72 PW AUG2021
THE INSIDER
By Ben Miyares, Packaging Sherpa
Collaborations Expand Paper Packaging’s Potentials the confectionery industry taking place in the name of sustainability. “Imagine that all plastic packaging in Van Melle claims it is the first global confectioner to pack gum in your store one day has disappeared, and what it calls a paperboard “bottle.” The 90% paperboard canister was eventually all glass bottles and metal cans; that all packages are made developed in conjunction with AR Packaging Systems AB. of renewable materials that can be recycled or returned to nature Confectionery giants Mars Wrigley and Nestlé and have without harm.” already started moving from plastic to paper wraps. Other candy That is the bold, aspirational vision of the Paper Bottle Company collaborations, such as one between Ritter Sport and Syntegon, are (Paboco). But is it realistic? Are packages made of “materials that can opting for paper wraps over plastic ones as well. be recycled or returned to nature without harm” part of what manageEven though paper’s unsupported barrier properties are the ment consultant McKinsey & Co. calls the “next normal”? If there’s an lowest of packaging material options, packagers choose it because “after next normal” we’ll probably have to wait till then, in our view. it is a favorite of many of their customers in Western markets. From Paboco is a joint venture started in 2019 by Swedish paper a sustainability standpoint, paper is made from a renewable source, packaging material developer BillerudKorsnäs and Austrian plastic easily recycled, and can be barrier enhanced with all other packaging bottle blow molder, Alpla Group. The JV is expanding beverage material choices—plastic, metal, and glass. bottling reality by offering 330mL and 500mL molded fiber bottles Unsurprisingly, an April 2021 McKinsey with recycled PET (rPET), polyethylene & Co. study of approximately 10,000 furanoate (PEF) or polyethylene Paper is approaching the in 10 countries found that naphthalate (PEN) barrier film coatings. brink of making some market- consumers American and European consumers rank Carlsberg, the Danish brewer, and Cocatransforming changes in paper “quite high” for sustainability. Cola have expressed enough interest in the The attitudes behind the rankings are development to test Paboco’s concept. the packaging landscape. prompting packagers in the U.S. and Europe Riding a crest of popularity, the Collaborative efforts are fueling to seek paper alternatives for plastic straws, sustainability of paper—already the most bags, fruit trays, and shrink wraps for drink widely used packaging materials— has it many of the changes. bottles and cans. On the other hand, notes inching its way from boxes and cartons into McKinsey, the high sustainability scores for paper and glass are not prototypical non-angular bottles, a format dominated to date by glass universal. Brazil, China, and Indonesia rank the sustainability of both and plastic. paper and glass packaging below “plastic films made from renewable, Propelled by growing e-commerce sales, marketplace regulations, compostable raw materials.” McKinsey’s researchers found flexible technological advances in materials and machinery, consumer packaging combining plastic, paper, and aluminum foil “ranks lowest preferences, and environmental concerns—particularly those from a consumer perspective across all surveyed countries.” That’s a targeting plastics—paper is approaching the brink of making common consumer misperception that aseptic cartons—paper/foil/ some market-transforming changes in the packaging landscape. polymer structures—have been fighting for years. Collaborative efforts are fueling many of the changes. Paboco hopes to “spark a movement and change this industry Some examples: Unilever is developing what it’s calling “the first for good” by providing materials and technology at scale for ever paper-based laundry detergent bottle,” a sustainably sourced sustainable and beautiful paper bottle packaging.” And we applaud and recyclable molded paper pulp container for a liquid laundry their ambitions. But, its vision of a marketplace in which all plastic detergent set to launch in Brazil early next year and subsequently rollpackaging—and eventually all glass bottles and metal cans—have out in Europe. Also in the Unilever labs: molded fiber haircare bottles. disappeared is not only bold and aspirational but—to our way of The technology behind Unilever’s molded fiber bottles is the result thinking—not commercially realizable in the near-term future. PW of a partnership between Unilever and the Pulpex consortium, itself a collaboration among alcoholic beverage producer Diageo, PepsiCo, technology development consultancy Pilot Lite, renewable paper Read about paper packaging projects from Mars packaging developer Stora Enso, and chemical company BASF. Wrigley’s Balisto candy at pwgo.to/7128, and Kentucky confectioner Perfetti Van Melle will begin marketing its Nestlé’s Smarties candy at pwgo.to/7129. Mentos gum in paperboard canisters rather than plastic ones later this year. This is one of several plastic-to-paper packaging conversions in Ben Miyares, Packaging Sherpa, is a packaging market and technology analyst and is president of The Packaging Management Institute, Inc. He can be reached at bmiyares@packmgmt.org.
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