Confectionery packaging: focus on sustainability and flexibility

Recyclability and optimum protection are at the top of the priority list regarding the requirements of alternative materials. It is therefore all the more important that the packaging systems implemented display the necessary flexibility.

The search for greater sustainability in the packaging process is one of the main trends in the global confectionery industry. ProSweets Cologne, which is being staged together with ISM at the Cologne fair grounds in the scope of the Sweet Week from 28 to 31 January 2024, demonstrates how this can be achieved.

The current packaging development trend is evident at ProSweets Cologne: Wherever it is possible to dispense with plastic for packaging, paper or cardboard are being used instead. There are many examples of this during the Sweet Week at the Cologne fair grounds, especially in the halls of the co-staged ISM, the world’s largest trade fair for sweets and snacks. As a duo, ISM and ProSweets Cologne, represent the entire industrial value chain of the international sweets and snacks industry. Increasing the recyclability and reducing the weight of the packaging are important aspects that are at the top of the agenda of the sweets industry.

Recyclable and functional alternatives to petrochemical plastics

“We very much welcome the consumers’ increased awareness for sustainability,” confirmed Prof. Dr. Markus Schmid. “This awareness leads to a heightened interest in environmentally-friendly packaging. However, it is important that well-founded decisions are taken concerning the choice of material. We often see that wellintended initiatives lead to hasty solutions without their functional restrictions and the actual ecological footprint being taken into full consideration. In our work at the Sustainable Packing Institute (SPI) at the Albstadt-Sigmaringen University we strive to develop holistic solutions that are both functional and sustainable. Our aim is to improve the life cycle assessment of bio-based plastics, i.e. by using residual plant matter and thus being able to offer really more sustainable packaging materials".

Peter Desilets, Chief Operating Officer of Pacoon Sustainability Concepts GmbH, knows which materials and technical innovations promote the change process. "Whether for jelly items, toffee, caramel or bonbons: Whilst the consumers are pleased about the huge variety at the point of sale, the sweets and snacks manufacturers have to find the right interplay between packaging material and the packaging technology for their products. Materials that display the best possible machinability from the start are the prerequisite for this,” according to the expert. Especially in the concept phase of a new machine there is a lot of scope for designing the packaging with sustainability in mind. Fibre-based packaging is a preferred and in many respects forward-looking option for Desilets.

Flexible machines for a wide variety of packaging

The trend towards paper-based packaging and monomaterials made from plastic is clearly noticeable among the machine builders who are exhibiting at the fair grounds in Cologne. They are supporting the producers in switching over to recyclable alternatives with innovative technologies that enable more economical cuts, improved material utilisation and optimised formats. Solutions that are found at ProSweets Cologne also guarantee perfectly sealed packaging in the case of very thin films made of polypropylene or polyethylene. In this way, stand-up pouches for snacks can be recycled as a true “single material solution”.

Schubert offers its customers more flexibility for transverse sealing with the box motion unit in the Flowpacker, for example. The ultrasonic method makes it possible to seal more hermetically overall because the seam displays a consistent high quality across the entire width. Thick films that require longer sealing times can be easily processed as well as recyclable tubular bags made from monofilms or paper-based films. In the meantime, sustainable materials can be processed in many other machines - what’s more with full format flexibility. An example of this is the Kliklok ACE by Syntegon.

The carton erector folds paper trays without glue and thus enables conventional plastic trays to be replaced by paper-based materials. Moreover, sustainable packaging is demonstrated in concrete form by the FPC5 of Theegarten Pactec. The modular packaging machine for the production of bars in a tubular bag has been further developed so that paper-based packaging can be processed: On the one hand using a conventional cold seal process, but on the other hand also using a much more complex heat seal process. And Loesch’s LTM-DUO fold wrapping machine is both flexible regarding the choice of format and the packaging material: From smaller bars through to 300-gram bars, from biofilm, to monofilm and composite material, through to aluminium foil, everything can be processed unproblematically. The examples show how the machine builders unite the themes sustainability and process integration with one other.

A look into the biocircular future Hence the turnaround towards sustainable packaging solutions is in full progress. Hon. Prof. Dr. Sascha Peters, founder of the Haute Innovation Agency talks about scenarios for the markets of the future at ProSweets Cologne in his lecture entitled “Biocircular packaging for the sweets industry”. “The solutions is also presented in the scope of the Sustainable Packaging Special Show. The potential of regrowing alternatives to plastics is nowhere near exploited”, he explained.

Packaging that is made out of regrowing raw materials and residual organic materials are in demand. As a resource-saving alternative to conventional paper made of fresh fibres, grass paper is for instance developing into an everincreasingly important packaging material. Depending on the usage it can replace the wood fibre content by up to 50 percent. “One can achieve an innovative advantage with alternative packaging,” according to Peters.

Source: ProSweets