Rottneros, Sweden, has developed a food packaging tray for fresh food and take-away. The tray is manufactured entirely with wooden raw material and is both recyclable, renewable, and degradable.

The new product has been developed at Rottneros’ facility in Sunne, Sweden, where a completely new production line for the trays is currently being built. The tray will replace today's plastic alternatives and will be used for convenience food, meat in grocery stores, and take away food.

The tray is based entirely on Swedish wooden raw materials and can withstand moisture and keep the food fresh. To further develop the product, Rottneros is committed to developing environmentally friendly and biodegradable trays that at the same time can withstand moisture and fat from the food. Depending on the use, plastic is either completely eliminated or greatly reduced in products with high barrier requirements, as a renewable and degradable type of plastic can also be used.

"We are very pleased to be able to present a product based on Swedish wooden raw materials, developed by Rottneros, that we will have the opportunity to start manufacturing and supplying to the food industry. In addition, it is a product that is far ahead in the development," said Kasper Skuthälla, managing director of Rottneros Packaging.

The development of the tray from idea to commercial product has been through teamwork and involved large parts of the staff. Henrik Grankvist, production manager who has led the development work, believes that the interest shown by the food industry during the project shows that there is a great need for environmentally friendly trays of this type.

Rottneros CEO Lennart Eberleh, noted that this is a very interesting step in the development of Rottneros Packaging and demonstrates the future potential of sustainable packaging solutions.