Dark Woods Coffee, a speciality coffee roaster based in West Yorkshire, UK, has announced it has chosen home compostable packaging from Parkside for its range of hospitality and B2B supplied coffee beans. The move makes Dark Woods – also a B-Corp certified and multiple award-winning coffee company – one of the first companies to adopt 100 percent compostable coffee packaging for the hospitality sector.

The ground-breaking flexible packaging from Parkside is made with a home-compostable bag from the Park2Nature™ range and an industrially compostable valve. The industry-leading solution is set to enhance Dark Woods’ formidable ESG credentials following its B Corp certification.

The company has already installed a commercial composter at its roastery as part of an ambitious composting plan to improve the circularity of its packaging, in addition to localised deliveries made by 100% electric van and cargo bike. They will also provide their customers with small-scale composters or set up links to local composting facilities where possible.

Paul McKeown, Speciality Sales Director at Parkside, welcomed the news, saying, “Our innovative compostable packaging was the final piece of the puzzle for Dark Woods. They’re a company with innovative plans that can be the template for a more sustainable beverage industry, but they were missing the packaging solution that ticked every box.

“Park2Nature is a 100 percent compostable solution, that does not compromise on barrier performance or print quality. It delivers the performance Dark Woods needed, and it can do the same for any food or beverage product. For example, formats are available where gas flushing is required, making it also an ideal solution for other applications, such as fresh or cooked meat and fresh produce packaging.”

Damian Blackburn, Director at Dark Woods, commented: “Moving to compostable packaging is something we have wanted to achieve for a long time. On our journey to making this transition, Parkside stood out as the obvious partner of choice, and we were so impressed with how professional and quality-driven they are as a company. Its range of sustainable packaging solutions is a great fit for our business, and its products align with our company core values of excellence, quality and innovation.”

Dark Woods’ previous packaging solution was manufactured with a PET and PE laminate. Parkside’s Park2Nature solution provides the same oxygen barrier properties to keep the coffee fresh, while also offering an eco-friendly cradle-to-cradle life cycle. Park2Nature products are available in a range of formats for various applications, including freezing and vacuum pouching.

McKeown added, “Dark Woods are a fantastic example of how innovative companies are using our creative packaging solutions. We are excited to see what other brands seeking sustainable solutions, that also deliver high performance, will do next. We are proud to work with such innovative brands and to be positioned at the head of the market”.