CAN WE TAKE SOFT PLASTIC FLOW WRAP OUT OF FRESH PRODUCE?
Introducing Wayfarer Heat-Sealable Paper Flow Wrap
Fresh produce packaging has a difficult job.
It needs to protect produce, manage moisture and respiration, maintain quality through the supply chain and help reduce food waste — all while running efficiently through commercial packing operations.
Traditionally, that has meant soft plastic flow wrap.
Salty's Wayfarer Paper Flow Wrap offers another way: a heat-sealable, bio-coated paper alternative developed to replace conventional soft-plastic flow wrap for fresh produce.
TRIALLED ACROSS FRESH PRODUCE
This isn't just a material concept.
Wayfarer has been trialled with Zespri, New Zealand post-harvest operators and automation engineering companies on automated packing lines as an alternative to conventional soft-plastic flow wrap.
The trials have taken Wayfarer into commercial packing environments, working with the machinery and systems already used by the fresh produce industry.
Its heat-sealable construction enables the paper to be formed and sealed as a flow-wrap format, with pack-line trials allowing operators to optimise machine settings, feednig arms, sealing temperatures, line speeds, material handling and pack configuration for their particular equipment and produce.
Because replacing soft plastic at scale requires more than developing a better material. IT HAS TO RUN ON THE LINE.
FRESH PRODUCE IS ALIVE
Even after harvest, fruit and vegetables continue to respire, release moisture and respond to temperature and humidity.
That means replacing plastic isn't as simple as wrapping produce in paper.
Packaging needs to balance airflow, moisture management, barrier performance, product protection and shelf life.
Wayfarer has been developed around a fundamental principle:
BETTER END OF LIFE SHOULDN'T COME AT THE EXPENSE OF THE FOOD INSIDE.
Reducing plastic only makes sense if we aren't increasing food waste in the process.
WHY MOVE FROM SOFT PLASTIC TO PAPER?
Conventional flow wrap is lightweight, efficient and effective — but flexible plastic can be difficult to recover through conventional recycling systems.
Wayfarer takes a different approach:
START WITH FIBRE.
Our functional bio-coated paper combines the heat sealability required for flow wrapping with a fibre-based packaging format designed for a more circular end-of-life pathway.
WAYFARER PAPER FLOW WRAP
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Heat sealable
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Developed for fresh produce
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Trialled with Zespri
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Trials across automated fresh produce packing lines
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Trials with NZ post-harvest operators and automation engineering companies
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Designed to replace conventional soft-plastic flow wrap
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Functional bio-barrier coating
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CEPI paper-recyclability tested
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Home and commercially compostable
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Food-contact compliant
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Free from added PFAS
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Custom printable
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Made in New Zealand
FROM SOFT PLASTIC TO FIBRE
For growers, packhouses, exporters and retailers, reducing plastic doesn't always mean using a little less plastic.
Sometimes the bigger opportunity is to design it out altogether.
Wayfarer brings together Salty's experience in fresh produce, material innovation, packaging development and real-world supply chains to help move fresh produce packaging from soft plastic into fibre.
READY TO TRIAL WAYFARER ON YOUR PACKING LINE?
If you're a grower, packhouse, exporter, produce brand or retailer looking to replace soft-plastic flow wrap, talk to Salty about running Wayfarer through your automated packing line.
We'll work alongside your post-harvest and engineering teams to run the paper through your existing equipment and establish the settings required for your machinery, produce and pack format.
We are looking to partner with growers and packhouses ready to move from soft plastic to fibre.
TAKE SOFT PLASTIC OFF THE LINE
Talk to Salty about running a Wayfarer Paper Flow Wrap pack-line trial. email enquiries@saltoftheearthpackaging.nz