Two Farmers is an artisan crisp producer founded by Herefordshire farmers Mark Green and Sean Mason. The company grows, harvests, stores, cooks and packs its potatoes on its own farm, using renewable energy wherever possible and sourcing distinctive ingredients from across the county.
This production process is just one of many ways that Two Farmers has built sustainability into its operations from the ground up. The company does not treat sustainability as a goal, but rather as a journey of continuous improvement where every target hit is a stepping stone to even greater success.
This shared focus has been at the heart of the company’s longstanding partnership with Parkside. Our continual focus on innovation and refining our materials has supported the growth of Two Farmers’ core range, new flavour launches, and collaborations with its own customers, including premium London-based coffee shop operator Colicci.
The challenge
Crisp packaging is one of the most demanding applications in food. It must provide the barrier performance needed to preserve freshness, quality, and – perhaps most importantly – crunch in every bite. This hinges on how well it seals during production and withstands the demands of the modern supply chain. And it has to achieve all of this while creating the visual impact required in a highly competitive snacking category.
For Two Farmers, crisp packaging also has to reflect the environmental values that underpin everything the business does. The team wanted to reduce their reliance on fossil fuel-based plastics and offer a credible, cradle-to-cradle compostable solution without sacrificing performance, print quality, production speeds, or shelf appeal.
As the company grew, the packaging needed to adapt with it. This included supporting different pack sizes and flavours across the main Two Farmers range, producing bespoke packs for external partners and helping the brand bring new products to market.
The challenge is clear. Compostable packaging has to be designed to break down quickly after use. But crisp packets have to be designed not to break down before that point, or they risk compromising the quality of the product. This balancing act required Parkside’s specialist expertise to solve.
The Parkside solution
Parkside developed Park2Nature™ compostable flexible packaging material using renewable feedstocks, reducing reliance on conventional petrochemical materials. The structure is independently tested and accredited to TÜV international home composting standards, giving Two Farmers clear evidence to support its transparent environmental messaging in line with tightening green claims legislation.
The real strength of Park2Nature is how it combines end-of-life benefits with the strong barrier properties required for premium hand-cooked crisps, using water-based barrier coatings to preserve freshness and enhance sealing performance. Its highly printable surface also enables vivid colours and detailed designs, demonstrating that compostable packaging can deliver the vibrant aesthetics shoppers expect from a modern premium brand.
For Two Farmers’ own-brand Herefordshire Sauce crisps, Parkside reproduced a bold pack design inspired by the distinctive colour and spicy character of the crisp seasoning. The striking result complements the look of the existing range while giving the launch a clearly differentiated identity of its own.
The partnership has also delivered results for projects outside Two Farmers’ branded portfolio. Parkside produced packs for three Two Farmers crisp flavours supplied to Colicci, each one made using an advanced triplex compostable structure to combine product protection with vibrant, bespoke designs. The resulting packs can be found across Colicci’s cafés, restaurants, and kiosks in prominent London locations, bringing compostable packaging to some of the most well-known landmarks in the world.
The results
Parkside’s compostable innovation has enabled Two Farmers to maintain a consistent, high-performance packaging strategy as its range and customer base have developed. The packs support strong shelf presence, product freshness, and clear brand storytelling while reducing reliance on fossil fuel-based plastics and staying true to the circular ethos of the business.
Compostable packaging has also provided a platform for Two Farmers to develop its own waste-management system. The company has invested in a granulator that breaks compostable packet material into fragments. These fragments can then be combined with production waste and fed into its on-site anaerobic digestion system to generate renewable energy, supporting the brand’s wider zero-waste ambitions.
This is the kind of transformative innovation that is only possible through a deep, collaborative partnership between closely aligned businesses. It has proven to be a true partnership; one that proves circular packaging can add genuine value to a business, rather than being a compromise they are forced to make.
From its core range to customer collaborations and the launch of Herefordshire Sauce, the partnership between Two Farmers and Parkside shows how an expert packaging partner can support both long-term goals and new commercial opportunities.
The last word
“Helping our friends at Two Farmers to bring a mouth-watering new flavour to market is exactly the kind of project we love to be part of. NPD is an exciting moment for any brand, and our role is to make sure the packaging rises to that occasion – performing brilliantly, carrying the brand story with confidence, and doing so with genuine sustainability credentials behind it.
“The combination of renewable feedstocks, independent composting accreditation, and vibrant print quality shows what responsible packaging innovation looks like in practice. We’re proud to have played our part in this launch.”
Ian McManus, Sales Account Manager at Parkside on the launch of the Herefordshire Sauce packs.
