Mondi in partnership with Fiorini International announced the successful creation and launch of a new fully recyclable paper packaging for a premium Italian pasta brand.

Following a complete overhaul of its packaging design, Antico Pastificio Umbro reached out to Mondi and Fiorini International to design and produce a paper bag with a viewing window for its premium pasta ranges. After the complete rollout, this new packaging solution will support the company’s sustainability goal of reducing plastic by saving up to 20 tonnes of plastic per year.

The paper bag design, with a large window made of transparent, recyclable and biodegradable cellulose, allows the end user to see the contents. Thanks to the paper selected by Mondi and Fiorini International, the bag is fully recyclable while offering the same protective properties as the previous plastic packaging. The pasta has the same shelf life and is kept safe during transport. A new closure system sealed with a special food contact hot-melt glue, together with a reinforced patch on the bottom, improves hygiene and ensures easy opening. Made from renewable resources, the packaging can be disposed of by consumers in existing paper waste streams. The new pasta bag offers superior printability so that all brand and product messages can be communicated effectively, and the companies state that it has great runnability on filling machines. 

The packaging was included in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Upstream Innovation Guide to Packaging Solutions, published in November 2021. It was also part of The Waste Age Exhibition, hosted by the London Design Museum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, open to the public between October 2021 and February 2022. Here it was recognized as an innovative example of substitution for better recyclability, an approach that is in line with the Foundation’s vision for a circular economy for plastics.