Amcor has developed a lightweight, three-compartment polypropylene tray for Cofigeo’s new William Saurin “Mon Trio Gourmand” line of single-serve, shelf-stable meals. The mono-material design complies with France’s Design for Recycling guidelines and is detectable by near-infrared scanners thanks to a terracotta masterbatch, ensuring the pack is collected and reprocessed within the country’s recycling stream.
Each tray houses meat or fish, a starch, and a vegetable—allowing consumers to keep components separate or mix them after heating. Amcor customized the cavity sizes to accommodate five French- and Italian-style recipes with differing textures and densities while maintaining wall thickness comparable to Cofigeo’s existing single-compartment packs. The multi-layer PP structure provides an oxygen barrier that supports an ambient shelf life of more than 12 months and withstands commercial retort processing.
Key production considerations included compatibility with Cofigeo’s current filling lines, de-stackability for automated denesting, and consumer convenience for direct-from-pack dining. In pre-launch research, up to 80 percent of testers said they would eat directly from the tray, praising both its practicality and color.
Jean-Michel Perquin, Cofigeo’s packaging R&D manager, said the project’s challenge was achieving the thin profile without sacrificing performance. “Thanks to Amcor’s technical support, we matched the wall thickness of our standard tray while adding two extra compartments,” he noted. Cofigeo’s partnership with Amcor extends several years, and both firms say the successful launch underscores their shared commitment to recyclable, consumer-friendly packaging solutions.