OUT THE BOX

NOW THAT’S A GOOD IDEA…RITTER FLEXIBLE PAPER PACKAGING

BARRIER PAPER

GERMAN CONFECTIONERY GIANT RITTER IS SWITCHING ITS MINI MIX LINES INTO FULLY RECYCLABLE‘BARRIER PAPER’ PACKAGING THAT DELIVERS ALL THE BENEFITS OF PLASTIC POUCHES BUT IS FULLYRECYCLABLE.

WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?

Ritter has launched new ‘flexible barrier paper’ packaging materials for one of its ranges, created from raw materials that are fully recyclable and create a “new customer experience”.

WHAT’S NEW?

The product retains all of the benefits of plastic packaging but without actually using any plastic, a tricky engineering challenge. Ritter’s Mini Mix range is now available in markets across the globe in the new Koehler NexPlus packaging which is a barrier-coated paper made from fully recyclable raw materials that protects the product with a barrier against odours, grease, mineral oil, water vapor and gases but retains the inherent high strength, natural feel properties of paper.

IN ENGLISH?

It works just like a plastic pouch but is recyclable. The company, which is huge in Germany with 99% consumer awareness, says that sustainability is now a key issue for shoppers when making purchasing decisions. The green credentials of the packaging itself are increasingly viewed as just as important to consumers as the product.

AND IT’S FULLY RECYCLABLE?

The main advantage is that it is manufactured from sustainable raw materials that can be fully fed back into the recycling loop.

ANY OTHER BENEFITS?

One of the key attractions of the Koehler NexPlus solution for Ritter was that it allowed the company to switch its packaging without having to change its (very expensive) packaging lines. Ritter sells products in over 100 countries worldwide but services this global market from just two production sites in Germany and Austria.

WHAT ARE KOEHLER SAYING?

Eckhard Kallies, Head of Flexible Packaging Paper at Koehler, says: “Barrier paper is part of our future vision. Paper has an increasing number of capabilities that in the past only plastic could offer. And the difference with paper is that it has a much more sustainable life cycle. Consumers can simply dispose of the mini pouches in paper recycling trash cans so that they can be turned back into paper or cardboard. With our flexible paper packaging solutions, we’re reducing the proportion of plastic in product packaging and making the world a bit more sustainable in the process.”