For decades, aseptic carton packages have been extending the shelf life of perishable foods, enhancing food access and reducing food waste, therefore playing an important role in the resilience of global food systems. Aseptic beverage cartons are, on average, made up of 70% paperboard, but also have thin layers of plastic (25% on average) and aluminium (5% on average) to protect the food inside. Aluminium is a non-renewable material, requiring complex and energy demanding production methods. Although thinner than a human hair, the aluminium foil layer currently used in food carton packages is responsible for 26% of the greenhouse gas emissions linked to base materials used by Tetra Pak.
Therefore, replacing it with a barrier with a lower carbon footprint has been a development priority for us. In 2023, an important milestone was reached in our journey towards developing the beverage carton of the future; one that is fully renewable, fully recyclable and carbon neutral. We launched the Tetra Brik® Aseptic 200 Slim Leaf carton with a paper-based barrier, in collaboration with Lactogal, marking a world-first in the packaging industry. It is a critical development in our longstanding work to design beverage cartons for recycling – something that is continuing to set the pace for the paperisation of packaging. Made of approximately 80% paperboard, this unique package increases the renewable content to 90%, due to maximised share of plant-based materials. This helps to reduce the package’s carbon footprint by a third, when compared to Tetra Brik® Aseptic 200 Slim Leaf carton package with aluminium foil layer, as certified by the Carbon Trust™.
Meanwhile, food safety is protected and food access enhanced, because this unique packaging offers comparable shelf life and food protection properties as traditional aseptic cartons for liquid dairy products, such as milk. This helps to ensure that the resources used to produce the liquid (in the case of milk, feed for cattle, energy used for transportation, etc.) are preserved for longer and not wasted. One fifth of consumers show a preference for containers that are made of renewable resources, according to our 2023 Sustainable Packaging Consumer research, making this an important development for food & beverage companies seeking to deliver on consumers’ sustainability demands in an increasingly complex market. With large scale industrialisation by 2025 on the horizon, we have demonstrated that it is possible to progress the sustainability of aseptic beverage cartons while securing food safety and enhancing food access.