Packaging

Along with food and drink, a surge in demand for beauty products has driven Esselunga’s online sales since the beginning of the pandemic.

Last February, before the coronavirus outbreak in the country, the first Japanese robot bartender began serving up drinks in a Tokyo pub.

Biopromotions has teamed up with Braskem to develop an innovative mask strap that supports the mask’s elasticated loops, thereby removing excessive pressure from the ears and making the mask more comfortable to wear.

Many consumers have made an effort to eat more healthily during the lockdown

Dutch food retail group Ahold Delhaize has reported unprecedented levels of demand in all countries where it operates along with double-digit sales revenues.

The answer appears to be a resounding “yes”, as evidenced by the fact that in less than a month Pepsico has launched two direct-to-consumer sites (currently operational only in the USA) to sell its range of drinks, snacks and breakfast products straight to end consumers.

An essential item for everyday use, face masks now have their own protective holders. SAVEyourMASK® is a pocket solution developed by Faenza Group for safe storage of masks after use.

At a time when individual protection has become a top priority, we are seeing some interesting ideas emerge combining safety, design and sustainability.

A growing list of African food & beverage companies are providing aid to the communities most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The number of online consumers in Italy has increased by 2 million since the beginning of 2020 to reach a total of 29 million, 1.3 million of whom, according to Netcomm’s estimates, are attributable to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

US label systems provider Luminer is seeing a significant rise in demand for extended content labels (ECLs) for clinical trials, several of which deal with ongoing development of drugs related to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Brazilian company Natura & Co, the world’s fourth largest beauty group listed on the Sao Paulo and New York Stock Exchanges, closed Q1 2020 with 1.9% growth in net revenue to R$7.5 billion (approximately €1.2 billion).

Sitma has made its expertise, machinery and workforce available for fully sustainable packaging of an initial batch of 12,000 paper face masks supplied by UPM Speciality Papers, a leading Finnish company in the sector with which it is collaborating on a number of R&D projects.

Special Packaging Solutions Investments, owned by private equity fund Investindustrial, has launched a voluntary partial tender offer at €6 per ordinary share to acquire up to 20% of the voting shares of Guala Closures, a world-leading Piedmontese aluminium beverage closures manufacturer listed on the Milan Stock Exchange.

Mumbai-based company Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has signed an agreement with Glenmark Pharmaceuticals to acquire its intimate hygiene brand VWash together with intellectual property rights including trademarks, design and know-how.

Italian companies and food retail chains continue to support hospitals and people in need. As the Phase 2 post-lockdown period begins, the country is beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel but there continues to be urgent need for help.

La multinazionale britannica DS Smith ha donato imballaggi in cartone all’azienda tessile Anzú che ha riorganizzato la propria attività per produrre mascherine.

Huhtamaki, a global leader in sustainable food packaging solutions, is expanding the production of its CE marked protective face shields for healthcare professionals and frontline workers in the UK.

Campari has entered into exclusive negotiations with the French holding company Sarl Ficoma, owned by Francis Tribaut, for the initial acquisition of an 80% stake followed in the medium term by ownership of the entire share capital of Sarl Champagne Lallier and other group companies.

According to the marketing agency DSM Group, sales of pharmaceuticals (€4 billion) and parapharmaceuticals (€987.5 million) grew by 25% in Russia in the first quarter of 2020.