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Saving 120 tonnes of plastic waste by replacing a lid

Europe’s leading take-away salad bar company, Picadeli, replaced their single-use plastic lid with a formed fiber alternative.

Reducing plastic use by 50% by 2025

Picadeli have 2 300 salad bars throughout Europe and the USA. Their concept are self-serving salad bars where the consumers pick and mixes their own salads. From the start they used plastic bowls and plastic lids.

With a growing focus on sustainability, Picadeli set themselves a target to reduce their plastic use by 50% by 2025. Because of this, they wanted to replace all plastic used in their take-away packaging.

The bowl was changed to a cardboard bowl a few years back, leaving the next challenge for Picadeli: Replacing the plastic lid.

Together, Picadeli and Stora Enso developed a lid made out of PureFiber™. PureFiber™ is Stora Enso’s range of formed fiber eco-friendly products made from wood fibers.

Enter, formed fiber

A collaboration with Stora Enso's formed fiber team created the solution to this challenge: A plastic-free, renewable, recyclable and biodegradable lid

Christine Soome

Food concepts Picadeli

“We searched for a paper-based lid and started to discuss possibilities with Stora Enso. They introduced us to formed fiber which sounded great, but what would our customers think? As they won’t be able to see the salad through this type of non-transparent lid.”

Yujia Zhang

Product Manager Stora Enso

“These types of lids only existed for drinking cups but not in bigger sizes. We had to develop a brand-new product that no one had done before."

The new formed fiber lid, as other Stora Enso PureFiber™ products for take-away food, is plastic-free, recyclable as paper, biodegradable and free from PFAS and other forever chemicals.

Designed for the consumers

The sustainable fiber lid was developed with the end user in mind, and field tested during development...

“We tested the prototype in a mall in Gothenburg. I was there and got comments like ‘finally, the plastic lid is gone!’ Since customers pick the salad themselves they didn't need to see the food with the lid on.”

Christine Soome

Food Concepts Picadeli

The design process

The design was a collaboration between Picadeli’s marketing department and Stora Enso’s packaging design team.

Picadeli developed the graphic design for the debossing on the lid, whilst Stora Enso were responsible for structural design.

Other features are a “puff” sound the lid makes when it’s attached to the bowl, proving that it’s tightly sealed. You can stack salad packages on top of each other for easy carrying and the lid has a round compartment suitable for a dressing cup.

Stora Enso is partnered with Picadeli across the packaging supply chain. From to design, to material supply, and production in Stora Enso facilities in Sweden.

Christine Soome

Food Concepts Picadeli