Packaging plays a key role in the cost advantage. All products are presented in 6.7oz. stand-up pouches with a teardrop shape, sealed with a flip-top cap. According to the company, the flexible packs require 70% less plastic than rigid plastic containers of the same volume. It does not only make the pouches more affordable; it also makes them more eco-friendly. “The goal was to create a line of products with low environmental impact and low cost,” explains José Vicente Marino, Executive Vice President of Natura. “With Sou, consumers receive only the essential.”
Based on a lamination of PET, nylon, and polyethylene, the pouches are produced on two form/fill/seal machines from Volpak. The packaging material is supplied by Dixie Toga, a Brazilian subsidiary of Bemis Corp. The process provides savings in transportation, notes Natura’s innovation and sustainability manager Pamela Maiuolo. “A roll with 1,000 pouches occupies the same truck space as 28 empty bottles,” she explains. In the accounts of the company, this means a 60% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
From the point of view of the consumer, the stand-up pouches are “allies against waste,” says Marino. “They are small and practical, allowing extraction of contents to the last drop.” Marino believes the new products will reach both people who are already loyal to the brand and new users who were unable due to buy the product in the past due to budget restraints.
