Plastic packaging is a huge issue in the food industry, and they are a major part of the problem.

Some people are now, however, looking at paper alternatives for those plastic packaging options. One example is Nestle, who announced a huge makeover for the KitKat packaging. They switched over their entire line of plastic packaging for Smarties over to paper alternatives. 

Paper packaging is more sustainable, as it can be composted, is biodegradable, and recyclable too. But can a lot of food-based packaging benefit from this? 

Food Products Need protection 

One thing that paper packaging has begun to do better in recent years, is preserving the foods that you have.

Corrugated fiberboard for example which has been used for transporting veggies and fruits actually offers a way for the bonds to be made in order to kill the bacteria that’s within this, especially at higher temperatures. You can also recycle this too, which discourages the usage of this repeatedly, and it prevents the cross-contamination risks from being a thing.

A lot of manufacturers have also started to use aseptic paper types of packaging, which is made when the food and the packaging gets sterilized through heated hydrogen peroxide baths. This keeps coffee, milk, veggies, and fruits for a lot longer. And the added benefit is that there is no risk of the pathogens getting into your products either. 

But paper packaging is usually for various products that also have layers of plastic or aluminum in order to prevent the water vapor and oxygen that escapes. 

One thing that you also need to keep in mind too is that despite the sustainability and the recycling nature of this, about a quarter of the waste in a landfill comes from paper. This does discredit a bit of sustainability.

While this might seem like a better option in terms of sustainability, a lot of brands do need to think on whether this will offset the various challenges that are there as well. 

Is it More Profitable to Use Paper? 

Plastic is actually one of the cheapest materials for people to make.  It actually takes over 3 times the energy to make paper bags than plastics.

But younger consumers that are looking at climate issues have started to ask for more paper packaging. In fact, a lot of consumers under the age of 45 are actually more willing to pay for packaged products that are sustainable too.

There is also the plastic packaging tax that is something that is becoming a problem for some retailers. If there is less than 30% of the plastic that’s recyclable, it actually gets taxed an extra 200 euros. 

While the US may follow this, we haven’t yet, but a lot of manufacturers are changing this too.

There is a ban on single-use plastics in some cases, and there are also smaller steps to phase out plastics too. This can make certain alternatives to this packaging more palatable. 

Paper is still a great form of packaging for a lot of people. A lot of times people have actually found that they can still maintain the brand identity that they have, and a lot of times, you can still maintain a great brand identity that’s good and useful for you to try out with just this plastic packaging. The difference in this is enormous, and a lot of businesses are beginning to realize that plastic packaging is not the way to go, and a lot of brands are moving towards a paper process, because they can still maintain their brand identity in the process too.