SUPASO in scientific comparison: Sustainable insulation in the e-grocery test
How well do alternative insulating materials really perform in refrigerated shipping? A new study in the trade journal Future Foods (Elsevier, June 2025) has investigated exactly this and compared our SUPASO cellulose packaging with five other sustainable materials: Including paper wool, cotton, straw, aerogel and EPS (polystyrene) as a conventional reference.
How well do alternative insulating materials really perform in refrigerated shipping?
A new study in the trade journal Future Foods (Elsevier, June 2025) has investigated exactly this and compared our SUPASO cellulose packaging with five other sustainable materials: Including paper wool, cotton, straw, aerogel and EPS (polystyrene) as a conventional reference.
The question:
How do different sustainable insulating materials perform in everyday shipping under realistic conditions (e.g. with +2 °C and +20 °C outside temperature) over a period of 24 hours?
Materials tested:
SUPASO cellulose (paper fiber inlays)
paper wool
cotton
straw
aerogel
EPS (polystyrene)
The results:
Our cellulose inlays from SUPASO performed consistently stable and reliable. In the simulated summer situation (20 °C outside temperature), they maintained the cooling temperature in the carton just as well as polystyrene and better than several other sustainable materials tested. The temperature remained in the optimum range for fresh products for a long time, which is particularly important for shipping companies with longer transportation times.
In the winter situation (2 °C outside temperature), SUPASO showed consistent cooling performance without sudden temperature peaks, indicating a reliable insulating effect.
What does this mean in concrete terms?
The study concludes that our cellulose solution is a serious alternative to polystyrene, with the decisive advantage of being made from 100% recycled waste paper and can be completely disposed of in waste paper. This is a strong signal, especially in the context of increasing environmental requirements and regulatory specifications (keyword: EU ban on certain single-use plastics from 2030).
Background:
The study was carried out by an interdisciplinary team at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria and realized as part of two EU research projects. A total of over 1,300 consumers were asked about their acceptance of sustainable packaging solutions.
To the complete study:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fufo.2025.100690
Sustainable insulation materials for E-grocery shipments: A multi-criteria evaluation
For us at SUPASO, this publication is an important milestone because it shows that ecological solutions can not only be well-intentioned, but also well-made.
Order a free sample: https://www.supaso.eu/en/contact