COFFEE

The market today offers a vast variety of coffee capsules, including in Italy, compatible with the most common types of coffee machines. Each type of machine is designed to work with a particular type of pod or capsule, and this requires companies that manage the packaging of these items to adapt the packaging to the peculiarities of each product.

The main types of capsules currently available on the market are:

• Self-protected Capsules: Capsules of this type are designed to preserve the coffee aroma optimally, even without external protective wrappers. They are made of a multilayer material capable of perfectly isolating the capsule contents from the surrounding environment and – thanks to an airtight sealing system – completely block the passage of air, light, and humidity. This allows them to preserve the coffee aroma over time, without the need for external single-use aluminum or plastic sachets. These characteristics mean that these capsules can be sold “loose” or inside dedicated cardboard cartons, thereby improving the product presentation to the public and guaranteeing the producing company maximum creative freedom in the design of the packaging aesthetics.

• Capsules in Flow Pack: Non-self-protected capsules can be sold in dedicated single-dose packages that allow for the optimal preservation of the coffee aroma and protect the capsule from external light, humidity, and oxidation. Before the capsule is inserted, the external flow pack is filled with a nitrogen mixture that creates a protective environment inside and eliminates oxygen, and is then sealed: this successfully preserves the coffee aroma until the moment of opening. The flow packs containing the capsules are generally sold inside cardboard cartons that must be carefully designed in terms of aesthetics and ease of use, since the customer often keeps the pods inside them until the time of actual consumption, opening and reclosing them repeatedly and throwing them away only when the last capsule has been used.

• Non-woven Fabric Capsules: This final type of capsule, which is completely compostable because it lacks plastic components, is sold inside sachets or pouches that preserve the coffee aroma until the moment of use. The individual primary packages are not then sold individually but are further cartoned in an external cardboard packaging, specifically designed and customized. In cases where they are destined for the Horeca circuit (Hotel, Restaurant, Catering), and not for private consumption, large-sized cartons can be offered, expressly designed to be palletized without being damaged.