Healthy and sustainable - Coveris and Demavic introduce a new range of therapeutic pet food in recyclable MonoFlex bags

With an estimated revenue of 34,955 million USD, the global pet food market is steadily growing despite the pandemic. Among the top five countries with highest revenue, France takes a third place with over 5,131 million USD.[1] To meet the growing customer and market demands, Demavic, a French pet food manufacturer, has teamed up with Coveris for packaging to support the launch of their new range of therapeutic pet kibbles. Using Coveris’ leading MonoFlexE film, the new therapeutic kibbles are packed in monomaterial, recyclable bags.

The ongoing trend of humanisation of pets results in pet owners paying special attention to the quality of their four-legged family members’ food. As a result, more and more pet food brands are introducing therapeutic food that helps in maintaining a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. So today, pet food producers are challenged to both satisfy the demands and meet the environment and governments’ laws to limit waste. In fact, a new anti-waste law was recently introduced in France, which aims to eliminate waste and pollution from the design stage and transform production, distribution and consumption models from a linear to circular economy. [2]

The right partner with the right answers

As a result, Demavic reached out to Coveris for help in designing bags for their new product launch that answers these demands. "When we decided to launch a new range of therapeutic pet food, we had to think about the distribution channels we would select. Usually, therapeutic pet food is sold through veterinarians, but we wanted to innovate and market our products in large food stores. To attract consumers to buy this type of product at this point of sale, we had to take into consideration their expectations, particularly with regards to packaging and environmental protection" explained Olivier Poupon, Demavic Buyer.

Coveris' response was a quadroseal bag, designed using the proven MonoFlexE polyethylene film, which monomaterial structure allows easier recycling in existing plastic streams. Additionally, Coveris’ team manufactured two variants of the bags from 3 up to 10 kilograms, which includes a front zip to allow easy opening and resealing for extended freshness of the kibbles for the 3kg format. The new solution offers customers the same convenience and product protection as the standard designs, while minimising waste.

Real challenge leads to growth

The biggest challenge for Coveris was producing 10kg monomateraial bags as it was the first enquiry from a customer for a solution in this size. Fortunately, with the support of Coveris’ R&D team, the bigger bags successfully met all the product tests. The equivalent machinability as standard PET/PE material convinced Demavic that introducing MonoFlexE to existing production lines will be a straightforward process.  

The products, 100% made in France, including the kibbles, packaging and label, were launched on the French market in the summer of 2021 in large food stores (GSA) and will soon be sold in large specialised stores (GSS).

“The combination of full recyclability of the monomaterial, the prolonged freshness thanks to the front zip and the enhanced graphics met all our needs. As a result, the new bag created a user and environmentally friendly image for our therapeutic pet food brand”, summarised Olivier Poupon.

"Once again we demonstrated that our key strength is the service we provide to our customers. Thanks to the dedication of our team in Firminy, we were able to help Demavic successfully launch the new therapeutic pet food range to French supermarkets and fulfil all requirements in terms of sustainability with our new MonoFlexE product range " said Nicolas Plantec, Pet Food Segment Leader at Coveris.

Marion Schmitt

Marketing & Communications Manager France

E: Marion.Schmitt@coveris.com