Packaging teams are working under tighter rules and tighter economics. Brand owners want to reduce plastic, simplify structures and prepare for recyclability requirements. Converters need materials that run through printing, forming, sealing and wrapping processes with predictable results. Machine manufacturers need to understand how paper-based materials behave on equipment designed around specific tolerances.
Early value-chain work can change the outcome of a project. A paper grade chosen late can create avoidable revisions. A grade developed and tested with the converter, equipment supplier, printer and brand owner gives the application a stronger route from trial to production.
At Interpack 2026, Sappi used finished applications to show how fibre-based packaging is developed with partners: ice cream cone sleeves with Huhtamaki, tea packaging with Teepack, confectionery twist wrapping with ACMA and printed barrier paper applications with Koenig & Bauer.
Ice cream cone sleeves with Huhtamaki
Many visitors stopped by the Sappi booth to try the ice cream we offered. But in reality, they were served in one of the most intricate solutions for food packaging: The ice cream cone sleeve developed with Huhtamaki.
A cone sleeve has to protect crispness in frozen, humid conditions, fold accurately, print well, seal reliably and open cleanly for the consumer. Traditional sleeves often use an aluminum foil-paper laminate. Sappi and Huhtamaki worked with Guard Duo, a barrier paper with functional varnish on both sides, to create an alternative that protects the cone, maintains barrier performance and supports an improved end-of-life route.
Tea packaging with Teepack
Tea packaging raises a different set of demands. Product protection includes aroma, oxygen and moisture control. The material also has to run on specialist tea packaging machines.
Sappi and Teepack Spezialmaschinen demonstrated Guard Pro OHS on tea bag packaging equipment. The high-barrier paper with machine expertise, gave teams a better basis for testing paper-based tea packaging under production-relevant conditions. For brand owners, this kind of joint development helps reduce the gap between a sustainability target and a pack that can be produced reliably.
Twist wrapping with ACMA
Confectionery twist wrapping places strong mechanical demands on paper. It needs to print cleanly, twist tightly, resist cracking and maintain the look of the pack after forming.
The collaboration with ACMA used Guard Twist for double twist wrapping, with Interflex Group involved to show print and visual impact. The project joined material development, machine performance and brand presentation in one application. These qualities are especially sought in confectionery, where the pack is small, but the technical demands are high.
Print performance with Koenig & Bauer
But Sappi’s flexible papers are not being explored only in packaging. Our work with Koenig & Bauer addressed another part of the chain: print. The project tested functional barrier papers across print technologies, including pouch applications shown at Interpack.
In converting, print performance can shape the commercial case for paper-based packaging. A material that works across different print processes can simplify development, support shorter runs and reduce trial-and-error before customer approval.
Designed together, tested earlier
The partner projects at Interpack showed a practical route for paper-based packaging: start with the product and the application, then bring in material, machinery, print and converting expertise early.
For Sappi, this is where its packaging portfolio gains additional value. Guard Duo, Guard Pro OHS, Guard Twist and related barrier papers are tested against the conditions customers face on the line, in the pack and after use.
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