Understanding the views of the UK food packaging supply chain in order to support a move to circular economy systems

Abstract

This study set out to better understand the feelings of stakeholders from the UK food packaging supply chain towards a move to circular economy (CE) systems. The research areas studied included current and future challenges facing supply chain stakeholders, the consideration of transformative technologies (TT) to enable packaging solutions in the move to CE systems and what CE systems using TT would look like for the UK's chilled food packaging sector. A questionnaire was selected to obtain data from across the UK food packaging supply chain. Participants were selected from six industry stakeholder groups, with 24 completing the questionnaire. This study has clearly shown there is a large spectrum of solutions in a move to CE, each with their own benefits and limitations. TT has an ability to enable these, but in selecting the best one for a specific packaging solution, a decision maker must take into consideration business constraints of the supply chain and the consumer's behaviour towards new solutions.

Circular Food Behaviors: A Literature Review

“…In Peschel and Aschemann-Witzel [37], consumers seemed unwilling to pay more for upcycled plant-based alternatives (unless there was transparency about the costs involved, but then the choice likelihood also decreased). Further challenges towards circular food behaviors related to consumers' education [44,45] and lack of knowledge and awareness [18,43,46]. Consumers seemed unaware of food sustainability challenges, failing to include these in their food purchase goals [47].…”

“…Consumers seemed unaware of food sustainability challenges, failing to include these in their food purchase goals [47]. The lack of information-for example, on the sustainability of different packaging [48] and upcycled food ingredients [39]-showed a need to communicate better with consumers [44]. Further consumption-related barriers found were food neophobia [41,42] and food technology neophobia [17,38] (although food neophobia was not relevant in all cases, e.g., [39]); lack of acceptance of insect as a food source [42,47,49,50] and food produced with upcycled ingredients [18,39]; globalized diets leading to inattention towards diversified, local and seasonal foods [17]; the change of shopping habits [44] and dietary choices [13]; lack of convenience [1,28,44]; adaptation to new technologies [46]; perception of risk in new food technologies [34]; lack of planning in food purchases [51]; the perceived tradeoff between sustainability and taste [36]; unfamiliarity with the "circular economy" term [43]; and the negative influence of the media [44,52].…”

“…requires first and foremost a change in the situation of consumers and not just that of isolated entrepreneurs" [46] (p. 129). Consumers can support circular food systems through their choices [51] in terms of lifestyle and dietary eating patterns [17]; and by accepting novel products, such as upcycled foods [37,38] and new packaging solutions [44]. Consumers may have different roles in circular food behaviors: classic customers, prosumers with flexible commitment, and compulsory volunteers [57].…”

“…In transitioning behaviors, consumers experiment and adopt new technologies that support the circular economy. This experimentation may involve radical innovations, as insects as animal feed [19,59], refrigerators and freezers with "integrated storage solutions and tools for measuring shelf life" [51] (p. 1440) or technologies in food packaging [44], such as QR codes that interact with bins and aid consumers in the disposal process [52]. Innovations are consumer-oriented and may be developed in collaborative approaches, such as co-creation [43], co-innovation, or co-design [70].…”

“…Both in transitioning and circular behaviors, technologies connect, inform, and educate consumers and have the potential to bridge the "circularity holes" in food chains [45]. They can educate about a product's benefits, indicate how and where to dispose of products [44,52], guide consumers towards healthier and more sustainable food choices [13], and increase transparency in the food chain [63]. Digital means and online communities-such as information and communications technologies, apps, digital platforms, and social networks-disseminate established practices and simplify and amplify the connections between different actors [45].…”