BioEnvelop Technologies has reported that sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2005 of $198,026, represents a 1,486 per cent increase over the sales of $12,489 for the same quarter ended 30 April 2003. This underlines the growing importance of the biodegradable films sector, which is increasingly finding applications within the food packaging industry.
BioEnvelop also announced this week that the monthly sales for the month of April 2004 have reached a record level for a third consecutive month. The billings for products for the month of April 2004 reached $85,222, the highest monthly product sales to-date for the company.
This represents a 32.6 per cent increase over the reported sales of $64,273 for March 2004. The sales for the quarter ended 30 April 2004 of $198,026 were ahead of plan and set a record for the highest quarterly sales to date for the company.
"This continuous increase in sales demonstrates the synergies that have developed between the manufacturing and sales & marketing sectors. These two critical sectors of our business are very much in sync," said BioEnvelop Technologies chief executive Nagui Naoum.
"Sales gains have come through the tactical application of our sales and marketing strategy. We are experiencing an increase in our success rate in developing practical applications for our product lines that provide real value to our target customers. Our ability to develop product solutions for these applications demonstrates our core competency in edible coating and film product development."
The Canadian-based company develops applications of its biodegradable films for packaging, protecting and transporting food products. BioEnvelop now markets three distinctive product lines: Longevita and Bari-Kad for agri-food applications and BioP100 for the packaging industry.
The firm's Longevita coating solution is a biodegradable and edible protein-based coating treatment that prolongs shelf life and inhibits humidity transfer in fresh and frozen food products. Bari-Kad, is sold as a gel or solid film.
The success of the company underlines a growing trend towards innovative biodegradable packaging. Edible wraps made of fruit and vegetables and plastic wrapping that incorporates basil are also being developed. The products are said to be water repellent, and according to the developers, contain the equivalent nutritional value of a fruit or a vegetable.
The wraps are made from a concentrated puree of fruit or vegetable. Vegetable oils are then added to ensure they are waterproof, and the film is then cut into pre-formed sheets or envelope shapes. Developer Tara McHugh, a food chemist at the department of agricultural research in California, says that an average pack size contains the equivalent nutritional value of a fruit or a vegetable.
"The wraps could provide a glaze or a sauce for cooking - you can use a tomato or ketchup flavour for hamburgers when you freeze them and cook the whole thing, wrap and all," she told the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
In addition, a recently published report in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry highlights how the herb basil, when incorporated into plastic wrapping can enhance food safety. The basil, which has long been known to contain bacteria-fighting properties, is incorporated into the plastic wrapping to preserve foods.
Before these products get near the shelves however, they will have to pass stringent health and safety requirements. At present the situation is highly confused - the EU Directive (92/62/EC) has just been revised, and targets for packaging waste recovery and recycling have been increased. The definition of packaging has been amended and new prevention obligations have been introduced.
But the need for cutting edge technology in packaging has never been greater. Research points to a rising number of home-alone consumers with an increasing amount of disposable income.
For instance Datamonitor statistics show that more than one-third of European consumers live alone and are spending €140 billion a year on food, drinks and personal care products. In fact, single people spend 50 per cent more per person on consumer-packaged goods than a two adult household.
The success of BioEnvelop in the space of a year suggests that innovative biodegradable packaging could be the food packaging concept of the future.