Huhtamaki, a global leader in sustainable food packaging solutions, has developed a recyclable single-coated paper cup ProDairy, specifically designed for yogurt and dairy products. Yogurt is a product with high food safety requirements. The innovative packaging solution reportedly meets all the requirements and delivers a lower polymer content than traditional alternative products. With less than 10% plastic content across its full product range, it is fully recyclable in Europe.
“Dairy products are an important part of our daily life and creating recyclable packaging for something as important as your morning yogurt has been a challenge, especially while maintaining the high-performance standards required for dairy products. I am proud of our team and excited that we can now offer this solution to our customers at scale. Our solution is highly functional in terms of product performance and barrier properties, and it is a cost-efficient solution that meets customer and consumer expectations regarding our innovation in food packaging. These recyclable single-coated paper cups help our customers address consumer demands for reduced plastic in packaging,” says Fredrik Davidsson, president of Fiber Foodservice Europe-Asia-Oceania at Huhtamaki.
One of the significant challenges in reducing polymer content in dairy packaging is ensuring a perfect seal and lid fit to the flat rim. Huhtamaki has effectively addressed this challenge by developing a unique rim design and rim-forming process, ensuring excellent top rim sealing. Strong side seam sealing is also essential for high-quality cup performance, and ProDairy benefits from a unique and proprietary sealing varnish technology developed at Huhtamaki. The new product has been stringently and comprehensively tested.
“Our team has identified a varnish to replace the outer polyethylene layer which maintains a paper-like feel with a matt finish and provides a high moisture barrier for products stored in chilled conditions. This is important for manufacturers, retailers and consumers, ensuring that our unique product delivers the functional performance of traditional paper cups with a lower plastic content, while still being fully recyclable,” Davidsson says.
ProDairy is manufactured in Europe using paperboard made with renewable wood fibers sourced from sustainably managed forests. The new product is ready for deployment with customers.
