Your tea is served in recyclable envelopes
Individually packaged food is hotter than ever, with demand for food packaging projected to grow by almost 6% annually in the coming years. Tea envelopes for the individual wrapping of tea bags are just one of the areas where Walki is contributing to zero-waste future.
Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water. Although sales have been mostly flat in recent years, The Tea Association of the U.S.A. believes the wellness benefits of tea are starting to make it trendy again among younger, health-conscious consumers.
Legend has it the tea bag was invented by American importer Thomas Sullivan in 1908, although Lipton’s so-called “flo-thru” bag was not introduced until 1952. While purists may argue that tea is best enjoyed in loose-leaf form, the indisputable convenience of the tea bag has upheld its popularity over the years. The Spruce Eats reports that, “tea bags are used by as many as 98% of Americans and 96% of U.K. residents,” adding that they are also widely used in India, Japan, and elsewhere.
Recyclable tea envelopes
A tea envelope is an individual paper sachet that the tea bag is wrapped in. It can take the form of either a heat-sealable envelope or a folded envelope. As Walki’s Technical Service and Development Manager Henri Torkkola explains, Walki is a specialist in the heat-sealable type.
“Walki’s reyclable, paper-based materials for tea envelopes are heat sealable on high-speed tea packaging lines and provide protection for the packaged tea,” he says.
The main Walki products used for tea envelopes are Walki®EVO Seal and Walki®Seal PE.
Whereas Walki®Seal PE uses traditional PE-coated paper, the Walki®EVO Seal range was developed by Walki in response to consumer demand for more sustainable, easy-to-recycle packaging products. Walki®EVO Seal is re-pulpable, heat sealable and provides protection against humidity. The material also has good printability..
Dispersion technology supports recyclability
Walki®EVO Seal is made using dispersion technology, which enables a very thin coating layer to be added to the paper base to provide the needed barrier or heat-sealability properties.
“With paper as a substrate, dispersion technology allows us to create a combination that is natural and well recyclable. Since the raw materials are biodegradable, the final product is expected to be certified as fully compostable”, explains Torkkola.
Printed tea envelopes
Last but not least, Walki also offers a state-of-the-art flexo printing service.
Andreas Rothschink, who is responsible for Product Development-Consumer Packaging at Walki, explains that water-based inks and varnishes are used to produce high-quality printed packaging.
“Walki is a full-service provider that can deliver a final product that’s not only recyclable, but also printed and ready for sale,” he says. “In doing so, we not only help our customers limit their climate impact but also reduce the complexity of their supply chain and shorten their time to market.”