Tetra Pak launches plastic and plant-based tethered caps on carton packs across Europe

27 Apr 2022 --- Tetra Pak is partnering with leading beverage brands to launch “the world’s first” tethered caps on carton packs, including plant-based options. The five new caps, introduced by Borrisoleigh Bottling (BBL) in Ireland, Cido Grupa in the Baltics, LY Company Group and Lactalis Puleva in Spain and Weihenstephan in Germany, have been designed to prevent litter and accelerate the transition to renewable materials.

The EU’s Single Use Plastics Directive requires that caps and lids on beverage containers up to 3 L remain firmly attached to bottles after opening from July 3, 2024. Tethered caps play an important role in preventing litter, as the cap will stay attached to the package.

“Understanding our customers’ needs and having collected consumer insights through multiple pieces of research across various markets, our new tethered caps have been designed to enhance convenience. For instance, they are easy to open and reclose for subsequent consumption while featuring carefully sized diameters for smooth pouring and drinking,” explains Julia Luscher, vice president of marketing at Tetra Pak.

Plant-based carbon cuts
Tetra Pak says plant-based tethered caps can help reduce the carbon footprint of cartons. The multinational food packaging and processing company’s bio-based caps are made from polymers derived from responsibly sourced sugarcane.

Additionally, most of Tetra Pak’s tethered cap portfolio features a reduced amount of plastic. Depending on the various solutions, the company achieved a plastic content reduction ranging between 7% and 15%.Tetra Brik Aseptic Edge carton with LightWing 30 closure.

“Starting with these five new introductions, we plan to equip approximately 300 packaging lines with tethered caps in Europe by the end of 2022,” notes Marco Marchetti, vice president of packaging materials for sales and distribution solutions at Tetra Pak.

“Considering the scale of change required across the value chain, early collaborations like these are putting the food and beverage industry on a fast track to accelerate the transition to a low carbon circular economy.”

European rollouts
In May, BBL is set to start commercial production of the new plant-based C38 Pro tethered cap on Tetra Top 330 and Tetra Top 500 carton packages. Based in Ireland, BBL is an experienced and awarded water producer.

Since February 2022, the new HeliCap 26 Pro closure has been tested in the Baltics with juice provider Cido Grupa on a Tetra Prisma Aseptic 1000 Square package.

Meanwhile, LY Company Group, a carton-packaged water business in Spain, will soon start commercial production of the new plant-based DreamCap 26 Pro closure on a Tetra Prisma Aseptic 330 Square package.BBL water in Tetra Top 330 carton packages with plant-based C38 Pro tethered caps.

In the same country, Lactalis Puleva – part of the Lactalis Group, a world-leading dairy company – has chosen to test the new HeliCap 23 Pro closure. A plant-based version of the cap has been applied to Tetra Brik Aseptic 1000 Slim packages for the brand Lauki, on shelf since March this year.

Also, Weihenstephan, one of the oldest and most popular German dairy brands, will soon test the production of the new LightWing 30 closure on a Tetra Brik Aseptic 1000 Edge carton.

The company has also heavily invested in Tetra Pak’s new automated production lines for tethered caps, which utilize Artificial Intelligence for increased manufacturing efficiency.

“In total, we are investing around €400 million in the development and roll-out of tethered cap solutions, including a €100 million investment last year in our Châteaubriant plant in France to accelerate the production of tethered closures,” says Marchetti.

“By working seamlessly across multiple project streams and covering approximately 40 different packages with tethered caps, we expect to sell over 1.5 billion such closures by year-end.”

Edited by Joshua Poole