IFPA Sustainability Summit 2025: Avocados Lead the Packaging Conversation

The IFPA Sustainability Summit 2025, held on 16 September, brought together fresh produce and packaging leaders to explore the pressing challenges – and opportunities – shaping the future of sustainable supply chains.

One of the most talked-about moments came before the first keynote had even started. Attendees were greeted by avocados etched with their names, replacing traditional place cards. Beyond a clever conversation starter, the fruit symbolised a bold innovation: the collaboration between Result Group, Gilad Sadan (The Packaging Hippie), and Costa to trial laser coding technology as a replacement for produce stickers.

By marking information directly onto the skin of the fruit, the project demonstrates how packaging waste can be eliminated without compromising compliance, traceability, or consumer communication.

From Pilot to Commercial Reality

The Costa project has already moved beyond the trial stage. Earlier this year, laser-coded avocados were introduced in Easter promotions. Soon after, the “Lovacados” brand featuring naturally branded avocados was launched across 20 Woolworths stores in Victoria.

This was a milestone for Australia: the first time consumers could purchase laser-marked fresh produce on supermarket shelves. More than just a pilot, the project showed that natural branding is commercially viable and consumer-ready.

Michael Dossor: Align or Decline

As both Platinum Member of IFPA and a member of the IFPA Sustainability Council, Michael Dossor, Group General Manager of Result Group, addressed the summit with a call to action.

He highlighted the gap between Australia’s ambitious packaging targets and the uneven collection and recycling infrastructure in place today. To bridge it, he argued, the industry must embrace technologies that offer verifiable proof of packaging performance — not tomorrow, but now.

“Laser coding avocados with Costa is a perfect example of how we can move from concept to commercial reality,” Dossor said. “It shows the industry that sustainable packaging solutions can work at scale today, not just in theory. The tools are here, and businesses must align with them now, because in packaging, you either align or you decline.”

Beyond the Tools: Building Capability

Dossor also underscored the importance of building the right workforce capability to deliver sustainable change. He highlighted the role of the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP), whose training and professional development programs are ensuring that industry professionals have the skills needed to adopt and scale new technologies.

With 2D barcodes, traceability platforms, and AI-driven packaging design becoming part of expected infrastructure in the next decade, people and skills are as critical as the technologies themselves.

A Turning Point for Packaging

The IFPA Sustainability Summit 2025 made one thing clear: packaging is no longer a passive element in fresh produce — it’s a critical enabler of both sustainability and competitiveness.

With Result Group’s ongoing collaboration with Costa and its leadership across packaging innovation, the message to the industry was unmistakable:

Change is no longer optional… it’s already underway.