Koehler and nucao Partner to Bring Paper-Based Packaging for Chocolate Bars | Packaging Strategies

Courtesy of Koehler Paper

The close collaboration between Koehler Paper, a Koehler Group company, and Leipzig-based chocolate manufacturer nucao is paying off: nucao chocolate bars will be packaged exclusively in paper with immediate effect. The flexible packaging paper “Koehler NexPlus® Advanced” from Koehler Paper, which has excellent oxygen, mineral oil, and grease barrier properties, is primarily suitable for packaging of chocolate-coated fruit products. In addition, the 100 percent recyclable paper is suitable for vertical packaging machines and now also for processing on horizontal packaging machines. The nucao bars “Crisp & Crunch“, “Almond Butter & Sea Salt“, “Roasted Hazelnut Butter“, “Creamy Strawberry“ and “Salted Caramel“ are the first chocolate bars in paper packaging to be available on the German market.

Over the past few months, the Koehler Paper team worked together with researchers and developers from Koehler Innovation & Technology to develop the flexible packaging paper “Koehler NexPlus® Advanced” for use on horizontal packaging machines.

“From a technical point of view, this is revolutionary as vertical packaging machines have a very high production speed. Paper needs excellent strength properties to be processed in this way, without being too thick for the machines to handle it,” explains Alexander Rauer, Head of Business Development for flexible packaging paper at Koehler Paper.

“Koehler NexPlus® Advanced” now offers all the necessary properties for this, allowing production speeds of 600 bars/min. to be achieved with this packaging paper. The fact that the brand owner, packaging paper manufacturer, printer, and packaging machine manufacturer were involved in the development from the outset enabled the time to market launch to be drastically shortened.

“Projects of this kind rely on transparency and knowledge sharing, so we are delighted to have been able to confidently go through this process with Koehler Paper. We have come one step closer to our mission to generate a positive impact on the planet with chocolate thanks to our innovative paper packaging,” adds Mathias Tholey, co-founder of nucao.

The research and development team from Koehler Innovation & Technology worked with the experts from Koehler Paper to develop the NexFlex® product range, a unique and 100% recyclable generation of flexible packaging paper. The aim here is to replace plastic in packaging by using so-called barrier paper wherever possible. The range covers a broad spectrum, as it includes standard coated and uncoated paper used in laminates for pouches, sachets, and other applications, making them suitable for a wide range of packaging for food and non-food products. The next generation of paper for flexible packaging is sustainable barrier paper with functional surfaces for product-specific protection (Koehler NexPlus®). The NexFlex® product family also includes paper coated on one side with good dimensional stability and high smoothness (Koehler NexCoat®), as well as uncoated paper with a natural appearance (Koehler NexPure®). Various flexible packaging paper from Koehler Paper were awarded the “Made for Recycling” seal by the environmental service provider Interseroh.