Bel Group eliminates plastics with the new barrier solution from AR Packaging

In the quest to minimise the use of plastics and yet provide optimal product protection and performance, AR Packaging has developed Safeboard®, a plastic free packaging, which is now used by Bel Group for its Boursin cheese range.

As part of the process to reduce its environmental impact, Bel Group was looking for a solution to remove the plastic coating on the cartonboard packaging used for its entire Boursin range of flavoured cream cheeses. After two years of research and testing in close collaboration with the customer, AR Packaging in Cholet, France, has developed the solution. The Safeboard® packaging has made it possible for Bel to move away from the use of PE-coated cartonboard for its entire Boursin range (80g, 155g and 250g).

The elimination of plastics in the new packaging is equivalent to a reduction of 35 tons plastics per year. “Bel Group has set a clear agenda for how to minimise our environmental impact. The reduction of plastics in the cartonboard packaging for Boursin is one important step towards achieveing our target to have 100% recycle-ready packaging by 2025,” said the Boursin packaging development team and corporate purchasing team lead by Romain Dufrêne.

The AR Packaging Safeboard® solution offers possibilities for tailored barriers to moisture, grease and aroma. It can replace plastic coated cartonboard and thereby enable repulpable and compostable packaging. The cartonboard is based on fibres from sustainably managed forests.

« I am proud to see this innovation in full commercial use on the market now. We have developed a unique process for applying the barrier in a cost-efficient way. Safeboard® allows our customers to have a cartonboard packaging without a gram of PE, giving an optimised sustainable packaging with minimised additional costs, » explains Olivier Moysan, General Manager of AR Packaging France.

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