The cold chain packaging company makes sustainable and compostable packaging for unbroken cold chains in the grocery and pharmaceutical market, such as polystyrene (EPS).
Dairy
Fresh foods, like fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry and dairy, require an uninterrupted cold chain due to their perishable nature.
”Within the cold chain segment, for decades, there has been a need to find products that can replace fossil based packaging. Vericool's market disruptive products are examples of this technology which falls in line with what we work for within BillerudKorsnäs,” said Anders Persson, MD, BillerudKorsnäs.
“Together we intend to build tomorrow's sustainable packaging and through an expanded offer with alternatives to polystyrene.
“We will continue to challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future.”
The investment is being made by BillerudKorsnäs’ wholly owned subsidiary BillerudKorsnäs Venture, which develops new business for the group.
Persson said the aim is to link up with young and innovative companies in a relatively early phase and actively contribute to developing new technology in the packaging value chain.
Fourth investment
“This is a small investment for BillerudKorsnäs in financial terms,” he added.
According to the US International Trade Administration's ‘2016 Top Markets Report Cold Chain’, US businesses understand the need for viable and efficient cold chain systems; they spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year to build and maintain both cold storage and transportation systems, which allow US businesses to flourish.
“Cold chain systems are crucial to the growth of global trade in perishable products and to the worldwide availability of food and health supplies. Each year, billions of tons of fresh food products and millions of dollars’ worth of U.S. exports are lost due to poor cold chain systems in developing markets. The World Economic Forum lists food crises as fourth on its top global risks of highest concern for the next 10 years," it says.
Vericool’s packaging is suitable for home delivery of food including the fast-growing “meal kit” market in the US.
Darrell Jobe, CEO, Vericool Packaging, said BillerudKorsnäs is an excellent partner and investor for Vericool.
Vericool is the fourth investment made by BillerudKorsnäs Venture. The previous three are: Denmark-based EcoXpac, which together with BillerudKorsnäs is developing a paper-based bottle to contain the pressure of carbonated drinks; UK-based Hanhaa, which enables the condition and position of parcels to be determined in real time during the delivery process, regardless of country or transport partner; and Norway-based Kezzler, which can assign digital identities for individual packaging.