Choc, paper, scissors: chocolate bars with 100% paper packaging

German company Koehler Paper and chocolate manufacturer nucao are collaborating to produce what the companies describe as Germany’s first chocolate bars with 100% paper packaging.

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.

The flexible packaging paper called Koehler NexPlus Advanced has oxygen, mineral oil and grease barrier properties, which makes them suitable for packaging of chocolate-coated fruit products. The 100% recyclable paper is now suitable for use on not just vertical packaging machines but also horizontal packaging machines.

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 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,” explained 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.”

The 100% recyclable generation of Nexflex flexible paper packaging is designed to replace plastic in packaging by using so-called barrier paper wherever possible. The range covers a broad spectrum: it includes standard coated and uncoated paper used in laminates for pouches, sachets and other applications, making it suitable for a wide range of packaging for food and non-food products.

Image credit: nucao.