Holmen Iggesund CEO: Customizable and eco-sustainable packaging needed amid COVID-19 paperboard boom

26 Apr 2021 --- With the COVID-19 pandemic exponentially expanding e-commerce, packaging manufacturers and designers are increasingly looking for ways to improve the environmental costs associated with widespread home delivery and posting packs.

PackagingInsights discusses the future of paperboard and its applications in e-commerce with Johan Nellbeck, CEO of Swedish paperboard manufacturer Holmen Iggesund. 

Nellbeck talks COVID-19, industry streamlining, impending regulations and reducing fossil fuels.

Pandemic boosts smaller businesses
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive effect on shopping behaviors and accelerated the already ongoing shift from traditional brick and mortar to e-commerce, notes Nellbeck.

“Online sales have increased for all types of products. Even groceries and pharmaceuticals, which were not typical e-commerce products before the pandemic, have seen a big increase through online channels.” 

“As these are not typical e-commerce products, the packaging is not adapted to fit the e-commerce supply chain.”

Innova Market Insights recently revealed one in three global consumers has increased their online shopping habits since COVID-19. Brazil is above average, with more than half (58%) of consumers turning to online purchasing.

Moreover, the marker researcher indicates 15 percent of global consumers do not expect to return to regular grocery habits post-pandemic.

In the UK, Germany and the US, as many as 20 percent of consumers expect to continue with COVID-19 purchasing habits.

Holmen Iggesund’s Inverform trayforming paperboard material launched in 2020.“As we are turning more toward online research and buying products, this has changed the landscape for smaller brands and start-ups, which now can get access to a larger audience to build their business,” highlights Nellbeck. 

As many of these are niche or medium-sized players, the general sturdy brown transit packaging does not always fit their needs.

Such businesses benefit from using more customized transit packaging to improve customer experience and brand recognition, says Nellbeck. 

Fossil-free innovation 
With e-commerce packaging on the rise, Holmen Iggesund is working to create fossil-free packaging through several innovative projects.

“We are following the development of fossil-free barriers closely with trials and benchmarks as this is one area that is in focus and will be important for our customers in the coming years,” explains Nellbeck.

Holmen Iggesund is investing in cellulose nanocrystals through Melodea, which could lead to bio-based solutions within many applications, including barriers. 

“We have started up a new department that will focus on fiber-based formable packaging solutions,” adds Nellbeck. 

“We see increased demand from brand owners that want to shift away from fossil-based to renewable packaging that is aesthetic, functional and sustainable.”

Innova Market Insights recently pegged “Fiber-Based Frenzy” as a top trend for 2021, noting that 72 percent of global consumers and 62 percent of US consumers recognize paper’s exceptional recyclability.Antalis conducted an e-commerce case study with a fictitious beauty brand named Smart Luxury Packaging using Holmen Iggesund’s paperboard.

“In general, we see a high demand for more purposeful packaging solutions. This was important for our customers before the pandemic, and we see that it’s even higher on the agenda now.”

Policy ambiguity 
The European Green deal will have big implications for all industries, says Nellbeck. The European Parliament recently voted in favor of the Circular Economy Action Plan, which forms an integral part of the European Green Deal, demonstrating support for permanent materials that can be infinitely recycled.

“One of the most important building blocks is the new Circular Economy Action Plan, which will have a high impact on packaging. We see that fiber-based solutions can play a vital part in the transition to make sustainable packaging the new norm.” 

What’s needed is increased collaboration between all parts of the value chain to create innovations, Nellbeck asserts, not only for products but also technology and services for improving circularity. 

“One important part is we need better infrastructure for collection, sorting and recycling. This needs to be pushed for by policymakers and governments.”

“However, it’s clear that we all have a responsibility to make sure that packages are designed to be circular from the start, that materials are circulated longer in the system and don’t end up as waste and pollution,” adds Nellbeck.

Holmen Iggesund’s customers have expressed ambiguity around what the EU directives will mean for upcoming legislation and how this will impact their packaging solutions and businesses. 

“There are no clear answers at this point, but that shouldn’t stop us from taking action and working together to find more purposeful solutions that have a positive impact on the climate,” he concludes.

“There is no time to spare.”

By Louis Gore-Langton