Business is booming for the brother-sister team’s compostable and easily recyclable food packaging.

Clare Goldsberry

September 28, 2020

2 Min Read
compostable food packaging
Image: Harvest Pack

Business is booming for Harvest Pack, a company based in Torrance, CA, that provides compostable and easily recyclable food packaging. Founded by siblings Christina and Alex Pou, Harvest Pack works with more than 500 restaurants and food service producers across the country, including the upscale LA-area Erewhon health-food chain. Chowbotics, the “salad robot” that recently announced a deal with Saladworks to expand to more than 100 locations, uses Harvest Pack’s 100% plant-based, compostable food packaging to keep its meals safe and fresh for consumers.

Christina and Alex Pou, co-founders of Harvest Pack

Siblings Christina and Alex Pou founded Harvest Pack seven years ago. They are having their best year ever partly because of surging demand for take-out food during the pandemic. Image courtesy Harvest Pack.

Harvest Pack makes its food packaging from various plant fibers, including wheat, bamboo, and sugarcane fibers, said the company in response to questions from PlasticsToday. “Sugarcane fiber, also known as bagasse, is a residue that is left after juice is extracted from sugarcane. Usually the sugarcane fiber left from the extraction gets discarded as waste,” explained the Pous.

“We regenerate the material to make it into bagasse fiber products. These fibers are 100% compostable. This reduces the environmental impact and reduces landfill waste by transforming production waste into a new product,” they added. In addition to the company’s compostable single-use containers, Harvest Pack also offers a line of recyclable PET foodservice items.

After seven years in business, the surge in plastic waste caused partly by double-digit growth in take-out food because of the pandemic has given new meaning to their mission. Harvest Pack’s founders are committed to making sure their compostable food packaging is a go-to option for food service providers.

“During this extremely difficult time, food service businesses have really needed a lot more support,” said Christina Pou, adding that the company has also been donating a range of PPE products to various organizations. “Our second quarter earnings alone equaled our entire revenue for last year. So, yes, we are able to help the food services industry and it’s a win for our climate and efforts to reduce waste, as well.”

About the Author(s)

Clare Goldsberry

Until she retired in September 2021, Clare Goldsberry reported on the plastics industry for more than 30 years. In addition to the 10,000+ articles she has written, by her own estimation, she is the author of several books, including The Business of Injection Molding: How to succeed as a custom molder and Purchasing Injection Molds: A buyers guide. Goldsberry is a member of the Plastics Pioneers Association. She reflected on her long career in "Time to Say Good-Bye."

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