A three-way collaboration between Cirkla, Belmark, and Ossid has produced what packaging engineers have chased for years: a fiber tray with functional peel-and-reseal lidding film, validated at commercial scale. The solution debuts publicly at The Global Produce and Floral Show in Orlando (October 14–16, 2026) and Pack Expo in Chicago (October 18–21, 2026) — two of the highest-stakes procurement stages in food packaging.
For grocery buyers, protein processors, and fresh-food brand managers, the significance is less about sustainability optics and more about operational friction — specifically, the absence of it. Cirkla's fiber trays are plug-and-play on all major tray sealers already deployed in U.S. facilities, including Ossid's ReeMaster NextGen Automatic Tray Sealer. No capital investment, no line reconfiguration. Belmark supplies the resealable lidding film; the ReeMaster NextGen handles sealing across top-seal, Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP), and Vacuum Skin Packaging (VSP) formats, with servo-driven indexing conveyors, a washdown-ready open-frame build, and a 12-inch touchscreen for recipe management and fast changeovers.
Why This Matters Now
Resealable functionality has been the last meaningful advantage keeping rigid plastic entrenched in fresh food retail. Fiber trays have steadily matched or exceeded plastic on shelf life, barrier properties, and durability — and Cirkla claims up to 90.0% plastic waste reduction — but the inability to bond a resealable film to a fiber substrate without degrading the tray liner kept buyers locked in. That technical barrier is now resolved. Glenn Divers, Vice President of Sales at Cirkla, framed it plainly: when you convert a single-use tray into a resealable package without asking brands to change their lines or accept higher costs, you remove every practical reason not to switch.
Cirkla enters this partnership with commercial validation already in place: existing supply relationships with major U.S. retailers and protein processors, manufacturing operations currently running in India, and a first U.S. facility in Gainesville, Georgia scheduled to begin operations in Q1 2027. That supply chain readiness matters for procurement teams evaluating whether a sustainable packaging spec can actually hold through peak volume. Jason Vandeloo, Director of Business Development at Belmark, noted that the project required coordinated expertise across materials science, film technology, and sealing equipment — a reminder that category-level packaging innovation rarely moves without a full-stack partner set.
Procurement Signals
For operators and retail buyers, this development surfaces three procurement considerations worth tracking. First, the cost parity argument for fiber trays is now materially stronger — resealable functionality closes the last consumer-experience gap without a cost premium, according to the partners. Second, the plug-and-play validation across existing U.S. tray sealers substantially lowers adoption risk for processors already running Ossid or comparable equipment. Third, Cirkla's domestic manufacturing coming online in early 2027 shortens supply chain exposure for buyers who have been hesitant to spec fiber solutions dependent on overseas production.
For brand launch teams and retail-ready packaging consultants, the timing is notable. Retailer sustainability commitments around packaging are moving from voluntary to mandated in several categories, and a resealable fiber tray that performs equivalently to plastic gives merchants a credible transition path that doesn't require a consumer-experience trade-off. Buyers evaluating packaging suppliers for 2027 program launches should request line trials before Q4 2026 planning windows close.
For broader context on how sustainable packaging specs are shifting procurement conversations in foodservice and retail, see our coverage in operator-intelligence and emerging vendor profiles in the marketplace.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
