Cafés Méo, the flagship brand of Méo-Fichaux, France’s largest independent coffee roaster, and adapa are raising the bar for coffee enjoyment. Starting in 2025, they are replacing conventional PET and aluminium-based flowpacks with polyethylene-based, Designed for Recycling solutions.
The renowned coffee roaster’s decision to switch to Design for Recycling at an early stage is part of a well-thought-out and responsible corporate strategy. The family-owned company Méo-Fichaux has counted CSR among its corporate values for decades, and consumers are also increasingly paying attention to the environmental impact of their purchases. Finding a recyclable solution without compromising on quality was therefore an obvious decision. With adapa’s PE flowpacks, Méo has found the perfect solution that fits seamlessly into existing processes. The early switch also enabled a conscientious process flow without external time pressure.
adapa supports customers in a structured transition to Design for Recycling
adapa, the European partner of choice for flexible packaging solutions, offers customers many advantages when switching to Design for Recycling. In addition to a broad portfolio that already offers Design for Recycling packaging materials based on PP, PE or paper for almost all applications, the group is committed to sustainability and customer focus. Benjamin Leviez, Product Manager France, adapa, emphasises: “Thanks to our many years of experience, we know that switching packaging to Design for Recycling can take time – especially for products that require longer shelf lives and process testing. By starting the transition with customers now, we can avoid rushed, short-term changes just before the strict PPWR regulations come into force. We see ourselves as a partner who develops the right packaging solution for a long-term future.” In this way, adapa is committed to protecting goods as effectively as possible and promoting the transition to a circular economy for flexible packaging. Especially for customers who want to be pioneers in CSR and see their commitment to sustainability as part of their brand strategy, an early transition has many advantages.
Close cooperation between experts
In a development period spanning a total of five years, the two companies worked together as partners to test and gradually perfect packaging solutions step by step. Based on PE, MDO-PE and BOPE, some of which was sourced in-house from adapa’s own extrusion, adapa was able to offer Méo films that are ideally suited to the coffee roaster’s various production lines.
The packaging expert’s in-depth knowledge of PE qualities and technical expertise in the field of machinery enabled it to adapt to Cafés Méo’s products and set-up. Alice Roussaud, Product Manager at Cafés Méo and one of the main persons responsible for the project, sums up the achievement: “The Méo pads are the first products to be packaged according to the ‘design for recycling’ principle and are already on the market. This clearly positions us as an innovator and pioneer in the industry. With the early introduction of ‘mono solutions’, we are consistently continuing our corporate philosophy, whose success, with a history spanning more than 120 years, is based on the pillars of taste, accessibility and engagement.”
The expertise behind coffee packaging
Coffee, one of the most popular beverages worldwide, requires high-performance packaging. This packaging must protect against oxygen, moisture and light, while ensuring the integrity of the packaging. High-quality printing is also essential to highlight brands at the point of sale. These properties are traditionally achieved by using films that combine PET and aluminium (PET/Alu/PE). However, with the entry into force of the PPWR and its ambitious targets for 2030, these non-recyclable multi-material structures must be replaced by alternatives that are designed for recycling and compatible with existing recycling streams.
adapa is known for responding to customer needs and finding ideal, individual solutions. The combined knowledge of the Europe-wide group is incorporated into the development of new packaging. Another part of adapa’s recipe for success is the close partnership-based exchange that adapa maintains with both customers and a broad network of packaging machine manufacturers. This is a major advantage, especially when switching to the new Design for Recycling materials that Méo also needed. The switch to the new packaging required only minimal adjustments to the existing packaging machines in order to achieve the usual efficiency.
Well positioned for the future thanks to long-standing partnership
In around 30 years of collaboration, Méo and adapa have established and developed a relationship based on trust, enabling successful projects such as the current switch to D4R.
For Cafés Méo, switching its pad packaging to adapa’s PE flowpacks is the first step in a global change that meets consumer expectations and is also in line with the family business’s CSR approach. By 2027, the entire coffee range – around 50 products – is to be offered in recyclable packaging, ensuring that Cafés Méo is well prepared for the new legislation to come into force.
A history of success
Cafés Méo switches to Design for Recycling packaging with adapa. The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) sets important sustainability targets for packaging from 1 January 2030, including the requirement that all packaging must be recyclable or reusable. From 2030, packaging must also achieve at least performance level C (70%) of recyclability, and binding minimum recycled content requirements apply to plastic packaging. Companies must also reduce the weight and volume of packaging.
Cafés Méo is one of the best-known brands from Méo-Fichaux, France’s largest independent coffee roaster. As a family business whose expertise has been passed down from generation to generation, Méo is bases it’s reason to be on three key pillars – taste, accessibility and engagement – to offer its consumers an authentic coffee experience without compromising on taste or quality.
adapa Group is the European partner of choice for flexible packaging solutions. adapa adapts to the ever-changing needs of customers in various segments, from food to healthcare, and offers efficient solutions designed for performance and circularity. adapa’s expertise spans several decades and has evolved from a group of family-owned companies to a leading European supplier in the field of flexible packaging.
