A recyclable vegetable packaging brought a ScanStar award to Paptic

New sustainable vegetable packaging made of Paptic® material has been awarded a ScanStar in a Nordic packaging design competition organised by the Scandinavian Packaging Association. 

The awarded packaging solution for Puukin Tila was developed to replace plastic in vegetable packaging end-use. It is a soft and durable pouch, enhancing the brand value, expanding the current sustainable packaging window and in addition, the vegetables stay fresh longer. The Paptic® material is cellulose-based, recyclable, moisture resistant, and well convertable with the existing package production lines. 

The competition entry package was invented when Paptic Ltd and Marvaco Ltd joined forces to respond to a call from Puukin Tila to replace plastic in onion packaging.  Paptic®, fiber-based material, and Marvaco Expanded Gamut Printing with Flint Group C2C Material Health certified inks made the new, truly sustainable vegetable packaging possible. In the optimized packaging, all sustainability aspects were considered, including the substrate, design, printing, and inks.

The competition jury valued that there is potential to use this solution also in other applications than vegetables. It has good printability and replaces plastic in packaging.

The awarded solution was developed to keep the products fresh for longer and minimize packaging waste 

Paptic® is a fiber-based substrate to replace plastics in packaging. The lightweight material is soft, with excellent puncture and tear resistance and heat sealable properties. Katja Jokiaho, Business Development Manager and CSO from Paptic, clarifies: “Many products are overpackaged because there are no alternatives to plastic-based solutions. Various products benefit from being packed in more breathable materials.”

“The aim was to create a simple, sustainable design for exceptionally packed onions by reducing ink consumption and the number of colours used in printing”, explains Mirva Koskinen, Brand Sales Manager at Marvaco. We minimized the number of inks to only three colours, but still, the colorful design was possible due to the process of printing. With Flint Group’s water-based offering, we were able to eliminate the use of heavy metals and minimize waste. The Cradle-to-Cradle Material Health certified inks used are also certified for OK compost. Despite the environmentally wiser choices, the desired colourful design was achieved.

Petri Puukki, the owner of Puukin Tila, is satisfied with the results: “We wanted to make a difference and pack our locally produced onions in a sustainable way. The material selection keeps the onions fresh for longer and the new packaging also looks fresh!” The project was completed in just a few months.

About the SCANSTAR Competition

Scanstar is a joint Nordic packaging competition held annually since 1969 by the Scandinavian Packaging Association SPA. The competition is open for all packaging solutions designed, converted, or used in one of the Nordic countries. Scanstar 2022 was organized by Emballasjeforeningen (Norway).

Paptic Ltd is a high-growth company established in 2015 with headquarters in Espoo, Finland. The company has developed Paptic®, a fibre-based and recyclable material to replace plastics in packaging. The material has been available on an industrial scale since 2018. Today Paptic is a company with close to 30 professionals, and Paptic® materials are delivered to over 40 countries. www.paptic.com