This according to Fastmarkets Paper Packaging Monitor. On the heals of IP closure of 1.4 million tons of containerboard added to closures by Greif, Georgia Pacific, Cascades, and Smurfit Westrock brings a total of nearly 4 million tons removed from the market this year alone. These closures will send operating rates into the mid-nineties in 2026. We can expect price increase at these operating rates and Fastmarkets is projecting $50/ton next year.

Finnish food and confectionery processor Orkla Suomi wanted to find a paper-based packaging solution to support its goal of increasing the share of renewable packaging materials without compromising recyclability. During a six-month pilot period, new wrappers for Panda brand chocolate bars replace traditionally used PP-plastic wrappers. The new solution uses UPM Specialty Papers Asendo™ barrier paper. The paper’s built-in grease-barrier protection removes the need for an additional plastic layer. A cold-seal lacquer allows the package to be sealed on existing flow-wrap packaging machines, and the new packaging has undergone testing, including shelf-life studies. “We want to make everyday life better with local brands that bring joy and make sustainable choices easier. A great example of our ongoing efforts to replace fossil-based materials with renewable alternatives is the new paper-based, chocolate-tablet packaging,” says Arja Laitinen, packaging developer at Orkla Snacks. Chocolate can be a challenging product to package in paper, due to its relatively high grease level. So the new type of wrapper is based on UPM Asendo Pro 75-gsm barrier paper, which offers the required level of grease-barrier properties and is also certified for food safety to BfR and FDA standards.

The market for specialty papers is continually changing due to demand for sustainable packaging solutions, evolving environmental regulations, new papermaking technologies, and new materials for paper and coatings. The Future of Specialty Papers to 2030, a new report from Smithers, details these trends as well as the latest developments in biobased coatings and alternative fibers, e-commerce and more. According to the new research, the global specialty papers market is predicted to be 28.2 million tonnes in 2025 and projected to grow to 31.3 million tonnes by 2030. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.1% for this five-year period. The largest categories of specialty papers are flexible packaging, printing papers, and printing labels, representing 49% of the 2025 market tonnage. The Impact of Regulations Sustainable packaging structures and the governing policies that support them are key drivers in changing the kinds of products that are made, how they are designed, which raw materials are utilized, and their disposition at the end of their lifecycle. Non-recyclable film structures used in flexible packaging are being displaced by new barrier coated paper structures, which are recyclable. Also included is the requirement for recycled content in the package design. The objective is to reduce packaging waste that goes into landfills. Packaging companies that do not comply with the new regulations will pay a fee that supports the recycling infrastructure. In the EU, a new regulation called the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) has been enacted to reduce packaging waste and promote recyclable alternatives. Revised in 2025, the new legislation replaced the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD). The PPWR imposes strict rules on packaging design, recycling, and waste reduction.

When Kraft Foods Group Inc. and the H.J. Heinz Co. joined forces back in 2015, the goal was to achieve economies of scale and enable Kraft’s brand to piggy-back off of Heinz’s global reach. Ten years on, however, the company’s market capitalization is less than a third of what it was at its peak, and the merger is widely seen as a failure. When your brand stands for something that consumers don’t want, that’s a problem. Just ask Budweiser. At the same time, upstart brands are moving in on staid national brands with health-focused staple products and eye-catching packaging. Consider Goodles, a box macaroni and cheese brand launched in 2021 that has grown its share of the market from 0.6% in 2023 to 4% last year, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Goodles boasts that its products have more protein and fiber than competitors like Kraft Mac & Cheese and Annies. Goodles also defines its competitors by their packaging (Kraft = Blue Box, Annies = Purple Box) and stands out on shelves with its own bold logo and brightly colored boxes. Another reason being blamed for the Kraft Heinz split is consumers’ continuing support of private label brands. In a shift that started during the Great Recession, cost-conscious shoppers have continued their openness to opt for store brands over brand-name staples. Studies have shown that consumers believe private label products are largely similar in quality to their name-brand counterparts, leaving only one thing to differentiate the two: packaging. And yet, it can be hard to pick out the Heinz in a wall of ketchup at the grocery store.

A deal with Walmart comes shortly after one with Amazon. CEO Omar Asali discusses the importance of these enterprise customers and navigating economic uncertainty ahead of the busy holiday season. Ranpak is expanding its automation solutions at Walmart’s distribution centers. Under the multiyear agreement, Walmart will install Ranpak’s AutoFill machines at sites in the Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia and Sacramento, California, metro areas. Walmart already uses this equipment at an Indianapolis-area fulfillment center, where it automates void filling and box closing to increase productivity.  This is the second major deal Ranpak has landed this year with an e-commerce giant. In January, Amazon agreed to spend $400 million on an eight-year deal to acquire up to 18.7 million Ranpak shares, which will amount to an estimated 17% of the company’s shares when completed.