Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley (SFNV) joined forces with industry giants Nestlé and Tetra Pak to convene more than 60 Swiss and European partners for a nationwide event focused on sustainable packaging solutions earlier this week.

The initiative aimed to showcase promising advancements in sustainable packaging materials and foster new collaborations to accelerate innovation in this critical area.

"This event showcased the incredible potential of collaborative innovation. The challenges around sustainable packaging cannot be solved in silos,” remarked Christina Senn-Jakobsen, CEO of SFNV.

“Collaboration between startups, established multinationals, research institutions and governmental bodies is crucial."

For major food corporations such as Nestlé, achieving ambitious sustainability goals hinges on continuous innovation.

"Innovation is key to delivering our ambition of getting to 100% recyclable or reusable packaging,” said Rob Hoitink, Nestlé's R&D Global Packaging lead.  

“Today’s event highlights the vital importance of R&D collaboration across the ecosystem to accelerate the development and implementation of new solutions.”

Tetra Pak, another key partner, echoed this sentiment.

“Collaboration with our customers, suppliers and industry stakeholders has been central to our sustainability journey. Our dedication to sustainability constantly drives us to explore new materials and technologies,” said Gustavo Barros, director of R&D Partnerships at Tetra Pak.

“Today, we’ve connected with several innovators whose research can help us take another step forward. We look forward to continuing these conversations."

The SFNV team is compiling a report summarising the event's key takeaways and insights, which will be made publicly available in the near future.

SFNV is a non-profit association founded in 2020 that strengthens and promotes food system innovation, both domestically and globally.