Paptic® contributes to circular packaging innovation development project – coffee waste into printing ink
May 2025 – Paptic Ltd is proud to take part in innovation projects that aim to develop truly circular packaging solutions. One recent example is a Finnish collaboration in which a natural biocolorant derived from roasted coffee production side streams has been successfully used in flexographic printing on fibre-based bag made of Paptic® material.
The project is a joint effort between Natural Indigo Finland, Tampere University of Applied Sciences, Meira Oy, Cabassi Oy, and Paptic Ltd. A water-based ink made with a biocolorant derived from coffee waste was developed which is a renewable, natural alternative to the synthetic pigments typically used in packaging printing.
The result, a flexo-printed bag using Paptic® as the fibre-based substrate and coloured with ink made from coffee production side streams, is a concrete example of the circular economy in action.
“This is a true circular economy solution. We’ve taken what was once waste and upcycled it into value, replacing synthetic colorants with a fully bio-based pigment made from coffee,” said Pasi Ainasoja, CEO of Natural Indigo Finland.
“As a coffee roastery committed to sustainability, we’re proud that there is a new, alternative way to use this valuable raw material. On top of producing biogas from the side streams we can also utilize it for more sustainable packaging. This collaboration between a start-up, academia, and industry is an inspiring example of cross-sector innovation that creates new concrete sustainable solutions,” said Heidi Päiväniemi, Sustainability, Development & Communication Director at Meira Oy.
“This is a significant green innovation in the global packaging print sector, which is worth hundreds of billions of euros annually,” added Dr. Kai Lankinen, who teaches and researches sustainable packaging at Tampere University of Applied Sciences
Driving packaging sustainability through collaboration
“This project reflects the kind of collaboration we value at Paptic — where sustainability, creativity and practical application come together. It’s about more than replacing plastic; it’s about developing better packaging solutions,” says Esa Torniainen, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder at Paptic Ltd.
For more information, please contact:
Esa Torniainen
Chief Strategy Office and Co-Founder
Paptic Ltd.
Tel. +358 50 598 7668
Email:
Paptic Ltd is a high-growth company established in 2015 with headquarters in Espoo, Finland. The company has developed Paptic®, fibre-based and recyclable, materials to replace plastics and other conventional materials in packaging. Paptic materials have been available on an industrial scale since 2018. Today Paptic is a company of 50 professionals, and the materials are delivered to over 50 countries.