Companies constantly innovate with technology and redesign their packaging to get better performance, improve marketability and enhance sustainability. Here’s a look at three packaging launches and integrations on Packaging Dive’s radar.
More yogurt, less plastic
Huhtamaki is selling single-coated paper cups designed for yogurt and dairy products that contain less than 10% plastic content across the product range. The Finland-based company describes them as fully recyclable across Europe. Dubbed ProDairy, Huhtamaki said the product is made in Europe with paperboard from “renewable wood fibers sourced from sustainably managed forests.”
Creating this type of recyclable packaging for dairy products was a challenge, the company said, in terms of maintaining product performance, barrier properties and rim seal.
“Our team has identified a varnish to replace the outer polyethylene layer which maintains a paper-like feel with a [matte] finish and provides a high moisture barrier for products stored in chilled conditions,” said Fredrik Davidsson, president of fiber food service, Europe-Asia-Oceania, in a statement.
Transitioning from paint buckets to pouches
Mondi and paint company Sherwin-Williams teamed up on a refill option for paint concentrate in the U.K. that uses less plastic than traditional containers.
The 950ml re/cycle SpoutedPouch is designed for easy filling and pouring and meant to reduce the need for 5-liter rigid plastic tubs. “Consumers are encouraged to reuse these tubs to mix the paint concentrate and then recycle the refill’s packaging,” Mondi said of the monomaterial polyethylene pouches in a press release.
Mondi also touted transport efficiency, saying the more compact pouches allow for 230% more units to fit on each pallet.
Mondi sees big potential for the design in industrial applications. The pouch is currently being used for Ronseal concentrated fence stain in the U.K. “By selling concentrate in spouted pouches rather than premixed fence stain in rigid tubs, we’ve reduced plastic usage by up to 90%,” according to Christina Rowe, head of product marketing at Sherwin-Williams.
That’s a wrap
Ohio-based paper packaging solutions company Ranpak recently announced it will sell paper pallet wrapping machinery from PaperWrap in North America. The offerings — which include semi-automatic stand-alone units, fully automatic stand-alone machines and fully automatic line integration systems — provide an alternative to retrofitting plastic stretch-wrapping machines. Europe-based PaperWrap, whose existing customers include Ikea, developed the technologies in partnership with Mondi.
