Mondi has collaborated with Unilever to deliver polypropylene (PP) mono-material solution in Turkey for its Knorr dry soup powder range.

Unilever approached Mondi Kalenobel in January 2018 with the challenge of replacing a multi material laminate, with a recyclable mono-material film alternative. The new packaging preserves the shelf-life of the food product and does not impact the runability on the production machines.

“The most important step in eliminating plastic waste is preventing it getting into the environment in the first place. That’s why we are committed to collecting and processing more plastic packaging than we sell by 2025. Solutions from innovative partners throughout the value chain, such as Mondi, will help us on this journey,” said Atahan Özgünay, R&D package development manager for Unilever’s Knorr and Lipton brands in North Africa, Middle East, Turkey and Russia.

Cüneyt Karci, key account manager at Mondi Kalenobel added: “The challenge for us was getting the necessary oxygen and water vapour barriers and all other physical and chemical tolerances with the new mono-material at the same level as the current non-recyclable packaging. We also needed to offer a solution that could use the same production machine at Unilever’s production sites.”

This new packaging solution has been introduced to the Turkish market for selected Knorr designs and Unilever is now considering expanding this packaging solution to other product ranges from the brand.