Huhtamaki started an exclusive partnership with one of the largest coffee brands, Nespresso, in early 2021 to innovate a sustainable home-compostable paper-based coffee capsule. The collaboration, used a lean approach to product and process development, accelerating the time to market in record time. Huhtamaki’s proprietary high-precision technology allows wood fibers to be molded into intricate shapes with high-precision tolerances to a fraction of a millimeter.
The home compostable paper-based coffee capsule was launched by Nespresso in France yesterday, 21 November 2022. The company said it is a significant development in innovation for the circular economy and a leap forward for consumers around the world.
“We are delighted to have partnered with Nespresso on a unique home compostable paper-based capsule designed for circularity. This breakthrough innovation is the result of combining fiber, a naturally renewable material, with our proprietary high-precision technology, creating a sustainable alternative for Nespresso lovers. The capsules will be produced in line with our blueloop brand promise, which incorporates our commitment to design for circularity, to be operationally carbon neutral, and to responsibly source our materials in line with our 2030 strategy,” says Charles Heaulme, president and CEO at Huhtamaki.
“Huhtamaki is committed to delivering sustainable packaging solutions with a positive impact on the environment. It is proactively working with innovative consumer brands to redesign the future of packaging. This partnership’s success demonstrates how innovation and collaboration can deliver for the circular economy, and tackle climate action by becoming carbon neutral while not forgetting other environmental and social aspects of sustainability,” says Heaulme.
“We see this technology as a paradigm shift in how we can use renewable wood fiber in complex food packaging. This innovation opens new avenues when it comes to the use of fiber in food packaging. Huhtamaki’s high-precision technology means we can capture the very clear sustainability benefits of renewable wood fiber in an expanding array of packaging solutions that offer superior functionality, keep food safe and maintain its quality.”