For its cardboard milk cartons, Arla Foods is collaborating with the Swedish startup Blue Ocean Closures to develop a fiber-based cap.
If implemented, the company claims this could be a first for the dairy industry and would cut Arla’s use of plastic by more than 500 tonnes annually.
The caps on Arla’s cardboard cartons make up about 23% of the plastic used in its cartons. The farmer-owned dairy cooperative is concentrating on eliminating the use of virgin plastic derived from fossil fuels in its packaging by 2030.
“Improving our packaging, including reducing our use of plastic, is imperative to us and we know that consumers are also very invested in this area,” said Peter Girtz-Carlsen, chief commercial officer at Arla Foods. This exciting project, which aims to investigate what may turn out to be the first fiber-based milk carton cap, demonstrates how hard we work at Arla to advance and pioneer the transition to sustainable packaging.
The caps are constructed using FSC fibers from sustainably managed forests and a thin barrier coating. They are bio-based, ocean biodegradable, and recyclable as paper, and use a cutting-edge proprietary vacuum press forming process.
“We are thrilled to work with Arla, acting as a frontrunner to create a real difference in packaging sustainability,” said Lars Sandberg, CEO of Blue Ocean Closures. The solution’s increased recyclability will increase the fibre content, beginning in Scandinavia and paving the way for global change.
Alpla is a part-owner of Blue Ocean Closures and is involved in the technical development. According to Christian Zmölnig, director of corporate research, development, and innovation, “We see great potential in this collaboration between Arla and Blue Ocean Closures as part of Alpla’s important strategic development in the circular economy.”
The goal is to create a fully functional prototype and finish the testing stage by the start of next year with funding from Arla Foods.
2020 saw the implementation of this change for Arla’s Danish organic line, but “unhappy with the loss of convenience” consumers reportedly criticized it.
“We know that consumers like the convenience a cap provides,” Girtz-Carlsen said in his conclusion. “While we have completely removed the cap from some of our ranges, we acknowledge this need and want to provide a choice for consumers. However, if a cap is necessary, we want to design the best one we can, which is what we are currently doing.
In a number of markets, including Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands, Arla Foods makes use of milk cartons.
