British packaging company Parkside has provided a new home-compostable flexible packaging solution for New Forest Fruit’s new ‘plant to packet’ dried strawberries range.

The packaging of this range is made using Park2Nature, which is a patented triplex material developed by Parkside.

Park2Nature is free from genetically modified organisms (GMOs), as well as polylactic acid (PLA), and uses a laminate material, which is made from Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification-accredited plant-based resources.

Parkside said that this material has also been certified as home compostable by German standards organisation Technischer Überwachungsverein.

This certification means that Park2Nature takes a maximum of 26 weeks in normal conditions and 12 weeks in an industrial setting to degrade into compost.

Parkside business unit manager Staci Bye said: “It is particularly rewarding as these products represent a first for the UK snack market - the result of a novel combination of pulse drying and freeze-drying.

“Despite the challenge of packing a first-to-market product, our innovation team worked in close collaboration with the customer to deliver excellent results once again.”

The new compostable packaging has been launched to support the sustainability commitments of New Forest Fruit, which is a Hampshire-based soft fruit growing company.

New Forest Fruit grows, processes and packs all its products at its farm in New Forest in the county to make sure the carbon footprint of each product remains absolute minimum.

New Forest Fruit owner Sandy Booth said: “It was important to us that we found a company that could provide the compostable flexible packaging that had not only been tested and accredited, but could also be designed to meet the specific needs of our strawberries.

“As well as fully breaking down in a range of conditions and timeframes in either home or industrial composters, Parkside’s solution also delivered a pack that conveys the freshness and quality of our product to consumers.”

In June, Parkside announced it was providing a sustainable packaging solution for breakfast cereal producer Yockenthwaite Farm’s granola range.