Online grocery shopping is growing at an exceptional rate globally. Yet, little is known about the packaging in use that plays the key roles from protecting the food product to reducing food waste. The goal of this thesis was to contribute to advancing food packaging in the e-commerce channel by: (1) gathering information on e-commerce food packaging including resources and problems that can be used to design new packaging that enhances environmental sustainability while offering performance advantages and (2) comparing the performance of novel packaging materials against the current packaging materials in terms of extending the shelf life of food commercialized through the e-commerce channel. Information on e-commerce food packaging including resources and problems was obtained for different food product categories (liquids and produce) and using different data collection methods (a questionnaire administrated to industry and packaged product analysis). The information gathered included package type, material, format, and defects, and the future of e-commerce food packaging. The comparison of monomaterial multilayer films as a primary package for produce in meal kits compared to both single-layer and polymaterial multilayer films by performing a shelf-life study demonstrated that monomaterial multilayer films are an alternative to package produce since they can extend produce shelf life equal or better than current meal kit films while homogenizing polymer type which could facilitate packaging material recovery. This thesis demonstrates the urgent necessity for improving e-commerce food packaging to enhance environmental sustainability and to reduce food waste.
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