Bar meets paper

Jun 30, 2023 | 2 min read

Whether it’s the sticky notes on your desk or the thrilling paperback novel on our bedside table, paper is an everyday companion. We are surrounded by the versatile material, consuming a remarkable 422 million tons per year. But aside from printing money or art, we can also use it to package food. Case in point: Mars Wrigley, who has chosen to flow wrap popular snack bars in paper together with Syntegon.

Contents

Snack bars not only pair well with different flavors, but also with flow wrapping: the packages make sure that the bars keep their crunch and aroma and finally prolong shelf life. However, in times of growing concern regarding plastic susage, manufacturers start to rethink their approach to traditional film packaging, and paper is a rising star among available materials.

Shaping the world of tomorrow

For Mars Wrigley, the material means even more: the producer of renowned brands like M&M’S^® and SNICKERS^® aims to make 100 percent of its packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable, and to reduce its use of virgin plastic by 25 percent. A goal that is as ambitious as it is crucial: 300 million tons of plastic waste are produced worldwide every year, calling for packaging alternatives. And what better way to achieve this than by switching to paper?

“Our long-standing relationship with Syntegon reflects our core beliefs, including the trust we place in strong alliances to bring new packaging solutions to life.” Gary Krammer, Global Technology Leader, Mars Wrigley

Going paper

In recent years, the company has heavily invested in the research of paper flow-wraps regarding barrier properties, forming and sealing technology for some of its most popular chocolate snack bars, including BALISTO^® and SNICKERS^®. Fortunately, as an eco-conscious industry leader, Mars had the opportunity to team up with an equally committed packaging professional to make this vision come true. As a long-standing partner with a global network of service experts, Syntegon shares Mars’ interest in circularity and waste reduction. It comes as no surprise that the company jumped right in to develop a strategy that focused on sensitive barrier paper handling, from forming to sealing and top loading with a full system approach.

A transition like no other

Mars chose BALISTO^®, a chocolate snack bar, as the pioneer in a transition that over time saw the packaging of various Mars products change to paper. Syntegon has developed a paper-handling solution called “paper-ON-form” to flow-wrap Mars bars into paper without damaging the barriers inside the material. In combination with special sealing jaws and a system solution approach up to cartoning, the best quality in real production could be achieved.

However, the transition to paper can be challenging for companies that have been using traditional film for decades. Unlike flexible plastic film, barrier paper has unique manufacturing requirements. Its stiffness and proneness to wrinkles calls for robust raw material and efficient, yet gentle packaging machines. Even more so as Mars intended to use the new packaging for well-established products sold across the world. The primary goal: While the packaging needed to be adapted, the bars’ quality, flavour, and reputation had to be maintained.

Thanks to the multiple award-winning paper-ON-form technology from Syntegon, the Mars machines could be retrofitted in no time. The company’s equipment processes barrier papers without compromising on speed or appearance. The FSC^® and PEFC™ certified packaging is made of specialty paper and contains more than 90percent natural fibres, bringing Mars significantly closer to its plastic reduction goal.