How Lyka replaced conventional coex PE thermoforming film with a recyclable, bio-based alternative, with zero line changes

Lyka Pet Food is a leader in fresh, human-grade pet food, built on the belief that dogs deserve real ingredients. Vet-formulated and made from real food, Lyka meals feed over 100,000 dogs across Australia and are changing the status quo of pet nutrition.

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Lyka came to Grounded to replace its conventional, non-recyclable thermoforming films with something recyclable and bio-based rather than fossil-derived. The solution had to be high-barrier, puncture-resistant and run on existing production lines and packing equipment, with no compromise on speed or seal strength.

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Swapping thermoforming film is not a small change. Thickness, elongation, puncture resistance and seal integrity all have to sit inside the machine's tolerances. Get it wrong and you do not get an inconvenience, you get a halted line. Lyka needed a more sustainable material that behaved exactly like the one it replaced.

Thermoforming film is one of the most demanding formats in food manufacturing. It has to form rapidly under heat and pressure, hold a hermetic seal, resist puncture from product edges and handling, and perform consistently across high-speed automated lines.

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The conventional answer is coextruded PE and PET/PE multilayer laminate. It ticks the technical boxes, but it is fossil-derived and, in most cases, headed for landfill at end of life. In Australia, where soft-plastic recycling infrastructure has been through significant disruption in recent years, that is a growing liability, especially for brands whose customers are actively engaged in their sustainability story.

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The brief that came to Grounded was precise. This was not a brand looking to badge a marginal improvement as a transformation. Lyka wanted a material that:

• Was designed for soft-plastic recyclability
• Reduced reliance on fossil-derived feedstock
• Carried carbon credentials backed by real assessment, not assertion
• Ran on existing thermoforming machinery across two separate facilities
• Covered both web roles, the thinner printed top web and the heavier-gauge bottom web that carries the structural load of the formed tray
• Covered a range of 20 SKUs without format-by-format requalification

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That last point, compatibility across an entire existing production setup, is where most sustainable alternatives fall down. Grounded's thermoforming solution was developed for Lyka precisely to bridge that gap.

Grounded specified Plantmade™ recyclable thermoforming film across both web positions.

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The top web was produced as a printed film at 80 to 100µm, carrying Lyka's branding across the full SKU range. The bottom web was supplied as reels at 250 to 400µm, the gauge needed to form the structural tray that holds fresh food through freezing, transit and thawing at the customer's door.

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The film is bio-based, made from renewable Plantmade™ feedstock rather than fossil inputs, at 30% bio-based content verified by third-party testing. An EVOH barrier layer delivers the oxygen and moisture protection fresh pet food demands, matching the performance of the coex PE and PET/PE laminate it replaced.

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It is engineered to run on standard thermoforming machinery. Forming, sealing and cutting parameters sit inside the ranges existing equipment can accommodate without modification, which was non-negotiable for Lyka's operations team. Lyka tested the film on its lines, and it ran from the outset, at the same line speeds, the same seal quality and the same puncture resistance, while being made from fundamentally different inputs.

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At end of life, the packaging is designed for soft-plastic recycling. Consumers should check store drop-off availability in their area.

Environmental

• 30% bio-based content, third-party verified, reducing reliance on fossil-derived feedstock
• Designed for soft-plastic recycling, check store drop-off availability
• Carbon credentials supported by a peer-reviewed life cycle assessment, modelled in Grounded's Scope tool and independently developed by ThinkStep

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Operational and commercial

• Zero machinery changes at either manufacturing site, the film ran on existing thermoforming equipment from the first trial
• Full deployment across 20 SKUs, covering printed top web at 80 to 100µm and bottom web reels at 250 to 400µm
• Consistent performance at production speed, no compromise to throughput, seal integrity or puncture resistance
• A single bio-based film platform across both web positions, simplifying procurement and supplier management
• Drop-in replacement model removed the requalification risk usually attached to thermoforming film changes

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Brand and transparency

• Packaging aligned with Lyka's sustainability narrative and direct-to-consumer identity
• A recyclability claim that is qualified, accurate and actionable for consumers
• Bio-based and carbon credentials that stand up to scrutiny, backed by third-party testing and a peer-reviewed LCA

Why this matters if you run coex PE thermoforming

Lyka's case is instructive for any fresh or frozen food brand running thermoforming lines on coextruded PE or PET/PE laminate and facing the same end-of-life problem.

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The assumption in food manufacturing is that sustainability and operational practicality are in tension, that a better material means new tooling, new parameters, slower lines or a longer qualification process. The Lyka project shows that assumption does not have to hold.

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Plantmade™ recyclable film was developed as a working drop-in for the most common thermoforming specifications in food manufacturing. The bio-based content and recyclable design are not bought at the cost of barrier or structural performance. The EVOH barrier holds the line on protection, the structure is engineered to run on the equipment you already own, and the credentials are substantiated rather than asserted.

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For fresh pet food brands, meal kit companies and ready-meal manufacturers running similar coex PE setups, the pathway Lyka took is replicable. The film exists. The line compatibility has been demonstrated. The carbon and recyclability credentials are independently supported.