WeSeal

The EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan and its Impact on Packaging for Baked Goods

Michelle Kitsell — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 17:49:52 +0000

The EU's Circular Economy Action Plan and its Impact on Packaging for Baked Goods

The European Commission adopted its Circular Economy Action Plan in 2020. This plan aims to ensure that all packaging on the EU market is reusable or recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030. Now that we are at the halfway point of 2025, what changes are coming and how will this impact the packaging of baked goods?

As part of the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Commission is reviewing Directive 94/62/EC. This Directive reinforces the mandatory essential requirements for packaging to be allowed on the EU market with a focus on three particular areas. This article will explore those areas and the ways in which We Seal bag closures meet the requisite criteria:

reducing (over)packaging and packaging waste, including by setting targets and other waste prevention measures

We Seal bag closures address over-packaging by using 80% less raw material than rigid plastic tags. The knock-on effect of this lightweight solution makes a substantial environmental impact considering the hundreds of millions of packaged loaves produced around the world every day. We Seal have been committed to simplifying and reducing packaging for over 40 years.

driving design for re-use and recyclability of packaging, including considering restrictions on the use of some packaging materials for certain applications, in particular where alternative reusable products or systems are possible or consumer goods can be handled safely without packaging

The first bag closure company to think about the composition of the bread bag, We Seal manufacture closures from the same material (polypropylene) so that bag and closure can be recycled together. These bag closures also contain 30% recycled plastic without compromising their recyclability, and thanks to their resealability the closures can be re-used to keep the product fresh throughout its lifespan.

considering reducing the complexity of packaging materials, including the number of materials and polymers used

Twist ties and twin wire clips have had a large presence on supermarket shelves for many years, although the combination of metal and plastic has meant they could never be recycled. By using a mono-material approach with their polypropylene bag closures, We Seal have created a truly sustainable solution which perfectly aligns with the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan through simplifying the process of sorting and managing plastics correctly.

For more information on the EU 2030 Initiative and Circular Economy Action Plan, click here.

Old-fashioned metal/plastic combination clip bands are likely to be phased out in the near future, not only for recycling incompatibility but also due to the potential health hazards they present due to their sharp edges. Here’s everything you need to know about switching to a safer and more sustainable solution:

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Patent granted for We Seal’s tamper-evident closure for bread bags

Michelle Kitsell — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 10:38:43 +0000

We Seal granted patent for new tamper-evident closure for bread bags

UK-based bag sealing experts, We Seal, add another patent to their collection for the innovative design of a new tamper-evident tape closure…

Demand for tamper-evident packaging is greater than ever, with retailers looking to promote food safety, protect against intentional tampering or contamination and deter food theft.

Along with a rise in tamper-evident product bags, tamper-evident closures offer an additional level of security, allowing consumers to quickly ascertain if there has been any interference with an item.

We Seal have recently been granted a patent for their innovative new design for a tamper-evident tape closure for bread bags.

This video shows how the clever window and logo transfer design works to provide evidence of any tampering:

A closer look at how We Seal’s tamper-evident bag closures work

The seal shown in this video is a prototype, seals can be customised with different logo designs and a variety of colour options are available to match your brand. ‘Best before’ dates can also be printed on the reverse plain side of the tape ensuring consumers have all the relevant product information at their fingertips.

As with We Seal’s traditional bag closures, the tamper-evident closures are fully recyclable along with other soft plastics, and can be opened and resealed multiple times to maintain product freshness and extend shelf life.

Spools contain over 27,000 seals, vastly reducing the downtime required for changeover and keeping your production line operating smoothly.

For more information about this product, or to request a sample, please enquire via: team@weseal.com

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What are the different bag closing options for industrial bakeries?

Michelle Kitsell — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 16:31:02 +0000

Learning Centre

What are the different bag closing options for industrial bakeries?

In the fast-paced world of baking and food packaging, selecting the right bag closure is crucial to ensuring optimal production efficiency, product freshness and sustainability.

Whilst various options are available, in recent years tape sealing equipment has come to the forefront due to its versatility, consumer-friendly features and environmental emphasis.

Here’s an overview of the different types of bag closing methods and a look at the advantages which sets tape sealing apart from other methods.

Twist tie

Twist tie machines apply a thin metal core encased in a plastic strip to secure bags by twisting them around the neck of the bag. Whilst simple and effective, these closures cannot be recycled due to their mixed material composition. They also have very sharp edges, with the metal cores often protruding from their casing and presenting potential health hazards. The surface area does not allow for printing any information, meaning ‘best by’ dates are confined to the bag along with all the other product information.

