One of the most rapidly evolving specialisations in out-of-home eating, and in the world of gelato and pastry in particular, is that of how products are wrapped and packaged, with a major push towards making things sustainable. According to a recent analysis by The Business Research Company, in 2022 the global market for recyclable packaging exceeded 28 billion dollars by value, up 7.2% on 2021, a figure that is expected to rise to 34.2 billion dollars in 2026.

New consumer patterns that have been seen recently have led on to new ideas for the segment, as Alessandro Perli, head of Italian sales at Scotton, explains: “Some of the main trends we have noticed concern ecological issues such as the recyclability of materials. In addition to that, clients want products that are aesthetically pleasing and practical to use, and ones that don’t involve time-consuming packaging processes.” The technological aspect is also very important: “When it comes to technologies and concepts, we work in particular on the surface of the cardboard, to produce a special textural effect and we do that in-house. We have a wide range of products, and can use many different colours to enhance individual products.”

Eco-friendly packaging is a central market trend: key features include being biodegradable, re-usable, non-toxic and made using recycled materials. The use of eco-friendly packaging is encouraged as a way of reducing the carbon footprint and of promoting a greener lifestyle based on saving energy and preventing pollution.

The demand for sustainability as a business opportunity

Efforts to achieve sustainability are increasingly part of the business of matching supply and demand, a key factor at HostMilano, and an extra business opportunity. Perli believes that Scotton’s participation at Host 2023 (a fieramilano Rho from 13 to 17 October) is very important also for this reason: “For us, this is a physical return to a trade fair in Italy, bringing us into contact with the public, with our operators and with agents. Interaction has to happen if we are to get a sense of how the market and new products are doing. We also come face to face with the foreign market, where there are many possibilities for development, even though we are already present in 60 countries. As well as our current clients, we will also be looking for new distributors and users.”

Finally, as for the geographical locations of the markets the company will be looking for at HostMilano, Perli says: “Our main market is Europe, because it is close and convenient. Overseas, we are also interested in Oceania, Australia and North America. We used to be very strong in the Middle East, anddespite the fact that we currently have less penetration there we would also like to re-establish our presence there.”