How does it sound to make instant noodles without unnecessary waste? Researchers at the University of Helsinki developed a spice bag that melts in hot water.
Two years ago, researchers from the University of Helsinki Reetta Nakari, Lin Chen and Wilhelmina Mäntylä participated EIT Food Solutions – for the innovation course. The idea was to develop a food innovation that would reduce packaging material.
The course gave birth to an idea for a plastic-free and edible packaging solution that melts in hot water.
After the course, the trio received small funding for their invention, which has enabled them to test the product’s market potential. Further development work has been done for a year and a half now.
Good feedback has come from test consumers, food producers as well as funding and research.
– Many people’s reaction is often that wow, why hasn’t this been done before? Nakari laughs.
In the future, the innovation could be used in products that are packed in excess plastic.
– We have thought about, among other things, instant porridges, vegetable stock cubes, which are packed in plastic. Then, for example, some excursion food, Mäntylä tells about the options.
– Plastic is still necessary in some way in our lives, but we can try our best to move forward step by step and find more better alternatives, says Chen.
– For all of us, sustainability is a really important theme, so through this kind of commercialization path we can influence things that are important to us, adds Nakari.
See what kind of innovation it is in the video above.
University of Helsinki researchers Reetta Nakari, Lin Chen and Wilhelmina Mäntylä developed a plastic-free spice bag that melts in hot water. Maija Anttonen