With our eco-friendly printing of biodegradable tea bags, we are fulfilling the ideals of the company

The roots of the Sonnentor company lie in Austria. Its history began in 1988, when its founder Johannes Gutmann, only 23 years old at the time, started touring local markets with products from local farmers who were literally struggling to make a living in the then very poor region of the Austrian Waldviertel. Johannes stood out from others by selling not only packaged teas, herbs and spices, but also the story of the people who grew them.

A couple of years passed, and at a conference on organic farming Johaness met Tomáš Mitáček. And in 1992 they co-founded Czech Sonnentor in South Moravia.

Johannes Gutmann was an ardent supporter of healthy living and organic farming already at a time when people were generally not so concerned about the origin and composition of food, and when the general public showed scant regard for organic products. Ecology and sustainability are still at the forefront of the company today. Their primary goal is to put as little stress on the planet as possible and pursue their business in an environmentally friendly manner.

Naturally, the strict ecological sorting of waste is a given, but similarly important is, for example, the company's cooperation with its partners, conducted exclusively in the spirit of fair trade, support for Czech growers, the revival of so-called "brownfields", and the completely waste-free processing of herbs. Sonnentor was also one of the first pioneers of organic farming in the Czech Republic.

Understandably, Sonnentor also places great emphasis on the choice of packaging materials. They mainly use products that are recyclable (paper) or compostable (filter paper, corn starch filter material for pyramid funnel bags, and cellulose film). And it is the packaging of tea bags that we produce and print here at Colognia press.

We have transferred our professional printing experience directly into practice. In the process, we optimised production to efficiently print using biodegradable water-based inks on conventional machines. We are one of the main partners behind the development of a suitable substrate. Together, we managed to create a symbiosis between printability, bondability, the aroma barrier, and sustainability.

Sonnentor is one of our key clients. They demand an individual approach and above all the desire to try new things. Together we are pushing our boundaries and innovating our assemblage of printing equipment, which is helping us to produce more efficiently and create new market opportunities. For us they offer a model of sustainability.

"Since 2019, we've been producing our tea bag packaging in cooperation with Colognia press from Kolín. Colognia press prints for us using water-based inks on biodegradable materials, which is in line with our environmental ideals and guidelines. In our cooperation, we especially appreciate their flexibility and readiness to tackle new projects."

– Radka from Sonnentor