Flo SpA in Italy has unveiled Gea, an industrially compostable coffee capsule developed in partnership with NatureWorks LLC.
The new capsule combines compostability with an oxygen barrier and is the result of a two-year joint development process.
“Gea is a new generation of capsule designed to meet the needs of coffee roasters and coffee lovers, but also to address environmental issues related to the management of waste,” said Erika Simonazzi, marketing director at Flo.
Gea is composed of Ingeo PLA, a renewably-sourced polymer that is certified for industrial composting systems according to global standards such as EN-13432 (EU) and ASTM D6400-04 (USA).
The new capsule is approved for food contact and is now in final testing at TÜV Austria and the Italian Composting and Biogas Association (CIC) for compostability certification.
Flo said Gea capsules provide an excellent barrier to oxygen, which protects the organoleptic qualities of the packaged coffee.
Initially targeting the requirements of high pressure, single serve coffee systems, the Gea capsules have completed industrialisation and filling tests at Flo’s partner coffee roasters and will be available on the market starting in October 2018.
