Stampac and Chocal showdown at ISM 2020: Aluminum strategies compared in chocolate packaging sector

10 Feb 2020 --- Extending shelf-life and ensuring food safety is a vital goal for packaging companies. The challenge is augmented by growing consumer concern for the environment, which demands that packaging is also highly recyclable. At ISM 2020, PackagingInsights spoke with representatives of Stampac and Chocal, both German packaging suppliers, who revealed the advantages and R&D challenges of chocolate packaged in aluminum foil.

Both Stampac and Chocal deliver form-fitting aluminum foils to hollow chocolate figures. Junior Sales Manager Alina Häßler explains how product safety is a top concern at Chocal, which is addressed in the first step of production: the foil itself.

“Our aluminum foils are stronger and more stable than those of other companies, who use very thin foils that can crease and break quickly. If they’re too thin, there can also be micro-holes, which can contaminate the chocolate. Since we pre-form the monolayer of thick aluminum, it’s very gentle handling. This means that there is not so much pressure on the chocolate – the chocolate won’t break and the foil won’t rip,” she explains.Chocal's aluminum foil for animal-shaped hollow chocolate.

As opposed to Chocal’s thicker foils, Stampac also works with very thin aluminum. Dr. Michael Sdahl, Managing Partner at Stampac, explains that the company has designed special tools to monitor the durability of its monomaterial foils to provide safe chocolate wrappers. Moreover, using thinner aluminum can reduce substantial costs for packaging material. 

To glue or not to glue
Both companies offer a sealing option for their foils. A strong contender in food-safe packaging, Stampac operates with glue-based closures, in addition to mechanical closures. Dr. Sdahl affirms that sealing adhesives can be instrumental to ensure stable shelf-life and food safety. “Especially in warmer regions, contamination through insects is a serious problem. Within one night of sitting on a window seal, worms can infect the chocolate.”

“People could have more problems if they knew about these micro-holes in packaging,” Häßler adds. To avoid this, Stampac and Chocal both work with two different kinds of materials, polyethylene and sealing wax in order to guarantee safe sealings. “Polyethylene is advantageous because it seals the aluminum tightly and thickly when it melts,” Dr. Sdahl explains.

In addition to using various sealing adhesives, Chocal has the option to fold the aluminum seam around itself – both with and without sealing. “This technique is called bordering. The seam makes the figure appear bigger than it actually is, which is particularly appealing to marketing specialists,” Häßler delineates. Both Stampac and Chocal adopt the bordering closure approach in certain packaging applications.

The reign of recycling 
Dr. Sdahl explains that the second packaging adhesive Stampac utilizes is sealing wax. Although it is a much much thinner glue than polyethylene, it is much more recyclable. “In my eyes, this is an enormous advantage. We think this may have a future for other applications that currently do not apply to aluminum,” he forecasts.Stampac's smooth sealing for egg-shaped chocolates make bar codes and labels more legible.

Anticipating consumer demands for environmentally sustainable packaging options, Chocal’s “second skins” are also 100 percent recyclable, Häßler indicates. Indeed, the European Aluminum Foil Association (EAFA) spotlighted the recyclability credentials of aluminum foil in 2019, reporting that recycling rates for aluminum packaging in Germany are above 87 percent. Meanwhile, in aluminum beverage cans, Germany boasts recycling rates of 99 percent. Further, almost 31 billion cans were recycled in EU and EFTA countries in 2017, representing a total of more than 420,000 tons of aluminum.

Visual aesthetics as a marketing advantage
Both companies create their foils in egg or animal shapes, arriving timely for Christmas and Easter. Dr. Sdahl elaborates how customized aluminum foil presents several marketing assets for chocolate companies.

“One advantage is the improved readability, especially in terms of bar codes and 2D matrix codes. The smoother surfaces present more design characteristics, such as detailed images of faces. If it is not flat, the design wrinkles and it doesn’t look visually appealing. Vibrant colors are also not possible with conventional packaging.”

Smooth aluminum foil prevents wrinkled packaging designs.At Chocal, the company uses fully automatic machines to wrap hollow figures in aluminum foil, creating a “perfect second skin for chocolate figures,” says Häßler.

“We form a front and a back side to put the chocolate inside to ensure that the graphic designs are well adapted to the shape of the chocolate. At the end, you have a chocolate figure that retains its shape, rather than one damaged before reaching retail shelves. The beaks of birds or delicate necks of animal figures would easily break off, if not for the custom-made packaging,” she explains.

Thanks to the smooth surface, the chocolate figures can offer more space for product information. “This also means there are no problems with compliance of EU regulations, which is very important to a lot of customers,” adds Häßler.

The future of paper-based packaging
Dr. Sdahl shakes his head when considering the market applicability of paper-based chocolate wrappers. “Paper isn’t gas-tight, nor is it as recyclable as aluminum foil. “Paper isn’t gas-tight, nor is it as recyclable as aluminum foil. Paper loses its applicability as packaging for food after the first time of recycling. I am currently a bit concerned about the high consumption of wood when we use paper as packaging material.” Chocal's paper-based packaging won the ISM Innovation award in 2019. 

For food, this has to be virgin paper. The earth’s forest would have to be cut down several times if we wanted to use paper extensively as packaging for food. However, I am sure that there will be a solution for this in the future too and Stampac is ready to react on customer’s demand on paper packaging.”

However, Chocal has already begun taking preliminary steps to anticipate EU-regulation changes on plastic and aluminum packaging with its new paper-based wrapper. The paper wrapper takes the same approach as its aluminum counterpart, with a customized front and back for individual chocolate figure designs, with various closing and sealing options in order to ensure maximum product protection and safety. 

The company collaborates with sustainability-oriented paper suppliers that plant ten trees for every three that it harvests for the paper shells, says Häßler. “This is important to us: not taking too much from the environment.”

“Customers are bound to see our paper packaging in the future. We won the ISM Packaging Award last year and we have another year to continue developing, so we are close to getting the packaging to the market. If we speak again together next year, you may have already seen the first results on the market,” she concludes.

Translated and written by Anni Schleicher, reporting from ISM 2020 in Cologne, Germany