How long has the paper bottle been in development?

Appelquist: The initiative started in 2015 with the current format formally presented in October 2019. Our main partner in this project is packaging start-up Paboco (Paper Bottle Co.), owned by Billerud Korsnäs and Alpla. Together with Coca-Cola, Carlsberg, and L’Oréal, we’ve formed a packaging pioneer community, developing packaging solutions in parallel together.

What are the bottle sizes? 

Appelquist: The prototype we have produced and are testing is 375 mL.

Assuming the barrier is a thin-film layer in the structure, what can you tell us about that?

Appelquist: The paper provides strength and structure to the bottle while the thin film layer – the barrier – is made from recycled PET plastic (rPET).

[The preference is to use biomaterials for that,] but at the moment, biobased technology is not viable for us — we require materials that are scalable and can fit into current recycling streams.