Standard E.S.E. (Easy Serving Espresso) paper coffee pod: the first compostable food product
The E.S.E. Consortium has started the process required to obtain the certification of compostability and biodegradability.
E.S.E. pods will be discarded in the biodegradable waste bin.
Paris, 16 May 2012 – Milan 17 May 2012 – The Consortium E.S.E. announces the forthcoming certification of compostability for the E.S.E. paper pod, which would in fact make it the very first compostable food product in the mass retail market. It also recounts the steps that made it possible for E.S.E. paper coffee pods to become eligible for certification.
“It was not easy. Even though in the single-servings market it could seem rather ‘natural’ for paper pods to be compostable” – says Roberto Morelli, President of the Consortium E.S.E. and illycaffè Director of Global Marketing Projects – “it took almost three years of analysis and tests to prove the compostability and biodegradability of E.S.E. paper pod before we could stand here and announce the creation of a pilot regulation by which the compostability of coffee pods may be voluntarily certified throughout Europe.
Generally speaking, certifications of compostability are used for a limited range of products and “non-food” items like: toothbrushes, diapers, dishes and eating utensils, shopping bags, containers and naturally organic-based packaging material that are fully recyclable and renewable. Even if the word “compostable” is not yet commonly used by consumers, in some cases it has already been used to define products, processes or initiatives that have little or nothing to do with the true and proper certification.
The story the Consortium E.S.E. wishes to tell also includes the first encounter with the only reference regulation for waste disposal, UNI EN 13432:200, which only covers and regulates packaging. Since UNI EN 13432:2002 does not foresee “composite products” (definition applicable to the paper pod, the “content” of which is composed of 7 grams of ground coffee and two sheets of filter paper that securely enclose it) the Consortium E.S.E. requested and obtained approval to establish a “voluntary certification for the paper coffee pod product”.
“To foresee new applications for the regulation without altering its provisions can help anticipate the needs and demands of the market” – adds Luca Bardi, Certiquality Director of Inspections and Product Certification – “because surely the number of ‘compostable products’ to be disposed of similarly to paper pods is bound to increase”.
The Consortium E.S.E. is a precompetitive, international venue (that spans the entire world, from Europe to Japan and the Americas) where leading coffee roasters, coffee machine and pod production machinery manufacturers can meet and collaborate. Consortium member companies compete with each other and pursue their own missions, but share one common goal: that of continuing to develop a market that in the last few years, unlike any other in the food sector, has recorded double digits growth both in terms of servings and coffee maker sales.
“Today we can say that Standard E.S.E. single-serving coffee pods (or E.S.E. compatible versions) rank first in global distribution. Moreover, within the wide range of coffee preparation systems, it is the one most naturally suited to fulfil the emerging demand for eco-sustainability – concludes President Roberto Morelli – “it’s yet another value-adding feature we offer to consumers who have always been free to choose the option best suited to their taste and lifestyle, starting with a closed capsules-driven system or an E.S.E. paper pods open system”.
The Consortium for the Development and Protection of the Standard E.S.E. (Easy Serving Espresso) (*) is the only organization in the world to foresee the vertical integration of coffee roasters, espresso machine and pod production equipment manufacturers. Over the last few years E.S.E. has gained global fame as the “only open industrial standard” in the world, thanks to the technical characteristics that make each E.S.E. single-serving paper coffee pod compatible with all E.S.E. espresso machines. For several years coffee has been the only food market sector to record double digit growth in terms of product volume and invoiced sales attributable to coffee roasters and coffee machine manufacturers. The global appeal of the E.S.E. system and the Consortium was further proven by the recent enrolment of two industrial giants: Japanese coffee roaster Ueshima Coffee Company, and American coffee machines manufacturer KitchenAid. The E.S.E. system is represented within the Consortium, by the foremost coffee roasters and espresso machine manufacturers in the world. This group of strong companies compete against each other on the market and yet stand united in the firm belief that E.S.E. brand products truly complete the wide range of offerings in today’s single-serving coffee systems market.
For additional information:
Paola Redaelli – redaelli@eseconsortium.com / paola.redaelli@cohnwolfe.com
Tel. +39+2+20239.1 – +39+3497665892
E.S.E. Consortium c/o Cohn & Wolfe
Via Benedetto Marcello, 63 – 20124 Milano
(*) The Consortium promotes an espresso preparation system named E.S.E., which uses serving, meaning a single dose of coffee pressed between two layers of filter paper. The Consortium E.S.E. unites 13 of the leading companies in the espresso coffee market sector.
CAFES RICHARD (°) – DE LONGHI (+) – GROUPE SEB (+) – HANDPRESSO (+) – I.C.A.(•) ILLYCAFFE’ (°) – KITCHENAID (+) – KRAFT FOODS EUROPE (°) – LAVAZZA (°) – NESTLE’ HELLAS (°) – PHILIPS SAECO (+) – SARA LEE (°) – UESHIMA COFFEE CO. (°)
(+) espresso coffee machines manufacturer (°) coffee roaster (•) pod production machines manufacturer