Packaging

Metsä Board develops easy-to-recycle beverage packaging

Monday 10. May 2021 - Metsä Board has designed a lightweight, strong and easy-to-recycle packaging for the new Chopin Organic Rye Vodka. The development took place at Metsä Boards Excellence Centre in Äänekoski, Finland.

It was particularly important to the product’s producer that the packaging conveyed the brand’s ecological character. Joanna Doli?czyk, marketing coordinator of Chopin Vodka, describes the aspiration of the family-run distillery JoPodlaska Wytwórnia Wódek “Polmos” S.A. as follows: “It was important to us to have packaging that reflected the organic production process of the product. We were full of enthusiasm and had a big goal in mind – a truly organic, highly ecological packaging that meets our three main objectives of purity, whiteness and simplicity.”
Metsä Board’s solution consists of a protective F-flute in which all plies are made of the lightweight white kraftliner MetsäBoard Natural WKL Bright. The all-white litho-laminated packaging has a lightweight and strong structure with closure flaps that require no adhesive. Together with the minimal use of low-migration inks and water-based varnish, the result is packaging that is safe, stylish and easily recyclable. It was manufactured by Prost-Key Packaging in Poland.
The opening mechanism allows the packaging to be opened and closed effortlessly several times. At the same time, the bottle is held securely in place. The curved double folds offer additional stability and reveal the bottle from the side. The white design emphasises the purity of the product, which is supported by the “organic” embossing on the sides.
Iiro Numminen, Structural Packaging Designer at Metsä Board, comments: “The packaging ideally communicates the brand’s promise: sustainability in every single component. As we wanted to emphasise the circular economy, easy recyclability was a key factor in our concept.”
The packaging was designed and tested at Metsä Board’s Excellence Centre, which has cutting-edge technology for research and development, packaging design and board and packaging performance. It is designed to accelerate material and packaging innovation and provide a collaboration platform for customers and technology partners worldwide.
The packaging is made from lightweight white kraftliner MetsäBoard Natural WKL Bright, produced at the Metsä Board Husum mill. Its virgin fibres are 100 per cent sourced from sustainably managed Northern European forests.