Twin wire clip

Twin wire clips are another example of metal encased in plastic, similar to twist ties but designed to bend around the bag neck to keep a tight seal. These closures also present similar potential hazards associated with the sharp edges and cannot be recycled. They also present choking risks as they could be easily ingested by children or pets.

Plastic tags

Plastic tagging machines attach small, barbed plastic tags to the bag’s neck to seal it in place. These can be also be manufactured from other materials such as cardboard or resin, and whilst some compostable and recyclable options are available, they are difficult to use more than once and are prone to ripping. They allow for a very small amount of text to be printed on the closure, but sharp edges can also present hazards, especially as the plastic variety can snap easily.

Tape seals

Tape sealing machines apply resealable polypropylene closures to seal bags securely. They are made from the same material as plastic bread bags – meaning that they can be left attached and recycled together. They have neutral tabs to facilitate easy opening and a large print area to allow for an easily accessible ‘best by’ date, in addition to space for traceability or other information. Tape sealing specialists, We Seal, have recently created a formula which incorporates post-industrial-recycled content into their seals, whilst remaining fully recyclable after use. Thanks to their lightweight design, there is a huge saving in the raw material – with 80% less required for each individual seal compared to plastic tags.

Tamper-evident sealing

More and more baked goods producers are searching for tamper-evident packaging solutions, with several methods currently available. These vary from heat sealing, perforated bags, stickers and laser stitching, all utilised by manufacturers to provide visual indications to consumers if a product has been opened.

We Seal have also addressed this need by introducing a tamper-evident bag closure. This seal has an ingenious design, with the combination of a transparent window and logo transfer which cannot be re-aligned once the seal has been opened. Watch this video to see how they work:

Tamper-evident seals

In conclusion, whilst twist ties and plastic tags have historically played a large role in bag sealing within the baking industry, tape sealing has emerged as the superior and more sustainable option for modern bakeries and conscientious consumers.

By choosing tape sealing equipment and eco-friendly tapes, bakeries can enhance productivity, reduce waste, and contribute positively to sustainability efforts, meeting the demands of both their consumers and regulatory standards as we all work towards a greener world.

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Sealing 5 million+ units per year? Learn about our finance options

Michelle Kitsell — Thu, 02 May 2024 13:55:30 +0000

Learning Centre

Sealing 5 million+ units per year? You're eligible for our finance option...

If you use 5 million+ closures on your bakery products per year, then you are eligible for our “pay per closure” financing option. This arrangement allows you to revolutionise your bag sealing, whilst avoiding a large capital outlay.

Spreading the cost offers many other benefits – such as improved cash flow, better financial ratios and improved EBITDA.

We offer flexible terms to suit your needs, starting as low as 12 months and going up to 60 months.

You could pay as little as $2.50 per 1,000 closures!*

Learn more about our sustainable, resealable closures here.

Learn more about our sealing machines here.

Get in touch to discuss your requirements and let us find the best sealing solution for you:

team@weseal.com
+44 (0)113 250 5881

*Worked example based on supply of 1x Flexi Plus sealing machine and 10 million closures per year over a 60 month term.

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CEO makes appearance on US podcast to tell the story of We Seal’s innovative & sustainable bag closures

Michelle Kitsell — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 16:04:35 +0000

Unwrapping Sustainability: Eco-friendly Bread Packaging Solutions

We Seal CEO Richard Hobson makes a guest appearance on Future Food Cast

We Seal CEO Richard Hobson was invited to appear on US podcast Future Food Cast to discuss the company’s innovative approach to providing a sustainable solution for sealing bread bags.

Richard has over 30 years of invaluable experience in pioneering eco-friendly sealing technology and is the driving force behind the UK using resealable, recyclable tape closures on more than 95% of mass-produced bread.

Here are some of the highlights of Richard’s conversation with host Pam Leinmiller:

🌟 Shining a Light on the Importance of sealing: Bag sealing is a game-changer in food preservation and waste reduction, and vital for maintaining product integrity.

💡 Innovation in Sealing Technology: We Seal’s self-adhesive resealable tape is revolutionary compared to traditional sealing methods, prioritising consumer convenience and prolonged product freshness.

Why consumers love We Seal

🌱 Sustainability at its Core: We Seal walks the talk on sustainability, crafting their product from recycled materials and championing a circular economy through reusability and recyclability.

📚 Consumer Education Matters: Educating consumers about the benefits of innovative sealing methods is key, even amidst resistance—shifting habits and perceptions is a journey worth undertaking.

🌎 Market Expansion Goals: With eyes set on the North American market, We Seal is poised to meet consumer needs and amplify its impact in the largest market for packaged bread.

⚖️ Balancing Profitability & Sustainability: We Seal strikes a harmonious balance between business success and environmental stewardship, taking tangible steps like tree planting to offset emissions.

