As part of my work at BioPak, I led the design transition of traditional black plastic sushi packaging into a compostable bagasse alternative — a project focused on delivering a like-for-like replacement that required minimal disruption to existing retail and food service systems. The goal was not to reinvent the format, but to replicate what already worked exceptionally well in plastic, while solving a major sustainability issue within the category.
Sushi packaging is highly standardised across retail environments. The familiar black base paired with a clear plastic lid has become the norm due to its strong visual contrast, product visibility, and efficient stackability. However, black plastic is notoriously difficult to recycle, as optical sorting systems in Australia and New Zealand struggle to detect carbon-black pigments. As a result, most of this packaging ends up in landfill, despite technically being made from recyclable materials.
The opportunity was clear: replace the black plastic base with a compostable material, while retaining all the functional and visual benefits that made the original format so successful. Bagasse, a moulded sugarcane fibre, presented the ideal solution — offering structural strength, food safety, and certified compostability within both Australian and New Zealand waste streams.
From a design perspective, the challenge was precision. Unlike more conceptual sustainability projects, this required a high level of restraint. The existing plastic trays had already been optimised over time for portion sizing, product presentation, and logistics. Any deviation from these standards would create friction for retailers, manufacturers, and consumers.
I approached the design by closely studying the geometry of existing plastic sushi trays — analysing proportions, cavity depths, edge detailing, and lid interfaces. Bagasse behaves very differently to plastic, with thicker walls and less tolerance for sharp detailing, so careful adjustments were required to maintain compatibility without compromising manufacturability.
The result was a bagasse tray that almost perfectly replicates the original plastic design. Most critically, the rim profile was engineered to match existing specifications, enabling standard clear plastic lids to fit seamlessly onto the bagasse base. Businesses could transition to a more sustainable solution without needing to redesign their entire packaging system.
The most impactful innovations are often the ones that feel invisible. By delivering a solution that looks, feels, and performs like the original — but with a fundamentally better environmental outcome — we enable meaningful change without adding complexity.