Swedish research makes paper packaging safe and attractive

Sara Ver-Bruggen - 25 May 2010

Packaging is being developed in Sweden to combine greater consumer appeal and improved security.

Innventia, a Swedish R&D organisation for the paper and related industries, is commercialising materials that can respond to heat, current and other stimuli by changing colour in paper-based applications.

The organisation is working on a number of ways of grabbing the attention of consumers - including self-opening packaging, as reported by +Plastic Electronics.

However, the added functionality of these novel materials makes packaging difficult to counterfeit, adding to the appeal for brand owners.

Paper Beacon

Innventia's materials can be applied at several stages, from paper production to printing, as well as during converting. To demonstrate the technology, Innventia is part of a consortium in Paper Beacon. The project, running from 2008-11, will result in a demonstrator for a security application and another incorporating a sensor. Partners include the Swedish paper packaging firm Billerud.

And progress in the project towards this goal for next year is being reflected in Innventia's contact with companies in the food and consumer goods industries.

Food packaging

The opportunities for Innventia's materials are widened by considerations of safety and sustainability at the research stage too.

The materials are made by building up nano-sized layers of polymers. However, much of the R&D is focused on bio and renewable materials to keep the technology sustainable and safe. This opens up other concepts such as edible labels and food packaging.

Innventia's work started when senior researcher Hjalmar Granberg began looking at how paper can be made more interactive for two key objectives: 'Security features and attraction. There is crossover potential - a colour-changing packaging feature designed to grab consumers' attention can also serve to authenticate the product, as it is hard to replicate,' says Granberg.

The company is working with potential users of its new technologies, as a number of brand owners consider the added value of electronics in packaging.

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