Can Paper Do It All? Discovering New Horizons in Packaging

Can you pack that in paper?

The landscape of packaging materials is rapidly evolving with new developments in knowledge and technology allowing for more demanding applications to be packaged in paper. Medium and high-barrier applications such as chocolates and sweets, dry foods, and personal care and household items can now be packaged in functional and recyclable barrier papers.

By identifying which functions are essential and which are less critical, we reduce over-engineered packaging and optimize the environmental footprint of packaging. We take a holistic and systemic product design approach and assign new developments to one of four barrier clusters.

from low to high barrier requirements

Depending on the application and requirements we categorized barrier packaging into one of four clusters: low barrier (cluster 1), medium barrier (cluster 2), high barrier (cluster 3) or super barrier (cluster 4). Categorization helps in selecting the most appropriate materials and technologies for the end use.

cluster 1

Barrier papers in this cluster are well-suited for food applications with short shelf lives, secondary packaging and non-food applications such as toys and wearables. Papers in this cluster are available in high transparency, allowing for the easy identification of items inside and easy barcode scanning. Thanks to ultra-thin coatings, these papers can be easily converted into heat-sealable bags and pouches making them a great alternative to PE films and transparent plastic bags.

cluster 2

Barrier papers in this cluster are especially suitable for whole milk chocolates, cereals, frozen foods, and hygiene products. Products such as chocolate bars, pasta, rice, frozen bread, diapers and fem care products often fit into cluster 2. These products require an excellent oil and grease resistance, moderate moisture barrier, often a good mineral oil barrier, high impact strength and a shelf life in the range of 6-9 months. Products are typically hermetically closed using a heat but also cold seal.

cluster 3

In this cluster, barrier papers are designed for products with longer shelf lives that require a combined sophisticated level of one or more of the following: moisture barrier, oxygen barrier, aroma barrier, oil and grease barrier and flex-crack resistance. The papers in this cluster are suitable for filled chocolate, muesli bars, crackers, tea and dry pet food.

cluster 4

This final cluster is for applications that require the most demanding and complex barrier properties. This is the most challenging cluster for our lightweight papers that require minimal amounts of coating to meet strict recycling requirements.

Products in this category include cheese, pet food, coffee, potato chips and other products that require the utilization of a modified atmosphere (like carbon dioxide or nitrogen) in the package (MAP) to extend the shelf-life and enhance product safety.

let's find your perfect solution!

At delfort and DELSCI GmbH , we trust that paper holds the key to unlocking a greener tomorrow, and we're committed to driving this evolution forward. With our specialized expertise and deep knowledge in the field, we're not just your partners; we're your catalysts for change, your collaborators in innovation.

If you're thinking of switching to barrier paper packaging, contact us and let's find your perfect packaging solution!

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