BillerudKorsnäs empowers Oatly’s Asian expansion with humidity-defence corrugated packaging

09 Nov 2021 --- BillerudKorsnäs has designed high-performance secondary packaging for Oatly’s plant-based milk produced at its new Singapore factory. The corrugated box comprises primary fibers, ensuring strength and product protection throughout Asia’s high humidity supply chains. 

Moreover, the secondary packaging reportedly helps Oatly cut its packaging carbon footprint by half compared to conventional packaging solutions. The solution also achieves 35% material reduction and 58% less water consumption.

Oatly recently opened its first production facility in Asia, supplying nearby markets as part of its global expansion.

Demanding climate conditions
Products developed in the Singapore factory will be packed in boxes and transported on pallets. The region’s demanding climate conditions, including hot and humid weather, create challenging logistics chains.

The conventional packaging solution for managing high humidity is adding additional material for sturdier packaging. However, BillerudKorsnäs’ BoxLab team found a different solution for ensuring enhanced environmental sustainability performance while maintaining the high-quality standards of Oatly’s secondary packaging.

BillerudKorsnäs’ solution is based on the following principles:

• Minimizing damage and waste throughout the logistics chain.
• Focusing on resource efficiency, using as little material as possible and minimizing water usage.
• Using recyclable packaging material originating from renewable sources.
• Ensuring transparency throughout the value chain and securing renewable energy sources.

“To challenge conventional packaging solutions for a [environmentally] sustainable future has long been the guiding star for BillerudKorsnäs. Oatly is a company that strives to produce responsible products. We think alike in many ways,” says Henrik Ahlgren, sales director Asia & Pacific at BillerudKorsnäs.

Strong primary fibers
Packaging material based on strong primary fibers can be essential in protecting perishable products throughout demanding logistics chains.

In May, Oatly celebrated the EU’s decision to drop Amendment 171, which sought to restrict dairy alternative terminology.As BillerudKorsnäs explains, a conventional box construction typically proceeds from required load tolerance. For example, if the known load of a bottom box is 25 kg, the box is generally designed for a 100 kg load. This design is safety factor 4, compensating for “bumpy roads.”

However, if the box is exposed to demanding supply chains and high relative humidity, the safety factor is raised to 7-9, loads of 175–225 kg, as fibers and paper get significantly weaker at high relative humidity. Also, more material is used, including thicker paper. 

BillerudKorsnäs points out tests are usually carried out in a standard relative humidity environment (50% relative humidity) without considering different papers are affected differently in 50% and 90% relative humidity.

The Swedish pulp and paper manufacturers BoxLab engineers studied the existing box, analyzed construction and material composition, and conducted tests in both 50% relative humidity and 90% relative humidity using the climate chamber.

The engineers advised Oatly to use primary fibers for its boxes containing six 1 L cartons. Primary fibers are strong, and with “less you can do more,” especially in high humidity.

“It is widely assumed recycled fibers are more [environmentally] sustainable than primary fibers – but that is not always the case,” the engineers explain. “Material of primary fibers is renewable, recyclable and biodegradable, and can be certified and traced back to responsibly managed forests. The origins of material made of recycled fibers can’t be traced. Primary fibers can be recycled up to five or six times.”

Optimized structural design
Weaker boxes, such as those with high recycled fiber content, often use liners and fluting of higher basis weights to compensate for an inferior performance, creating unnecessary waste. However, BillerudKorsnäs’ resource-efficient design uses “as little material as possible.”

“Material strength means weight reduction opportunities, with cost savings and environmental advantages as a result. Less raw material, less water consumption, less transport and warehousing requirements, and less waste generation add up to lower cost and lower environmental impact,” the engineers outline.

Meanwhile, the most significant contributor to CO2 equivalents are related to raw material choice. The engineers argue it is “a myth” that transport is the biggest CO2 emissions contributor.Asia’s demanding climate conditions, including hot and humid weather, can create challenging logistics chains.

“Oatly could source the material from a far-off corner of the world and still get a more climate-smart solution. Lifecycle assessments often show it’s better for the climate to transport sustainably produced material over long distances than to go for a material of a higher grammage produced locally with non-renewable energy.”

BillerudKorsnäs says its packaging material production is fossil-free to 97% for a low carbon impact.

According to Innova Market Insights, most Chinese consumers perceive cardboard as somewhat environmentally sustainable (46%) or very environmentally sustainable (38%).

Meanwhile, 29% of Chinese consumers believe cardboard has excellent recyclability, and 22% believe the material offers excellent product protection.

Oatly’s European developments
Oatly has also been busy in its core European market. In May, the alt-milk producer was among a host of companies celebrating the EU’s decision to drop Amendment 171, which sought to restrict dairy alternative terminology. The Swedish company addressed Amendment 171’s “absurdity” with a humorous public awareness campaign in March.

More recently, Oatly was among a coalition of civil society groups and businesses to launch the Plant-based Food Alliance UK, acting as a voice for Britain’s growing plant-based food and drink sector.

Meanwhile, BillerudKorsnäs has challenged conventional plastic toothpaste tubes with a fiber-based alternative made from FibreForm. The packaging supplier reported a slight sales drop in 2020 due to “challenging market conditions in certain product segments.”

By Joshua Poole