🌟 Overall, the episode delves into the dynamic nexus of technology, sustainability, and consumer behavior, spotlighting We Seal’s pioneering solutions to industry challenges.

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Inside Sustainability feature: Patents, produce and the perfect seal

Michelle Kitsell — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 11:01:43 +0000

Patents, produce and the perfect seal

An exclusive interview with We Seal CEO Richard Hobson for Inside Sustainability

Featured in the latest edition of Inside Sustainability, We Seal CEO Richard Hobson discusses the company’s growth over the last 8 years, how sustainability is baked into our design, a new innovation for a new market, an exciting Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the University of Derby, and the international demand for responsibly packaged baked goods.

There’s also a piece from our long-term partners Innovia, whose state-of-the-art technology not only allows us to make bag closures with significantly less raw material than other methods, but also to incorporate recycled materials to achieve a circular product.

Click the brochure to read the full article.

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We Seal awarded Knowledge Transfer Partnership to develop bag sealing machinery

Michelle Kitsell — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 08:32:52 +0000

We Seal awarded Knowledge Transfer Partnership to develop bag sealing machinery

We are very excited to announce that We Seal has been awarded a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the University of Derby. Funded by UK Research & Innovation, this award will be used to further develop our bag seal machinery.

What is a Knowledge Transfer Partnership?

Since 1975, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) have been helping UK businesses innovate for growth. They are unique collaborative partnerships creating positive impact and driving innovation.

KTPs connect forward thinking businesses with the UK’s world class knowledge bases to deliver business led innovation projects. Successful applicants are paired with a highly skilled graduate (associate) from the partner university – in our case the University of Derby.

A KTP is part-funded by a grant. A typical KTP project delivers a package of support to cover the costs of:

the academic team
project consumables
the associate’s salary
mentoring, training and development
travel and subsistence

What is our objective for the KTP?

Matt Baines, Manufacturing Director at We Seal (pictured) was instrumental in securing the KTP award and said of the project:

“We look forward to welcoming our new associate in October 2023, with our primary objective being to refine our current bag sealing machinery by investigating engineering techniques and modern materials to optimise performance.

We will also be exploring whether we can radically re-design our current equipment, and envisage a blue-print for a new machine by the end of the project.”

This prestigious award recognises We Seal’s global opportunity for supplying the baking industry with world-class bag sealing systems, and we look forward to sharing updates as the process unfolds.

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Our Commitment to Sustainability

Michelle Kitsell — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 14:06:45 +0000

Our Commitment to Sustainability

We are fiercely committed to sustainability at We Seal, passionate about minimising our environmental impact and ultimately working towards becoming carbon neutral. We’re going about this in a number of different ways:

Practicing what we preach

We know it’s not enough to simply talk the talk, and we are proud to practice what we preach. Recently, a group from We Seal visited Bank Woods in North Yorkshire, curated by the Make it Wild organisation.

The team spent the day learning about the natural world and getting hands on with some conservation work by cutting and placing mulch mats at the base of young trees. This is a method of ensuring that the trees receive the nutrients they need from the soil, preventing weeds from growing and competing for the resources and in turn helping the trees to flourish.

As the event took place on a Saturday it was opened up to families, and it was great to see the kids getting involved. Despite the weather everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience and we’ll definitely be organising another volunteering visit soon!

Make it Wild was established by Helen and Christopher Neave, with the aim of protecting nature through creating more wild spaces and ponds, planting trees and wildflower meadows and encouraging the return of wildlife to these habitats.

With both volunteering opportunities to get hands on, and the option to provide financial support through purchasing carbon offsetting subscriptions, sponsoring nest boxes, dedicating wildflower bouquets, sponsoring Belted Galloway cattle, Exmoor ponies and much more… all funds are re-invested into the fantastic nature reserve projects.

Learn more about Make it Wild here.

Creating the most environmentally friendly bag closures on the market

We use 80% less raw material in our tape-based bag seals compared to commonly used rigid plastic tags, and our seals are not only fully recyclable but can also be manufactured with recycled content. No other sealing method can claim all these features, and we’re proud to be leading the way towards greener bag sealing. A tight seal is also an important tool in avoiding unnecessary food waste by keeping products fresher for longer. Learn more about our innovative seals here.

Educating consumers & campaigning for recycling

We operate the educational website breadbags.org in conjunction with Canadian bread bag manufacturers St Johns Packaging. This site contains information on recycling, food waste, food packaging innovations and was created to teach consumers how to combat recycling myths and do their best to break wish-cycling habits (this is when – often with the best intentions – consumers inadvertently contaminate recycling streams by mixing non-recyclable items with their household recycling). This has knock-on effects such as increasing costs, sorting difficulties and contamination can result in a batch being diverted to landfill or incineration that could otherwise have been recycled. To learn more about some common bad recycling habits, and tips for how you can up your recycling game, click here.

