UPM Specialty Papers
Story | 05/04/2023 08:08:00 | 3 min Read time

UPM x Lantmännen Unibake x Adara: eliminating plastic bags inside cardboard boxes for frozen bread

How co-creation powers your purpose

  • A new fibre-based packaging solution co-created by Lantmännen Unibake, UPM Specialty Papers, and Adara that replaces plastic bags as primary packaging for frozen baked goods.
  • The new packaging solution uses UPM Asendo™ barrier paper as an inner liner in the corrugated cardboard box. UPM Asendo offers the grease and moisture resistance needed, while ensuring food safety and freshness. 

Eliminating plastic bags inside cardboard boxes for frozen bread

Frozen baked goods require packaging that offers light grease and moisture resistance, while maintaining the freshness of the baked goods inside. Until now, plastic bags have been utilized inside cardboard boxes to ensure food safety and quality requirements. 

Lantmännen Unibake, one of Europe’s largest bakery groups, is actively searching for more sustainable solutions for packaging and transporting frozen bakery products. Working in partnership with UPM Specialty Papers and Adara, a Finnish manufacturer of corrugated cardboard and corrugated packaging, the companies harnessed the power of co-creation. 

The power of co-creation

To minimize the use of fossil-based materials, UPM Specialty Papers, Lantmännen Unibake and Adara joined forces to create a solution where the plastic bags were eliminated by using UPM Asendo barrier paper as an inner liner in the corrugated cardboard box.

Read more about co-creation process

 
 
Kirsi Lahtela

“The partnership with Lantmännen Unibake and Adara opened the opportunity to unite our expertise across the food packaging value network to create a renewable and recyclable packaging solution for frozen bread. Lantmännen Unibake and a third-party food industry development company conducted thorough testing and analysis on the impact of packaging materials on the taste of the frozen bread; as a result UPM Asendo was chosen as the inner liner for the cardboard box. The food safe UPM Asendo barrier paper layer has proven to offer the grease and moisture resistance needed while ensuring food safety,” says Kirsi Lahtela, Product Manager, UPM Specialty Papers.

 
Riikka Salokannel

“We are eager to drive innovations in our industry and find more sustainable packaging solutions. This new packaging innovation for frozen bakery products could not have been created without UPM Specialty Papers and Adara; it is a great example of how we can reduce the use of plastic in food packaging by working together with industry partners,” says Riikka Salokannel, Packaging Development Manager, Lantmännen Unibake Finland.

 
Mikko Järvinen

 

“It has been great working in a project where the goal has been to co-create a more sustainable packaging solution for baked goods, taking the whole value chain into consideration. The learnings from this project can be applied to other product categories in the future,” highlights Mikko Järvinen, Manufacturing and Development Manager, Adara.

 

About UPM Asendo

UPM Asendo is a natural looking recyclable and compostable coated one side barrier paper safe for direct contact with food. With its medium grease and moisture resistance and a mineral oil barrier, it is especially well-suited for dry foods and bread bags, as well as non-food wrapping. UPM Asendo is designed to be used for glued wraps and bags, as a liner material for packaging structures or to be further converted.