Sabert delivers first domestically compostable children’s ready meal trays in Ireland
- Apr 24
- 3 min read
Sabert Corporation Europe has delivered an innovative solution for children’s ready meals for Irish school meals provider, Carambola.
When Carambola approached Sabert, the brief was ambitious. The company was seeking the most environmentally friendly packaging possible for its school meals programme, with a clear requirement that the solution be 100% domestically compostable. In addition to its sustainability credentials, the tray needed to meet children’s needs and capture their interest.
‘It needed to be cool to the touch and the right size for the particular portion sizes required for children's meals,’ said Carambola general manager Jenny Eustace. ‘It also needed to be something that was aesthetically pleasing for children.’
‘Carambola needed a tray that was truly multifunctional,’ explained Sabert sales manager Matt Nash. ‘It needed a tray that was sealable, ovenable, freezable and that could travel as well. We had to get over a lot of hurdles to get to where we are today. We looked at every single material that is available to Sabert and Pulp Ultra just ticked all the boxes for the customer.’
Pulp Ultra is a new innovative formula exclusive to Sabert. It features no intentionally added PFAS, achieving excellent performance and full compliance with legislation.
Made from over 95% bagasse fibres, treated with a barrier spray coating of less than 5%, Pulp Ultra delivers outstanding oil and grease resistance (OGR) permeation in direct contact hot food applications.
Ideal for fresh, ready to eat dishes and hot foods, Pulp Ultra outperforms existing alternatives, including laminated products. It is freezer safe and able to retain frozen goods integrity, perishable goods freshness and keep factory conditioned items intact. Safe for use in microwaves, conventional ovens and suitable for high speed ovens, it is suitable for single PET sealing or multi-welding.
Pulp Ultra responds positively to changes in legislation, with its no intentionally added PFAS formulation, compliant with the European PPWR. It makes refuse collection simpler: it is recyclable (green in the UK’s Recycling Assessment Methodology) and certified as Compostable TÜV OK Compost Home and Industrial.
The product has proven to be a highly effective packaging solution for Carambola, performing reliably throughout the entire production and regeneration process. The solution has also played a key role helping Carambola exceed its sustainability goals, supporting not only the green agenda needs of Carambola as a company but of its schools as well.
‘Pulp Ultra has been a wonderful packaging solution for us,’ added Jenny Eustace. ‘One of the best things about working with Sabert was that it really listened to our requirements and spent a huge amount of time with us learning our business, learning both our challenges and our wins, and finding us the best possible solution to fit our needs.’
‘Now that we use Pulp Ultra, everything about how we produce our meals and everything about the child's experience in school is completely different and worlds apart from where we were prior to working with Sabert,’ added Carambola co-founder and co-managing director Colm O’Brien.
‘Working with Sabert has been a joy, and I don't say that about many providers. When we first met the company, it came to visit and looked at what we were producing and asked us about our longer term objectives around sustainability, around the green agenda. The team went away and put their creative minds together and came back with a truly remarkable product, the first domestically compostable ready meals tray in Ireland.’
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