Behind the Bag: How Printpack Helped Bring Sustainable Packaging to the Super Bowl

At Super Bowl LVIII, PepsiCo didn’t just show up with snacks, they showed up with a statement. As part of a broader sustainability push, they handed out chips in limited-edition, commercially compostable bags, with the goal of educating consumers in a fun, high-impact way. The packaging caught widespread attention and earned three awards from the Flexible Packaging Association: 

• Gold – Packaging Excellence 

• Gold – Technical Innovation 

• Silver – Sustainability 

But this isn’t just a story about one bag. It’s about what went into making it happen, and what it says about where packaging is headed. 

A Super Bowl Moment, A Bigger Sustainability Play 

“This was about the excitement of the Super Bowl combined with the educational piece of sustainability. PepsiCo wanted to provide an exciting package with their core brands to hand out to consumers,” said Jeff Boekeloo, Printpack’s Product Development Manager of Technology. “But they wanted more than just a standard bag of Lay’s or Doritos. They also wanted an educational component to make people really look at that package and realize that it is industrial compostable, that it is unique.” All packages were put through rigorous performance testing to ensure integrity and marked as certified with the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) Compostable (Commercially Compostable) symbol. Printpack’s team worked closely with the brand to deliver something that looked great, felt different in-hand, and introduced consumers to a new kind of packaging – one that could be composted instead of trashed. 

Designing for Engagement: The Power of Easter Eggs 

To keep consumers engaged, the packaging leaned into design. Not just logos and colors, but actual hidden details. “The graphics are just a home run,” Boekeloo said. “To get people engaged with the whole motif and theme of the Las Vegas Strip… and then to fold that into such a unique packaging design with a sustainability play was an absolute win.” 

Every brand got its own version: 

• Lays had a background of potato plant flowers 

• Chester Cheetah wore a “75” jersey for Cheetos’ 75th anniversary 

• Tostitos had football goalposts built into the logo 

• A football border, lucky horseshoes, and playing card themes showed up throughout 

As consumers noticed the details, they stuck with the package longer. “They spent more time looking at the package, flipping it over, and reading about the sustainable features,” Boekeloo said. “It was a fantastic way to get them engaged with the packaging.” 

Adaptability with New Materials  

Working with compostable films sounds great in theory—but they’re not always easy to convert. “Some of these sustainable films can be more difficult to work with; they tend not to be as thermally stable.” Boekeloo explained.  

Printpack had to adjust everything from drying temperatures to ink systems to material handling. “We’ve had to make adjustments to film tension on press and the way we dry inks and handle them in heat, in addition to other parts of our process.” The final structure met the strict requirements for commercial compostability set by the BPI, using compostable inks, adhesives, and films. It also delivered a reported 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to standard packaging. 

The package was a true group effort – the win was made possible by teams across the company: 

• The Villa Rica 1 plant handled press and laminating 

• Hannah Smith, Printpack Manager, Customer Onboarding Experience, was on-site leading execution and onboarding 

• Jorge Velasco, Printpack VP, National Accounts, managed the PepsiCo relationship 

• Jeff Boekeloo, Printpack Product Development Manager of Technology, led development and writing the award entry 

So, What’s Next? 

While the Super Bowl bag was a limited drop, the same structure is already being used in PepsiCo’s Off the Eaten Path line, and there’s more in the pipeline. 

Boekeloo says they are exploring store drop-off recyclable, home compostable, and even marine biodegradable options. “The real long-term goal is… salt water compostability,” he said. “So, if in fact these bags ever get into the ocean—we hope they don’t—but if they do, they don’t just break down into microplastics, they actually degrade  into inert materials.” 

For Printpack, this was a moment to show what’s possible when deep technical knowledge, agility, and strong partnerships come together. It’s proof that innovative, sustainable packaging isn’t just a concept – it’s happening now. Interested in learning more about how we’re driving change across the packaging industry? Explore our full commitment to sustainability and see the latest innovations we’re proud to lead.