PulPac equips Swedish coffee chain Da Matteo with Dry Molded Fiber takeaway lids

22 Mar 2024 --- Swedish coffee chain Da Matteo is integrating PulPac’s Dry Molded Fiber technology into its takeaway coffee lids to further the transition away from plastics and toward paper. 

The solution is made with barrier ingredients from PulPac’s selected partners from the Dry Molded Fiber ecosystem — OrganoClick, Solenis and Sofidel. Speaking to Packaging Insights, Pulpac’s chief operating officer, Viktor Börjesson, elaborates on the lid’s green credentials.

“This is a collaboration between ourselves and three of our partners within barrier solutions and tissue,” he elaborates. “The coffee lid is made green inside with the support of OrganoClick’s biobased, biodegradable and home compostable binder, partially manufactured from waste streams from the food industry.”

“The use of OrganoClick’s binder resulted in a paper lid with a much higher performance. The tissue being used is a specialty tissue produced by Sofidel Sweden with strong properties that make it ideal for the Dry Molded Fiber process. The barrier from Solenis is a well proven solution in the market that together with the other ingredients creates a strong barrier toward coffee.”

Alternative to traditional fiber forming
PulPac positions its solution as a “viable alternative” to reusable takeaway containers, which are a notable talking point in the recent EU legislations for takeaway — the Single Use Plastics Directive and Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.

“This easily implementable and scalable on-the-go alternative fits seamlessly into a modern lifestyle. And the coffee lid is just one example from the range of standardized Dry Molded Fiber applications available that align with the recent EU legislations for takeaway,” Börjesson tells us.

Combining Solenis’ barrier solution with the Dry Molded Fiber manufacturing technology “significantly reduces” the environmental impact of on-the-go coffee compared to plastic and wet molded fiber alternatives, details PulPac.

Other applications of Dry Molded Fiber include phone tray inserts.One key advantage of Dry Molded Fiber is that the manufacturing process requires much less water and energy compared to how similar paper products are manufactured.

“The dry process uses significantly less water and energy than traditional fiber forming,” Börjesson tells us. “It lowers the CO2 footprint by up to 80% and is up to ten times faster than conventional fiber-forming, making fiber-based alternatives cost-competitive to plastic packaging — a key factor in the technology’s success in the packaging industry.”

“This process uses regular pulp, a generic resource that is accessible and available on the open market. The pulp is milled and defibrated using air instead of water. It is air-laid into a fiber web, barriers are applied and the dry fiber web is fed into a press where the product is molded in uniquely designed tools using heat and pressure,” he explains.

Scaling a fiber-based suite
Together with its partners, PulPac has developed two automated and standardized machine platforms that cater to the increasing demand for sustainable Dry Molded Fiber products.

“The PulPac Modula platform serves high-volume modularity,” Börjesson tells Packaging Insights. “The PulPac Scala serves lower volumes, requires less space, and comes at a lower investment, an easy first step into Dry Molded Fiber. The machines are provided by our turnkey machine partners (TechTribe, Curt G. JOA and Huarong).”

PulPac licenses the Dry Molded Fiber technology to packaging manufacturers. In addition, the company has full-scale production lines on-site in Gothenburg to produce, for instance, bridge volumes or products for market tests. 

In connection with the coffee lid launch, PulPac is conducting a market survey. The first results show “top ratings” on fit, convenience, usability and sense of touch. 

Respondents also state they perceive the lid as “environmentally friendly” and that they would be “more likely” to purchase their takeaway coffee from a café or brand that uses sustainable fiber-based lids over traditional plastic lids.

”The work PulPac is doing ties very well into OrganoClick’s strategy to replace hidden plastic and supporting our customer's green transition in the near time by providing the product with a green inside,” says Mårten Hellberg, CEO at OrganoClick.

Other applications of PulPac’s Dry Molded Fiber portfolio include a Phone Tray Insert for mobile phone packaging that addresses the growing demand for eco-friendly solutions in the electronics industry.

By Benjamin Ferrer