Parkside develops compostable packaging for Beavertown crisps

Sustainable packaging specialist Parkside Flexibles has developed a compostable crisps packet for British brewery Beavertown, for its unique campaign designed to start conversations around mental health.

Beavertown is known across the UK for its craft beers including Neck Oil, Gamma Ray, Lupuloid and Bones. Alongside its beers, the brewery has this month partnered with the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) to launch a limited-edition packet of crisps with a difference: cheddar and jalapeño flavored crisps aimed at starting conversations around mental health.

In a unique campaign, the brewery has enlisted the help of artisanal crisp brand SMUG to develop the original flavor and manage the production process with their partners - crisp manufacturer Yorkshire Crisp Company, and compostable packaging expert Parkside.

Each pack features mental health conversation starters printed on the inside of the laminate material, designed to open conversations around mental health.  

Adding further value to the concept, the compostable packaging is developed by Parkside Flexibles’ Park2Nature range. The high-performance laminate includes high barrier compostable cellulose film layers, NatureFlex films, sourced from Futamura.

The packaging provides the barrier performance required to protect the intense flavor and freshness of the crisps and is compostable in home and industrial settings.

The finished packs, with printed designs on the outside and the inside, are Seedling and OK Compost accredited as compostable. They are also compliant to the EU standard EN13432 for packaging recovery through biodegradation and composting.

Mark Shaw, sales account manager at Parkside, said: ‘We are delighted that we were able to work on this design for Beavertown crisps and contribute to this campaign for mental health. Beavertown crisps provide that natural invitation to start sharing in a relaxed way, right there at the pub. A great idea if you ask me.’

Andy Sweetman, sales and marketing director of Futamura, added: ‘We are delighted to be helping out in our own small way with such a brilliant initiative, using ethical packaging to help out in such an innovative way.’

The new Open Up crisps will be available at more than 260 pubs across the UK, including in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.