A manufacturing company which specialises in the development of dissolvable pouches for food packaging has been attained by a Japanese firm.
Kuraray, a Japanese company that produces polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), acquired US-based MonoSol for an undisclosed amount and the deal is subject to approval by regulatory authorities.
The firm will continue working as an independent company under Kuraray Holdings USA and all employees will be shifted to the new organisation.
Scott Bening, the president and CEO of MonoSol, said the company were “at this time unable to make any further comments related to the merger announcement other than what was published in the press release”.
Bening also said: “This merger will allow MonoSol to continue to grow ad service its customer base while providing additional R & D resources – capitalising on the expertise of both groups.
“Utilising the Kuraray Acetyl Products expertise will allow MonoSol to reach our product development goals faster and more efficiently. We are very excited about this combination and look forward to our future with Kuraray”.
Kuraray said the move is in favour of its plan to grow its own vinyl acetate chemical chain business.
The firm also said it will expand the product offering of PVA films, currently for optical-uses including a polarising film, into a “wider range of industrial applications, thereby enhancing its competitiveness”.
Just last month, MonoSol had developed a food packaging product that dissolves as soon as it is exposed to water and will be ready for commercialisation when individual customers’ needs are satisfied.
The product – a pouch – is well-suited for many items such as oatmeal, cereals, soups, gravies and sauces, hot chocolate and dry ingredients.
Matt Scearce, manager of media and communications at MonoSol, said: “We believe a market exists for dissolvable pouch packaging to address the macro trends in the food sector such as convenient delivery, portion control, replacing primary package – reducing waste and operational efficiencies for back of the kitchen operations”.
However, the firm clarified that the product would require a secondary packaging in order to avoid the edible pouches being contaminated whilst being transported.