Trailblazing Compostable Drinking Chocolate Packs Launched

1 May 2014

A trailblazing Auckland company is encouraging other businesses to become more sustainable by packing their wholesale drinking chocolate in Econic® compostable bags.


Kokako is supplying the hospitality trade with 2kg packs of Fairtrade Organic Drinking Chocolate in Econic bags that they are able to break down in a worm farm. Comprised of 40% cocoa, Kokako’s purely intense drinking chocolate is aimed at the discerning adult market and is available in cafes and restaurants across New Zealand – along with the Farro Fresh delis.

Kokako Managing Director Mike Murphy says, “We hope by using Econic that we will encourage other companies to use the same type of packaging. We would like to think there would be a tipping point where this becomes default packaging, rather than `just something that is supplied in a foil bag and then ends up in landfill’.”

Kokako’s Econic packs are made from three compostable films derived from sustainably-produced wood pulp and GM-free corn sources, which are laminated together to lock in the packaged product’s freshness, taste and flavour.

Mike says, “Sustainability is part of the DNA of our company. We were the first organic coffee company in Auckland (established in 2001) and we’ve always tried to find innovative sustainable ways to package our products and ethically source the ingredients.”

Kokako won the NZI National Sustainable Business Network award, Small Business Trailblazer in 2012, and is committed to continue taking a leading role in environmentally responsible business practices.

Prior to adopting Econic packaging Kokako did their due diligence by proving the bags were compostable.

Mike says, “We put the packs into our own worm farms, where we put food scraps every day, and then monitored how they were breaking down over time. The results satisfied us as a company that Econic® was a product we could stand behind.”

Kokako also scrutinised the compostable research carried out by Convex and were happy with the results.

Mike says, “We want to work with companies who are leaders in their field and committed to innovation and sustainability – and Convex ticks all those boxes. They are really progressive and good to work with.”

Econic bags are compostable when disposed of in a composting environment containing heat, water, oxygen, soil and micro-organisms.

 

You can find out more about Kokako by visiting: www.kokako.co.nz