Mimica Touch expiry label on a milk bottle

The Mimica Touch label turns bumpy to indicate to consumers that food is no longer safe to eat

Using tech for good

Sir, ‘Tech for good’ is very fashionable at the moment, so I wasn’t surprised to see dairy company Arla team up with Mimica to trial ‘bumpy’ use-by labels in a bid to slash food waste.

But let’s take a step back. Before we get to food, we’ve got packaging to deal with - and the solution is AI.

When it comes to shopping online, AI software can now identify which products are frozen and, when only one product is placed in the cart, it makes recommendations to the customer on other frozen foods available. This prompt means that if an additional item is selected by the customer, the packaging automatically becomes cost-effective for the retailer, and less wasteful.

Let’s hope more retailers follow suit and use tech for sustainability purposes in future.

Meyar Sheik, co-founder and CEO, Certona



Time to embrace PLA

Sir, I read about the UK looking to tackle plastic pollution, but read nothing about the great work companies such as London Bio pack, Vegware and ourselves, Eco for Life, are doing to help alleviate the problem.

PLA products are becoming increasingly popular not only because of their end of life options, but also how they help reduce the impact on finite resources and cutting carbon emissions. There is also the demographic who believe eating or drinking from nature is a better choice, plus with Eco for Life bottled water you can keep the bottle for longer and refill it.

With all this positiveness, why do we consistently get overlooked? Surely it is time for you to embrace PLA - the public are!

Mike Shore, director, Key Brands International



Digital success

Sir, The path to growth and success is a journey of adaptation, differentiation and - yes - digitalisation. Everyone has heard of digital transformation but many are still unsure of the benefits it brings.

Accenture reports that 95% of chief executives expect major strategic challenges regarding disruption and the fourth industrial revolution - yet it finds only 20% of organisations are prepared for this. Future-proofing your business isn’t something that can be achieved after your next board meeting. It’s a never-ending process of analysis, development and continuous improvement, fuelled by an appetite for innovation and learning.

Mary Hunter, MD, Columbus UK

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