Amcor, Huhtamaki, Smurfit Westrock: Confectionery packagers balance circularity, creativity and convenience

Confectionery packaging has unique demands and challenges that manufacturers must meet to protect product freshness and quality. Meanwhile, consumers expect superior unboxing experiences for their sweets and chocolates, presenting innovators with special design and high-performance material challenges.

We speak to industry experts at Amcor, Huhtamaki and Smurfit Westrock to understand how leading suppliers are addressing these demands for superior confectionery packaging while improving shelf life and environmental sustainability features. 

“Unlike other food packaging, where there is a trend toward a natural look and feel, confectionery packaging often favors high-gloss materials to enhance visibility on shelves,” Dudley Jones, vice president for Global Sales Flexible Packaging at Huhtamaki, tells Packaging Insights. 

Meanwhile, Ian Lloyd, senior director for Consumer Marketing at Smurfit Westrock, tells us that the confectionery sector demands more creativity than other sectors, with a vast range of shapes and constructions utilized to provide a competitive edge and harness consumer attention. 

“A steady stream of innovation blending science and creativity is required to meet demand, stand out shelf appeal and encourage more at-home consumption. It’s vital to delight consumers — particularly when it comes to unboxing e-commerce confectionery packs,” he says.

Huhtamaki’s high-barrier paper solution (Image credit: Huhtamaki).Teresa Vidigal, segment marketing manager for AFEMEA at Amcor, tells Packaging Insights that for paper-based confectionery packaging specifically, a key challenge is ensuring that it provides the required moisture and grease resistance. 

“Given paper’s natural porosity, creating packaging with effective barrier properties represents a significant market breakthrough. AmFiber Performance Paper surpasses conventional paper packaging by providing superior moisture resistance, extending shelf life and delivering excellent grease resistance,” explains Vidigal.

“Consumer convenience is also critical, requiring practical and user-friendly packaging designs. Additionally, high-quality graphics are essential to enhance shelf appeal and drive strong consumer engagement in the highly competitive confectionery market.”

Paperization shift

As the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation forges ahead, Lloyd says that Smurfit Westrock has seen an increased interest in switching to paper-based packaging from plastic. For example, replacing plastic trays in chocolate boxes. 

“In other cases, there is a pack redesign to facilitate easier removal of plastic components for recycling but without compromising the pack integrity. However, heightened cost sensitivity given the current economic climate makes these changes challenging at times,” he adds.

Meanwhile, Jones sees a similar demand shift toward packaging solutions that offer improved sustainability and higher performance. Smurfit Westrock’s confectionery packaging printed for seasonal and gift packs (Image credit: Smurfit Westrock).

“Our high-barrier paper solution is a standout product that helps our customers tap into new target groups. Affordability remains crucial for widespread adoption, and we are committed to providing globally streamlined solutions that benefit from Huhtamaki’s economies of scale,” he says. 

Vidigal says that consumer awareness around sustainability is growing, and as a result, more shoppers are basing their purchase decisions on the sustainability credentials of products. 

“For example, 70% of European consumers now report looking for recyclability claims when buying chocolate products. This majority of conscious shoppers has increased by 35% since 2021,” she says.

To respond to rising sustainability demand, Amcor has developed a range of recycle-ready, high-performance solutions. 

“We offer recycle-ready packaging for a range of applications, from chocolate to biscuits to confectionary bars, that make no compromise on quality, durability or convenience,” says Vidigal. 

Product impact and high-barrier structures

Smurfit Westrock’s primary focus remains on construction, design and making the most of existing products like folding cartons, shaped and rigid boxes to create engaging and unexpected shapes and mechanisms. 

“We will also be focusing on value engineering to minimize material content and increase recyclability. We’ll be extending the use of decoration and graphics to enhance product impact and create a sensory experience,” says Lloyd.

“The development of barrier coatings and 3D fiber formings for other markets will benefit our market positioning in confectionery if these can be introduced. Smurfit Westrock has a strong track record in developing coatings which do not compromise the product’s recyclability.”

Amcor’s AmFiber Performance Paper (Image credit: Amcor).Meanwhile, Huhtamaki’s R&D efforts are focused on developing sustainable solutions for more complex and refined high-barrier structures. 

“We recently introduced our blueloop OmniLock range in PE and paper, which deliver monomaterial structures in combination with industry-leading barrier performance. The range has been tested for various applications, such as envelopes, flow wraps, stick packs and sachets, providing versatile and sustainable options for the confectionery market and beyond,” says Jones.

Vidigal says Amcor is constantly developing and improving its product ranges, including AmPrima recycle-ready PE and PP solutions, AmFiber paper packaging and Amfiniti Recycled Content. 

She notes that Amcor’s commitment to sustainability and innovation is further demonstrated by the establishment of the Amcor Innovation Center Europe (AICE) in Ghent, Belgium. 

“Opened in June 2024, the Innovation Center enables Amcor’s packaging designers and technical experts to partner with brands and retailers and design packaging that delivers better results for consumers and the environment alike,” says Vidigal.

“The AICE is an example of how Amcor is working to achieve its pledge to develop all our packaging to be recyclable or reusable by the end of 2025 and to increase our use of post-consumer recycled content.”