Featuring valuable networking opportunities and essential content from experts who develop, supply, buy and recommend flexible product packaging materials including pouches, Global Pouch Forum will take place in Rosemont, Illinois, from June 6-8. As one of the industry’s most anticipated events of the year, Global Pouch Forum is set to provide attendees with valuable information thanks to a wide array of panel discussions, innovative exhibitors, and guest speakers.

One of these speakers is Mitch Jacobsen, CEO Rviita Inc., who will be discussing the story of Rviita and CPG innovation as a whole. Rviita is an energy tea brand that features a delicious blend of black or green tea, golden organic honey, mouth-watering fruit juice, and vitamins designed to fuel your productivity.

In anticipation of his presentation, Packaging Strategies was able to ask Mitch a few questions about Rviita and the benefits of pouch packaging. His answers are below.

PS: What sparked the creation of Rviita, and what sets it apart from similar beverages in the sector?

MJ: I was inspired to create Rviita after watching my best friend, only 20 years old at the time, suffer a minor heart attack that doctors figured was attributed to chemical filled energy drinks. Fortunately he made a full recovery, but this was the lightbulb moment – is there a healthy alternative? I looked everywhere on the market for an energy drink without loads of sugar, taurine, chemicals, and made with natural ingredients in an environmentally friendly package. I never found anything that was even close to checking these boxes, so I decided to create my own! After two years of research and development and trying hundreds of different formulas, Rviita Energy Tea was born.

PS: What was the reasoning behind embracing flexible pouch packaging for your products?

MJ: Great question! In my previous career I was a water engineer in the energy industry, and it was my job to find more sustainable and creative ways for oil companies to use and recycle water. I had a background in looking at environmental data and analyzing the entire lifecycle of a technology, and not just looking at the “recyclability” or immediate environmental benefit. When I started looking into packaging options for Rviita, I stumbled across research showing how sustainable flexible packaging is over its lifecycle, and I could not understand why more companies were not utilizing it. It had the lowest carbon footprint, water usage, and GHG emissions compared to any other packaging type I could find! I was fascinated and set out to create the first 355ml flexible pouch with a regular 22mm spout. I designed it by welding freezer paper together with a curling iron, and today we have one of the most unique package designs on the market.

PS: How do you see flexible pouch packaging evolving within the beverage sector?

MJ: I think flexible packaging is going to be the future of beverage, and I believe beverage is behind some of the other categories in CPG such as sauces, condiments, and cleaning which are already transitioning from rigid containers to flexible packaging. The main bottleneck for beverage companies is the lack of manufacturers that have filling equipment and production lines suited for flexible pouches. I believe as recycling technology evolves and more brands like Rviita trailblaze the flexible pouch, we will start to see some of the bigger players begin to transition over to the pouch.

Make sure to register for Global Pouch Forum by clicking here.

To learn more about Rviita, please visit https://rviitalize.com/.