Pulmuone Wins Award for Eco-Friendly Salad Container at the 15th Korea Packaging Exhibition

by Lee Seungjin

Published 26 May.2021 08:05(KST)

At the 15th Korea Packaging Exhibition, Pulmuone's eco-friendly salad container made from Bio-PET material received an award. (Photo by Pulmuone)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Pulmuone has won an award at the Korea Packaging Exhibition for its eco-friendly salad container made from Bio-PET material, which enhances environmental sustainability.

On the 25th, Pulmuone announced on the 26th that it received the ‘Korea Packaging Technology Society President’s Award’ at the 15th Korea Packaging Exhibition held at KINTEX in Ilsan, Gyeonggi-do, for its eco-friendly salad container made from Bio-PET material, which was developed and applied to product packaging for the first time in Korea.

The Korea Packaging Exhibition is a packaging design award hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and organized by the Packaging Technology Center of the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology. It is an event that selects products and designs that have contributed to the development of the packaging industry by reflecting excellent packaging technology, and is considered one of the most prestigious awards in the domestic packaging design field. Winners are selected through strict evaluation by experts representing the packaging industry and public judges based on four criteria: technicality, marketability, expressiveness, and sustainability.

Bio-PET is a material that replaces 30% of the conventional PET raw materials with raw materials extracted from sugarcane, enhancing its eco-friendliness. It reduces carbon dioxide emissions by about 20% throughout the entire process of manufacturing, distribution, and incineration. It is 100% recyclable.

Pulmuone received high praise for applying Bio-PET material, which had been limited to beverage types in the industry, to salad containers?a popular healthy lunchbox among office workers?by processing it with new technology, thereby enhancing both environmental and market value.

Until now, the representative eco-friendly material used for salad containers was biodegradable PLA material, but Pulmuone commercialized the product using Bio-PET material, which is impact-resistant and suitable for refrigerated online delivery, thereby increasing the product’s marketability. Additionally, the container for salad and the inner tray for holding forks and dressing were separated to prevent vegetable bruising and to secure aesthetic appeal.

The eco-friendly salad container made with Bio-PET can be found at corporate catering sites operated by ‘Pulmuone Food & Culture,’ ‘Orga Whole Foods’ stores, and Pulmuone’s smart unmanned restaurant ‘Chulchul Kitchen.’ In the future, Pulmuone plans to apply eco-friendly Bio-PET to the containers of its representative noodle products, such as tofu noodles.

Lee Sang-yoon, Director of Pulmuone Technology Institute, said, “We will continue to develop eco-friendly materials and technologies that can help the global environment and apply them to a wider range of products.”

Meanwhile, Pulmuone announced its management goal ‘Global New DP5’ in 2020, stating that by 2022, all products produced and sold by Pulmuone would use 100% recyclable superior packaging materials. Pulmuone is concretely practicing eco-friendly packaging according to the 3R principles of reducing plastic usage, using packaging that is easy to recycle, and removing chemical substances remaining in packaging materials.