resulting in a serious of uncreative clones which almost all damage the environment in some cases irreparably.
Starting with, Steve Lowe, a manager holding a long experience in international corporates as well as in fast growing SMEs, – today all industrial sectors should design machines bearing in mind the need to make any products as sustainable as possible, not only in the sense of optimizing their own consumption and internal processes (ESG) but also providing consulting services to their customers to provide practical solutions to follow environmental impacts that in turn leverage consumer market perspectives on brand value. This trend is clearly visible today with luxury products and will permeate down to industrial goods international brand values are to retain their market and economic evaluations.
CompoPack was founded in 2020 has seen its core values embodied and inspired by the contents of Agenda ONU 2023 and this is evident in the extraordinarily fast developments made by the team that has perfectioned a first machine, named ECOPOD ®, capable of producing single-dose capsules/pods finally using materials and processes designed to reduce the environmental impact of used packaging.
Not surprisingly, Compopack’s team was immediately approached by different coffee-makers in Italy and abroad as ECOPOD® looks a real alternative. As Marco Verri a 25 year veteran of the mono-dose era and the first automatic host machine designer back in the early nineties explains – coffee capsules and pods, whose use is constantly growing, are polluting products it’s as simple as that! But, we can all make a difference. In fact, the materials used so far are multi-layered and expensive (and hence rarely) recycled; what ECOPOD® allows one to do is (i) to substitute plastic and aluminium with new eco-friendly packaging material (paper or bio-plastic); (ii) to save energy (thanks to a patented sealing system of the coffee pods); (iii) to reduce the quantity itself of packaging material which is of course a cost benefit all along the value chain.-
WHAT IS ECOPOD®?
It is a sophisticated, advanced technology, that allows a coffee-maker to produce different formats of capsules or hosts changing the godets rapidly and above all by using new compostable materials. This can appear not such a big change but if you talk to any coffee-maker you understand that this is a very useful and important breakthrough especially for those who have to respond to frequent and rapid marketing requests and new eco-sustainable standards to respect.
Due to its innovative characteristics and evident positive results ECOPOD® has demonstrated since its preliminary steps, the Region Emilia-Romagna, through European and National R&D funds (in particular ART-ER /ECOSISTER programme), is supporting the team that is making all efforts to make another big step forward … Compopack is looking into the future pursuing the fascinating (but realistic) idea to launch “la cialda nuda” the naked coffee pod.
Meanwhile, Steve and Marco are already to proposing customized solutions according to the commercial needs of the coffee or beverage producers and they are open to discuss any possible technology adaptation of ECOPOD® as they are well aware of the different industrial targets of any potential client and as a general philosophy “we partner with you and we patent with you!”
This year Compopack presented ECOPOD® at Sigep 24, CDPE (Ecomondo China) and in the Gulf Food shows in Dubai creating a stir among industry and non-industry observers. Last specific F&B show for 2024 is a new version of the machine which will be put on display again at TRIESTESPRESSO (Trieste, October 24-26.). The Team will be also hosted and interviewed in other events dedicated to sustainability such as “Wetex 2024” (ICE Pavillion, Dubai October 1-3.), ECOMONDO Rimini (November 5-8.) and again GULFOOD MANUFACTURING (World Trade Center Dubai November 5-6.)