Choosing to adopt paperboard packaging for fresh produce unlocks a whole host of exciting benefits for growers, packers, and retailers in terms of both sustainability and commercial performance. It can also leave you pondering a number of important questions.

What are the benefits of paperboard packaging? 

Meeting the needs of today’s consumers and future-proofing packaging against evolving legislation in relation to plastic are just two of the benefits. From a sustainability perspective, paperboard packaging contributes to the circular economy as it’s made from renewable wood-based fiber and is recyclable through standard household recycling schemes. External carbon footprint assessment studies have highlighted that in some applications replacing plastic with paperboard materials can cut packaging’s potential impact on climate change versus plastic counterparts.¹

What options do I have when to replace or reduce plastic?

Paperboard solutions can reduce plastic or eliminate it, depending on the application. There’s a huge amount of flexibility. 100 percent paperboard solutions are possible for non-sensitive produce such as apples, pears, citrus fruit, avocados, etc. Even where a barrier is required to extend the shelf life of soft fruits, plastic-free coatings are becoming more widely available. Hybrid systems that combine a paperboard tray with a liner can enable a significant reduction in plastic use, up to 90 percent. Replacing a plastic, flow-wrapped tray with a paperboard tray with top seal film can also deliver significant plastic reductions. So, whatever the application, there is a paperboard alternative.

Will the new packaging perform?

Whether in relation to creating on-shelf impact, enhancing the consumer experience, preserving and protecting the produce, or maintaining operational efficiency, paperboard packaging delivers. Intelligent structural design, high-impact billboarding, material selection and optimization, and integrated machinery options all combine to deliver a packaging portfolio that delivers on every front.

Will the new packaging perform?

We’ve created an eBook filled with answers to these questions, and more, that draws on Graphic Packaging’s expertise as one of the world’s largest manufacturers of paperboard packaging for consumer products. We’re here to support and nurture your business on this journey towards a paperboard packaging future.

¹ Assessment conducted by Savvypack. Note that these results may vary depending on the assumptions, supply chain and specific comparison framework and should be verified on a case-by-case basis.