Going the extra mile and not just doing what’s easy

Carbon offsetting, solar panels, electric vehicles, paperless offices… there’s no denying these are all excellent things that make a difference, but we wanted to dig a little deeper. In 2019 we decided to truly assess the impact we were having and look at what really big changes were possible. We realised that we relied heavily on a multinational supply chain and that this contributed to a large carbon footprint due to the transportation between different facilities to complete the various stages of our manufacturing process. We decided to take action and invested in the people and machinery necessary to bring the vast majority of our tape manufacturing in-house. Whilst we know this isn’t a viable option for every company, it was feasible for us and we felt a responsibility to do what we could to reduce our emissions.

The carbon fingerprint approach

We’ve coined an alternative philosophy to help us consider our environmental impact based on the idea of a carbon fingerprint as opposed to a footprint. This helps us to think about leaving light touches instead of deep impressions, and allows us to develop an individual response that’s right for us whilst still making a meaningful difference. We Seal CEO, Richard Hobson, has presented on this topic at IBIE in Las Vegas in 2022, and will speak again to delegates at the upcoming IB A exhibition in Munich (22-26 October). Read more about the carbon fingerprint approach here.

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We Seal CEO to attend BakingTECH in Chicago

Michelle Kitsell — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 16:14:26 +0000

We Seal CEO to attend BakingTECH exhibition in Chicago

We Seal CEO, Richard Hobson, will be attending BakingTECH in Chicago from February 28 – March 2. Bringing together the North American and Canadian markets, this event, organised by the American Society of Baking, sees industry leaders gather to share the latest technology and innovations in food manufacturing, packaging and production.

Having previously visited the show in 2020, Richard is excited to attend again this year to renew connections and demonstrate the sustainable bag sealing solution from We Seal.

With the majority of the North American market using rigid plastic tags or twist ties, this is an exciting opportunity to introduce a different concept which uses up to 80% less raw material than old-fashioned alternatives.

We have seen increasing interest from Canada and the United States in recent months, and after a very successful IBIE in September 2022 we began a number of trials with some major bakeries.

Make sure to stop by stand no. 207 and say hello!

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We Seal partner with Middle East export specialists

Michelle Kitsell — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 17:06:52 +0000

We Seal partner with Middle East export specialists

In 2022, we partnered with Middle East export specialists, Melaxe, to help deliver our sustainable sealing solution to GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, The UAE and Oman.

Founded by Chris Jacques over 25 years ago, Melaxe is a family run business providing a dedicated sales, marketing, account management and technical service to the food manufacturing industries of the Middle East, specialising in exporting food ingredients, flavour solutions and food packaging machinery.

Melaxe was set up following a long and successful career in the Middle East with a number of companies including Spillers International and Imperial Food Group (Ross Breeders). Chris was involved in the early development of the poultry industry in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon along with building food manufacturing factories in Iraq and Jordan, supplying the industrial food industry and building long standing relationships in the Arab world.

Chris’ daughter, Melissa, joined the business 10 years ago after a successful sales & marketing career in Oil & Gas, FMCG (Masterfoods) and the Telecoms industry. Melaxe continues to represent several well-known private as well as multi-national companies as their Middle East Export Agent, ensuring they have comprehensive representation in the Middle East region. We Seal are proud to work with Melaxe, whose customers include some of the largest meat & bakery processors, catering organisations and distributors in the Middle East. Some well-known brand names include:

Al Aresh, Almarai, Americana Meat, Americana Cake, Artic Gold, Fakieh Poultry, Farm Fresh, Freshly Frozen Foods, Heidi Chef Solutions, Herfy, Horeca, Lipton, Nabil, Naif, Rabea Tea, Sunbulah, Supreme Foods and Unilever.

We asked Chris & Melissa to share why they wanted to work with We Seal:

“It was important for us to partner with a company that had similar values to us, whilst also providing a ‘new’ concept to take to our customers. None of the main manufacturers in the region are using this type of resealable closure, most still have twin wire clips or plastic tags.”

They also spoke highly of their visit to We Seal in July 2022 to attend a training session for our growing network of international representatives:

“Although we’ve worked for many years with packaging machinery, this is a new concept for us, so the We Seal training event was perfect for us to really learn, not only about the product, but also the business. We received a wonderfully warm welcome, comprehensive training and met some delightful people which really made us feel part of the team. We are confident that with our knowledge of the local market, a broad spectrum of potential customers and We Seal’s innovative product and support that together we can introduce this to the Gulf market.”

Chris and Melissa will be attending Gulfood in Dubai from 20-24 February.

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