Several years of collaboration between Nissha Metallizing Solutions (NMS) and Tetra Pak successfully materialised into a world first – an aseptic beverage carton featuring a paper-based barrier.
We are extremely proud of this achievement. Our joint effort to develop this solution supports the journey of increasing paper content and reducing carbon emissions in aseptic beverage cartons.
Our paper-based solution offers barrier properties that help the package to deliver comparable shelf life and food protection as traditional aseptic cartons for liquid dairy products, such as milk,” says Giorgio Bosso, CEO, NMS.
The portfolio offered by NMS includes paper-based solutions that are classified as recyclable, renewable and mono-material ones. The company uses paper from FSC® (FSC-C109768) – certified forests and other controlled sources.
These solutions can deliver the required level of protection from oxygen and light, for example through the application of different coatings. And paper as such is a material that comes from renewable sources which, when responsibly sourced, can grow back and absorb CO2 from the atmosphere as they do so.
Moreover, our products decrease dependence on non-renewable resources compared to the barrier layer used in traditional aseptic cartons.
Tetra Pak has always believed in the power of paper, and now we’re taking that even further. Building on the high share of paper in our cartons today, the paper-based barrier pushes the paper content in our cartons to approximately 80% and, when combined with plant-based polymers, increases the total renewable content of a carton to 90% – cutting the carbon footprint by one-third (33%).
The Tetra Brik® Aseptic 200 Slim Leaf carton with a paper-based barrier, which we launched with a leading dairy producer in Portugal in November 2023, demonstrates how the paper-based barrier can pave the way towards tomorrow’s low carbon circular economy for packaging.