Cafés Folliet | Premiumising its coffee offering with Amcor’s Vento

The saying goes that it’s the little things in life that make the big things happen. And it’s a saying that rings true in the coffee packaging market. Forget complex valve application processes involving different machines and steep production costs. Say hello to Vento.

Vento is the only high-performance laminate with a built in degassing system – a game-changing technology eliminating the need to apply hard valves to coffee packs when packing freshly grinded coffee.

Measuring just 3 x 2cms, the innovative technology is the brainchild of Peter Hansen, R&D and product development engineer for at Amcor. It was Peter who recognised the limitations of existing degassing solutions and working together with a team of experts came up with something better.

Cafés Folliet introducing Vento

French coffee roaster Cafés Folliet, a market leading family-run coffee brand in France with a 138-year history, introduced Vento’s pioneering technology to the ground coffee it supplies to hotels in December 2017.

The company specialises in the Horeca market and roasts around 3,000 tonnes of green coffee a year from its base in Chambery in the French Alps.

One of their products, the ground coffee for filter that Cafés Folliet supplies to hotels for their breakfast market was previously packaged in plain packaging without a valve. However as consumers’ expectations for the quality of coffee began to increase, there was a growing need for the hotels to provide fresher, higher quality coffee.

To achieve this freshness, the coffee needs to be packed right after roasting and grinding to keep its aroma, and a valve needs to be applied so that CO2 can leave the pack.

Previously this would have meant investing in an applicator equipment, setting up, running and maintaining the new machines, ordering valves and getting additional suppliers involved.

Not with Vento. As the degassing system is already built into the laminate, no additional applicator equipment is needed and the coffee can be packed straight after roasting, preserving flavours and aroma.

By adding the valve to its existing product, Cafés Folliet can use Vento as a differentiator, offering clients a higher quality, fresher coffee with a better aroma.

Cafés Folliet’s purchasing manager Raphael Tollot describes the move as ground breaking. As well as premiumising it’s offering, it also gives the firm the flexibility to switch between using Vento and making products without a valve on the same line:

“Vento gives us the possibility to sometimes use a valve and sometimes not in the same packaging line, and that’s the main advantage,” he says. “We want to keep our other product without a valve, but also have the ability to offer more premium coffee with the valve included.”

“The challenge was how we could increase the quality and effect of the product, and the valve makes a difference without additional investment. The result is better for our clients and better for us.” “That’s why Vento is so perfect for us,” says Raphael.

Find out more about the revolutionary Vento, or take a look at our coffee packaging page for more coffee products.