Mondi adds ultra-high-barrier paper range as consumers reveal material preference

21 Jul 2023 --- Mondi is investing €16 million (US$17.8 million) in a technology to create a new packaging range, FunctionalBarrier Paper Ultimate, for food and non-food applications. The packaging and paper giant’s FunctionalBarrier Paper Ultimate range is designed to be recyclable in paper waste streams across Europe while providing product protection.

The company is developing the ultra-high barrier paper-based solution range to meet growing customer demand for environmentally sustainable packaging. 

“End-consumers believe paper to be the most environmentally friendly packaging material, especially compared to unrecyclable aluminum or plastic-based solutions,” Dirk Gabriel, chief operations officer for Consumer Flexibles at Mondi, tells Packaging Insights. 

The new addition expands Mondi’s existing portfolio of FunctionalBarrier Papers, providing high-barrier paper-based packaging for food products such as dried foods and powdered milk and applications in the home and personal care industry. 

Mondi is developing the ultra-high barrier paper-based solution range for growing customer demand. Trials support paper
Mondi explains that these products require packaging that offers protection from water vapor and oxygen and can extend shelf life. The current industry standards to achieve this level of barrier protection are unrecyclable solutions made of plastic or aluminum. 

Initial trials of the FunctionalBarrier Paper Ultimate range have shown positive results for both Mondi’s customers and end consumers. The company says that the results indicate that the paper solution is “widely accepted and preferred” over alternatives.

“FunctionalBarrier Paper Ultimate possesses ultra-high barrier properties, suitable for end markets such as food and non-food applications that have very high barrier requirements. The current industry standards for these packaging solutions are unrecyclable solutions made of plastic or lined with aluminum,” explains Gabriel. 

“FunctionalBarrier Paper Ultimate is designed to be recyclable while offering fit-for-purpose product protection to goods such as coffee, protecting the product from water vapor and oxygen.”

Tech at scale
The investment at its Solec plant in Poland enables Mondi to produce the high-barrier functional paper at scale using the latest technology and efficient processes. 

Due to the company’s integrated value chain, it can offer the complete solution in-house: from production and coating to printing and converting it into the final packaging product.

In a similar development, Mondi launched paper bags for Holz-Bauer’s wooden pellets and substituted Silbo’s pallet wrapping from plastic stretch film to Mondi’s kraft paper Advantage StretchWrap.

“Our goal is to use paper where possible and plastic when useful. As paper is made from renewable resources, we aim to contribute to a circular economy and reduce unnecessary plastic,” Fabio Barbieri, sales director for Paper Bags at Mondi, told Packaging Insights.

By Natalie Schwertheim