Paperlike in action: our debut at PackExpo and K Fair

Bringing our Paperlike solution to Las Vegas and Düsseldorf was a great experience. This time we were not there only to walk the fair’s hallways, we were going with a stand of one of our key partners: DOW Chemical. For us this was an opportunity to prove how solid and lasting relationships can yield great results. We showcased our Paperlike solution and our sustainable innovation strategy: we were looking for a material that was able to replace laminated papers or multimaterials, maintaining its stability in the process and that would still protect food and beverages. To achieve this, we developed a foaming technology, adjusted its density, and worked alongside customers, as well as checking how it ran through existing lines.

PackExpo vs. Feria K: key differences and learning outcomes

At PackExpo we came together mostly with manufacturing and converting teams that work on tight schedules and implementation goals. This conversation was focused on integrating our Paperlike product without the need to redesign the entire factory: highlighting the compatibility with existing technologies, possible adjustments, delivery times, regional supply, and total change cost.

In this context, Paperlike was introduced as a drop-in solution that allows this shift to be faster and translated into a concrete agenda of samples, tests, and supply definitions.

At K Fair the tone of voice shifted. Düsseldorf convened leaders in R&D, sustainability, and business development that were looking for a broad vision. There were key questions regarding the life cycle assessment, specific regulations, food safe PCR that complies with national legislation, and recovery frameworks. The interest in the pilots was solid, focused on scalability after the first run. If we had to summarize, PackExpo felt more like a space that asked how, while K Fair asked why and where to.

Prioritized applications: bakery, meat, dairy, and frozen food

Between the two events, Paperlike was positioned as a material with a wide range of applications. The conversations we had were focused on categories where humidity, grease, and freezing is constantly challenging a package. These were the applications we prioritized:

• Bakery (muffins, croissant and donuts): humidity and grease control to reduce softening and mold growth; preserving texture and display presentation at point of sale.
• Meat (bacon board): a stable base takes care of the product’s appearance and allows the maintenance of the rhythm of production without an interruption.
• Dairy (cheese interleaver): fluid manipulation with a consistent separation between the sheets and in order.
  
• Frozen food: the packaging maintains its shape and structure after several cold to room temperature change cycles as well as condensation.

The capabilities of the material were thus guaranteed with the concrete needs of each client in mind.

Our partnership with DOW transcended the co-branding, because their network and international credibility amplified this technical messaging, making connections possible with key actors, while our team provided experience in extrusion and conversion, a focus on ecodesign and scalable applications. This balance allowed us to present in a consistent manner a monomaterial option, clearer recovery routes, and a solid performance in existing categories.

At the end of both fairs we left with aligned priorities, a market willing to begin pilots in different markets, a regional roadmap that connects productive capabilities, suppliers and regulation, partnerships with labs and investigation centers to facilitate validations and technical documentation when required.

The supporting material proved us right, although it is important to go in depth regarding adoption rules by category and comparisons that simplify the decision making process. At our stand the interactions that flowed the best were those that were short and concrete with clear examples. This reaffirmed our previous convictions: innovation succeeds when we integrate what already exists and improve it day by day without unnecessary frictions.

Paperlike is not a starting point, but a base on which we can keep building, with technical iterations, pilots with impact traceability and new partnerships. Our purpose remains the same, packaging that preserves food, works at factories, and gets closer to circularity in measurable steps.

We came back from Las Vegas and Düsseldorf with gratitude and with work to do: to turn our visitors’ interest into implementations and with consistent results, transforming those implementations into standards.