Dow and Walki develop recyclable monomaterial matte PE pouch for premium frozen foods

Dow and Walki have announced a monomaterial machine direction orientation (MDO) PE pouch with matte finish for frozen or dry food products. 

In the collaboration, Walki designed the pouch and handled the printing, lamination, and finishing, while Dow supplied low-temperature sealing technology. 

The MDO process involves stretching PE film to improve its mechanical properties. The result, according to the companies, is a film with enhanced stiffness and barrier performance. It aims to replace conventional print web films, such as oriented polyester, and, when combined with a PE sealant film, is fully recyclable. 

The MDO process does not traditionally produce a matte finished pouch. But Walki says that a matte finish is often preferred for premium products. 

“There has been a need for a solution that delivers the functional performance of MDO-PE but with a premium matte appearance”, says Juan Angel Ruiz Salazar, R&D manager at Walki Plasbel. 

“We designed the pouch and performed the printing, lamination, and finishing process. MDO-PE has lower thermal resistance than traditional materials like PET, used in conventional laminates. PET can handle high sealing temperatures without deforming, but MDO-PE cannot.” 

According to Walki, the market demand for matte products reflects “broader changes in consumer behavior and retail presentation,” with frozen and prepared foods positioned as premium, high-quality meals, rather than convenience items. 

Low-temp sealing 

The solution required a PE-sealant to make it a monomaterial structure; however, it needed to bond at a low enough temperature to avoid damaging the MDO layer during the sealing process, explains Ruiz Salazar. 

Ksenija Maksimovic, senior TS&D specialist at Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics EMEA, adds: “Dow’s Affinity Polyolefin Plastomers are specifically designed to activate and seal at low temperatures, making them fully compatible with the heat-sensitive MDO layer.” 

According to Dow, the Affinity polyolefin can reduce film blocking, improve machinability, and has “excellent” high-speed packaging line performance and sealing.

“This enables a higher extrusion output, equipment efficiency, and overall cost savings when producing recyclable packaging. The pouch prototype was presented at the Dow booth at Interpack 2026 in early May and raised a lot of interest,” says Maksimovic.

Beyond frozen food

While the prototype pouch was filled with frozen gyoza dumplings, Dow and Walki note that the solution can be used for a variety of food applications, such as cereals, and for fresh food applications using modified atmosphere packaging with gas. 

The solution aims to respond to the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulations, which stipulate design-for-recyclability goals.

Jonas Skuthälla, head of Sales for Flexible Packaging at Walki, says: “When designed for circularity, plastic packaging plays a critical role in extending shelf life and preserving food quality.” 

“Rather than asking which material is ‘better,’ the priority is to keep materials in use and within the loop. In food packaging, maintaining product quality and reducing food waste is essential to minimize emissions.”