Constantia Flexibles, a leading global flexible packaging manufacturer headquartered in Vienna, has introduced a new paper-based butter wrapper in collaboration with NÖM AG, one of Austria’s largest dairy producers. The development offers an alternative to conventional aluminium-based butter packaging while maintaining comparable product protection and shelf-life performance.
The new packaging material, known as EcoPaperHighPlus, has been developed to meet the specific requirements of butter, a dairy product that demands careful protection against oxygen, light, temperature fluctuations, grease migration and changes in aroma.
Developed and industrialised at Constantia Jeanne d’Arc in France, with support from the company’s Research and Development Paper Excellence Center, the material combines several protective properties within a paper-based structure.
According to the company, EcoPaperHighPlus provides aroma protection, grease resistance and freezing resistance, along with the folding characteristics required for efficient butter wrapping. Tests conducted on both salted and unsalted butter demonstrated shelf-life performance comparable to conventional aluminium-based reference packaging.
One of the important features of the new material is its compatibility with existing butter-wrapping machinery. Dairy manufacturers can integrate it into established packaging operations without necessarily investing in entirely new production equipment.
The packaging is also free from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of chemicals commonly associated with certain grease-resistant packaging applications. It has been developed in accordance with 4evergreen design guidelines, while its recyclability has been tested using the CEPI laboratory method, version 3.
EcoPaperHighPlus is designed for recycling through paper waste streams, although actual recycling depends on the availability of suitable collection, sorting and processing facilities.
Helene Chretien, Market Product Manager Dairy at Constantia Flexibles, described butter packaging as a particularly demanding application because of its strict product protection requirements. She explained that the new material combines the processing performance needed for butter with a paper-based structure designed for recycling.
The partnership with NÖM marks the material’s transition from technical development to commercial application in the European dairy market.
For the dairy industry, the innovation represents an important development in sustainable packaging technology. As manufacturers explore alternatives to conventional multilayer packaging, solutions offering effective product protection, machinery compatibility and improved recyclability could create new opportunities.
The commercial introduction of EcoPaperHighPlus also demonstrates how packaging innovation can support environmental objectives without compromising the essential storage and handling requirements of sensitive dairy products.