The packaging material offers the same full barrier protection as standard aseptic cartons and the same full shelf life of up to 12 months
SIG, the pioneer of aseptic carton packaging without aluminium layer, announces the commercial launch of another industry-first: SIG Terra Alu-free + Full barrier for multi-serve aseptic cartons. Building on the success of this groundbreaking packaging material innovation in the field of single-serve cartons, with over 300 million packs sold in China since 2023, SIG is scaling up the world’s first, aluminium-layer-free full-barrier packaging material to multi-serve aseptic cartons and is ready to provide it at scale to customers around the globe.
The groundbreaking packaging structure for multi-serve cartons with no aluminium layer cuts the carbon footprint of SIG’s standard aseptic cartons by up to 61 per cent when combined with forest-based polymers. Made of more than 80 per cent paper, the material simplifies the packaging structure to only two main raw materials, which can all be linked to renewable sources.
The packaging material offers the same full barrier protection as standard aseptic cartons and the same full shelf life of up to 12 months. It can seamlessly run on existing SIG carton filling lines with full performance, including high-speed of up to 24,000 packs per hour on SIG filling lines for small-size cartons and up to 15,000 packs per hour on filling lines for multi-serve cartons with only minor, low-cost adaptations. The plug-and-play solution is enabling SIG customers worldwide to make use of the additional environmental benefits that come with the alu layer-free full barrier packaging material suitable for a wide range of beverages without compromising product quality or production performance.
“At SIG, we are leading the industry transition to aluminium-layer-free aseptic carton packaging materials. With our full barrier material with no aluminium layer, we are offering a powerful differentiator and embodiment of sustainability in aseptic carton packaging, unlocking new opportunities for packaging sensitive product categories such as plant-based products, juices, and nutritional beverages. As a result, our SIG Terra portfolio now offers an aseptic carton solution without aluminium layer for all product categories we serve, without compromising on shelf life”, said Christoph Wegener, Chief Markets Officer at SIG.
Decarbonising the food and beverage industry is more important than ever. In aseptic cartons, an aluminium layer is traditionally used to protect food and beverage products from oxygen and light. Although aluminium accounts for just around 5 per cent of a standard aseptic carton, it accounts for up to 25 per cent of its carbon footprint in a full-barrier package. Removing the aluminium layer is a significant step in reducing the already low carbon footprint of standard SIG aseptic cartons even further and simplifies the packaging structure to just the main raw materials, thereby increasing the share of paper to over 80 per cent.
