Mondi gives Coca-Cola HBC Austria's functional packaging solution a special twist

Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper solutions, has launched a new, more sustainable banderole packaging. This serves as a replacement for the conventional plastic shrink packaging of 1.5 liter multipacks with carbonated soft drinks, which are manufactured by Coca-Cola HBC in Austria, and fixes them reliably. Mondi's Hug IT solution holds six bottles together during transport, and consists of Mondi's Advantage SpringPack Plus, which has been named the strongest paper in the world by Guinness World Records[1].

The Hug-IT band has high tensile strength and unparalleled stretchability, which means that the six bottles are reliably held together in an upright position during transport - from the factory to the retailer to the consumer. The band will secure the 1.5 liter PET multipacks of the brands Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite and Mezzo Mix and will be sold in retail stores throughout Austria. Hug-IT is an innovative solution, and Advantage SpringPack Plus is currently the only paper on the market that offers such unique capabilities and is strong enough to hold the bottle bundles together as the definitive Hug-IT solution.

Advantage SpringPack Plus is made of 100% kraft paper, which is made from wood, a renewable material. The kraft paper is made from responsibly sourced fibres and can be recycled in existing paper recycling streams: paper has one of the highest recycling rates among packaging materials in Europe (82% in the EU)[2]) and is convenient for consumers to dispose of.

The development of the Hug IT solution took three years, from conception through planning and testing to the finished product on the shelves. Several of Mondi's business units were involved in the development and a cross-segment collaboration took place, making the most of the company's expertise in paper packaging and converting to create more sustainable, technically advanced solutions. The banderoles are produced on automated machines from Krones, a technology group and service provider for the beverage and liquid food industry. The rapid installation and close cooperation with Mondi have enabled a smooth and efficient process. Teams of experts from Mondi, Coca-Cola HBC and Krones worked closely together to meet the challenges of the required strength and ductility of the paper.

Felix Sprenger, supply chain director at Coca-Cola HBC Austria, says, "The careful use of resources and recyclable materials is one of the most important pillars of our sustainability strategy and plays a central role in shaping the sustainable packaging mix for the Austrian market. With the introduction of our new solution, which is unique in the world, we will be able to reduce the use of materials by a further 200 tons of plastic per year in the future. It has been a pleasure to work with Mondi and our other partners to jointly contribute to a circular economy."

Silvia Hanzelova, sales director Speciality Kraft Paper at Mondi, adds, "Our approach is: paper whenever possible and plastic when it makes sense – and the shrink wrapping solution used for bundling bottles across all continents and across all industries provides the ideal opportunity to put this into practice. By producing such a strong paper, we are able to copy the function of plastic shrink packaging and enable safe transport of multipacks with our Hug-IT paper banderoles that reduce plastic consumption."

[1] Advantage MF SpringPack Plus holds the record as the strongest paper in the world, according to Gunniess World Record /2001, Swedish edition). The strength of this brown MF variety was demonstrated by lifting a 4.2-ton container on a single sheet. In 2003, Mondi unofficially broke its own record by parking and lifting a 9.8-ton locomotive on a single sheet.

[2] Eurostat, 2020, www.ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ten00063/default/table?lang=en.