Worlds has collaborated with Skånemejerier to create single-material packaging based on polypropylene (PP) intended, among others, for the Hushållsost cheese from ICA.
The new packaging consists of a mono-material base sheet and a film cover, all produced and printed by Mondi before being converted into 1kg and 2kg cheese portions by Skånemejerier. The cheese will be sold at the Swedish supermarket ICA.
Mondi's single-material solution offers high barriers to the penetration of oxygen and water vapor, thus keeping the product fresh on supermarket shelves. It offers great puncture resistance, while protecting the cheese, and excellent printability, allowing brand and recycling messages to be effectively communicated on packaging.
The launch of this innovative packaging comes just as Site Zero, the largest sorting center for used plastic packaging in the world, enters service in Sweden. This state-of-the-art facility will process used plastic waste from Sweden and Finland. Thanks to the single-material design of the packaging, the facility will be able to effectively classify this solution for recycling, thus contributing to a circular economy.
Helene Brynell Mondi's Regional Sales Nordic Consumer Flexibles states: “30% of the world's food is lost or wasted – equivalent to 1300 billion tonnes – so proper packaging design plays a crucial role. Fresh products like cheese need proper packaging, and protection must go hand in hand with sustainable packaging. "Our new single-material solution meets this exact requirement: preserving the freshness of the cheese while keeping packaging materials in circulation thanks to a design conceived for recycling."
Ingemar Jönsson, packaging director at Skånemejerier, added: “Our collaboration with Mondi has been an exhaustive process: we began our first tests and trials in 2019 and we are delighted to bring this fully recyclable packaging to the market before the end of 2023. The excellent professional collaboration that we have maintained has allowed us to adapt materials and machinery efficiently, resulting in a satisfactory solution that fits our purpose. “We have strong, effective and aesthetically pleasing packaging that maintains materials and meets consumer demand for more sustainable solutions.”
The single-material cheese packaging on ICA shelves won this year's PackNorth award in the Food category, and was also awarded at the Empack fair in Stockholm, Sweden in October.
