Mother Parkers Brews New Sustainability Solutions
Sustainability remains a hot topic across the retail world and the evolving views of consumers are having a major impact on how retailers bring products to market. While there are many elements to sustainability, product packaging remains a focal point for shoppers.
A big challenge for retailers and product suppliers, as they expand store brand assortment, is to develop product packaging that maintains an item's quality but also allows consumers to dispose of the packaging in a way that is Earth-friendly.
To meet this growing demand from shoppers, coffee supplier Mother Parkers has partnered with Graphic Packaging International to launch Boardio®, an innovation that delivers sustainability and a premium user experience. To highlight the benefits of Boardio® and how the new product packaging fits with the company’s sustainability efforts, Store Brands spoke with Kim Cunningham, Chief Commercial Officer, with Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee.
STORE BRANDS: What specific trends prompted Mother Parkers to invest in launching Boardio®?
KIM CUNNINGHAM: Consumer demand is driving innovation and development in sustainable product packaging. A significant majority of coffee buyers prioritize recyclable packaging in decision-making. Our research revealed that 84% of coffee buyers find recycling important, indicating a strong preference for recyclable packaging, and 76% said they would feel more positive if their preferred brand switched to recyclable fiber-based packaging.(1)
"From farm to cup, Mother Parkers is engaged locally and at the industry level in creating a sustainable future for our customers and consumers. We are deeply committed to sustainable sourcing of our coffee, tea, and packaging products."
— Kim Cunningham, Mother Parkers
STORE BRANDS: What are the key functional benefits of Boardio® that set it apart from traditional packaging options?
CUNNINGHAM: The Boardio® fiber-based packaging, provided by one of the world's premier consumer packaging companies, Graphic Packaging International, provides a superb alternative to plastic, glass, and metal containers.
It’s made with a minimum of 80% FSC-certified paper(2) and has received the How2Recycle® widely accepted certification(3), indicating that the packaging can be easily processed by recycling systems accessible to a substantial majority of consumers. It’s also incredibly efficient to transport, requiring just three trucks for inbound packaging versus the 56 trucks required for traditional pre-formed cans. As a result, Boardio® is an innovative alternative to traditional packaging solutions and delivers a premium user experience – a win for the planet, our customers, and their consumers.
STORE BRANDS: How does Boardio® fit into Mother Parkers’ broader sustainability journey beyond just packaging?
CUNNINGHAM: From farm to cup, Mother Parkers is engaged locally and at the industry level in creating a sustainable future for our customers and consumers. We are deeply committed to sustainable sourcing of our coffee, tea, and packaging products. We source our products from suppliers who agree to adhere to sustainable farming practices, taking a collaborative approach to the protection and advancement of the environment and human rights throughout our business operations and supply chains. This work is designed to align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Agreement, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Labor Organization Core Conventions. We also collaborate with certification organizations, such as Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance, that seek to protect the environment and human rights through validated policies, monitoring, third-party auditing, reporting, and remediation.
We have aggressive Corporate Sustainability initiatives in support of climate action plans through the Science Based Targets initiative and are committed to making positive impacts on the communities in which we operate. Through our partnership with One Tree Planted, we will plant one million trees in coffee and tea producing countries by 2025, including 100,000 trees each in Honduras, India, Guatemala, Kenya, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Argentina. This will help to combat climate change, reduce carbon emissions, restore forests, protect biodiversity, and support communities in coffee and tea origins.
STORE BRANDS: How does Boardio® align with retailer sustainability goals, particularly regarding eco-friendly packaging solutions?
CUNNINGHAM: Many of our retail partners have sustainability goals focused on reducing plastic waste and have stated they will use recyclable, reusable, or compostable packaging for their private label products by 2025. The Boardio® packaging solution helps them achieve their goals by providing a paper-based recyclable alternative that meets consumer demand for recyclable packaging. It also offers practical benefits, like reducing the carbon footprint associated with transportation. For retailers with private label coffee programs, it’s a way to show innovation to gain share and drive shelf and transportation efficiencies, all while supporting their sustainability objectives.
STORE BRANDS: What feedback have you received from retailers about Boardio® in terms of meeting their sustainability targets?
CUNNINGHAM: Retailer feedback about the Boardio® packaging has been overwhelmingly positive. Our customers see the Boardio® option as a leading format in helping them achieve their sustainability and corporate social responsibility objectives. They appreciate that this innovative packaging combines the best of both worlds – recyclable fiber-based packaging with a premium user experience while keeping shelf life the same as prevailing current can packaging formats.
A recent survey confirmed that consumers prefer Boardio® packaging over current can and bag options that dominate today’s retail coffee market. By helping our retail partners transition into the recyclable Boardio® paperboard canister, we’re helping them make a world of difference to their consumers – and making our planet a little better.
STORE BRANDS: What future innovations can we expect from Mother Parkers in the realm of sustainable packaging?
CUNNINGHAM: There’s always a lot brewing at Mother Parkers! Our single-serve EcoCup® capsule enables consumer recycling with a pull tab lid, and filter that does not need to be removed from the capsules to enable recycling where facilities exist.(4) Paper-based solutions and compostable plastics are at the heart of the work our packaging development team focuses on. Our work commitment to the Science Based Targets Initiative is equally as important to us. We’re committed to doing good for the planet, people, and our communities through continuous improvements and innovative solutions in packaging and beyond.
1 Fiber Board Packaging Research USA–C.J. Leonard Market Research, Commissioned by Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee, December 2022. Based on U.S. can and bag coffee buyers.
2 Excludes freshness seal.
3 Excludes freshness seal.
4 Check locally – not recycled in many communities.