​​The historic Wahlman log house has been successfully transported through Metsä Group's integrated mill area to a new and fitting environment in the park of Äänekoski Art Museum.

​The French cosmetics company Sothys has chosen Metsä Board's paperboard for its 2021 advent calendar. The impressive, folded calendar is made of the lightweight paperboard – MetsäBoard Pro FBB Bright 320 g/m². 

​On 23 April, the UNESCO World Book Day, bookstores, publishers, libraries, schools and reading enthusiasts across Germany celebrate a large reading festival, a regional tradition since 1995.

​In an industry where multiple companies are involved in the conception of a single product it is important to identify and resolve potential challenges in the supply chain during the planning process. This is most successful when all those involved are able to come together and exchange ideas. The Packaging Inspiration Forum (PIF) is a place to do just that. It was set up by the PrintCity strategic alliance and took place digitally for the first time this year. Metsä Board is pleased to be a member of the PrintCity Alliance.

​Creating sustainable, safe and pure medical and pharmaceutical packaging solutions that are compliant with good manufacturing practices and quality management is on the increase globally, and the COVID-19 pandemic has been increasing the need further.  

​​Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we are all more aware of the importance of good hygiene. This also affects how we look at food products and packaging. In fact, packaging has taken on a completely new meaning during the past year.

​E-commerce has, during the past few years, seen a particular boost before Christmas. In 2020, the pandemic will, without doubt, bring e-commerce sales to a new Christmas record, as shoppers avoid brick-and-mortar stores.

SIM Finland Oy is a cosmetics manufacturer that emphasises purity, quality, and design in its products, and pays special attention to sustainability issues. When the company recently renewed its SensiDO professional hair colour range it chose a packaging material that mirrored these exacting values. MetsäBoard Pro FBB Bright is a lightweight fresh fibre paperboard with a low carbon footprint manufactured in Finland by Metsä Board.

​Alongside growing consumption, the need for authenticity is increasing in pharma packages. Pharma companies and consumers alike want to be sure that the medicine is legitimate – not a forgery and has not been tampered with. Tamper-evident features are a tool to ensure the safety of the packed product. 

Packaging and graphical professionals are constantly looking for new ways to attract consumers. There is often an artistic vision and haptic feeling that the printed piece should convey. With modern printing techniques it is possible to produce various touch and feel properties, but outstanding technical characteristics are also required from the paperboard. 

​Historically, eating healthily and treating oneself have largely been viewed as mutually exclusive, with self-indulgent foods thought of in terms of takeaways and fatty, sugary or spicy foods and healthy food often perceived to be bland and boring. Can a balance be struck between these extremes? We explore this fascinating theme with Anu Rehtijärvi, Business Intelligence Manager at Metsä Board.

With people choosing to eat at home more often, it's important that groceries and takeaway food can be delivered to consumers safely. Packaging has a vital part to play in this process. Marjatta Punkka, Product Safety Manager at Metsä Board, says that food safety certification is one way to guarantee safe production methods and minimise risk throughout the production chain.

​An attractive gift item requires an equally impressive package. Metsä Board's design team helped to create an appealing package for a golf ball gift set featuring the universally loved Moomin characters.  

​Good packaging protects both the product and the consumer, and as a packaging material, fresh fibre paperboard has an advantage. Paperboard made from fresh fibre is safe to use in packaging for foodstuffs and in food service. It does not pass on any flavour, odour or harmful substances to the food.

​Demographic shifts - with more urban, single, carless, digitally enabled yet time-starved or physically restricted consumers - are driving the demand for faster and more convenient shopping and consumption.

​In Metsä Board’s Better with Less – Design Challenge, innovative solutions for frequently used consumer packages were gathered from entrants around the world. A key focus area in the competition was in creating better experiences for consumers while reducing the environmental impact of the packaging in general.

For companies producing consumer goods, replacing fossil-based packaging materials with sustainable paperboard packaging is an excellent way to improve the responsibility of their business operations and promote sustainability globally.

​The global e-commerce market is growing at double digit growth rates. Increasing e-commerce offers numerous opportunities for packaging suppliers, but also challenges, as online shopping places new requirements on packaging.

​Integrated cartonboard distributer ProntoPack offers a new European platform for quick deliveries and small batches.

Views are changing on what is considered luxury. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of environmental issues, and many want their purchases to reflect these values. Accordingly, modern luxury brands are looking for ways to make their goods desirable for both customers and the planet. And according to a recent consumer survey, that’s also good for the business.

​How is urbanisation affecting the way families and individuals live in the modern city, and what are the effects of these changes upon packaged consumer goods?

​15 years of close collaboration help Metsä Board and Essentra meet the key trends for luxury and personal care packaging.

​Cartons, using Metsä Board’s paperboards, were awarded in three categories at the European Carton Excellence Awards, held on 21 September in Salzburg, Austria. The awards recognised excellence in design, convenience, brand communication and the major role paperboard plays as an innovative packaging material.

​In his column, Mark Beamesderfer, technical marketing & services director at Metsä Board Americas, talks about how online purchasing has changed the demands for brand packaging.

​The beauty and men's care segment has never seen such interesting and varied times. We take a look under the surface to examine the movements driving this fascinating series of developments.

​Kyrö Distillery Company’s Napue Gin has swiftly become a Nordic award-winning sensation. We take a look at how their market-shaping brand is supported by careful supplier selection.

​With two highly creative designs, Metsä Board earned a double recognition at this year’s iF Design Awards. T2 Mini Fruit Tea packaging won an iF Design certificate for ‘Beverages’ and the company’s own innovative Elevated drink box won another iF Design certificate for ‘Independent Packaging’.

​For tea and teawares company T2, packaging is an essential part of enjoying tea.

​In Metsä Board’s view, digital printing is challenging the whole packaging value chain, from design to box manufacturing.

​Did you open the window on an advent calendar this morning? A calendar brings joy and excitement in the middle of the darkest time of the year. Let us introduce you to five perspectives to the traditional Advent Calendar of the Guides and Scouts of Finland. 

​Bag-in-box packages are gaining more and more foothold in some of the largest wine drinking countries in North America and Europe. The market intelligence publisher Euromonitor is forecasting an increase of 4 % p.a. for the global bag-in-box retail packaging market by 2020.

Three cartons using fresh fibre paperboards from Metsä Board won at the 2016 Pro Carton ECMA Awards, including the award for the Carton of the Year.

​The latest trends in the healthcare market are shaping new ways of packaging medical products.

​Seven cartons using Metsä Board’s boards have been shortlisted for the finals of the 2016 Pro Carton ECMA Awards. There are finalists in Beauty & Cosmetics, Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Food and Non-food packaging categories.

Nina Happonen, VP of sales at Metsä Board Americas, answered three questions on the US market.

​When making something new, why not make it a true innovation?

​The latest and greatest packaging innovations are within reach.

​​Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we are all more aware of the importance of good hygiene. This also affects how we look at food products and packaging. In fact, packaging has taken on a completely new meaning during the past year.

​​Creating a sustainable packaging solution for medical products was the goal that ERBA Diagnostics Mannheim and AR Packaging Graz set themselves for the new ISE-Analyzer EC Cartridge.

​​Clever packaging concepts are not only made from Metsä Board's sustainable paperboard – the paperboard itself can utilise new types of intelligence too.

​Rising environmental awareness has become a megatrend, with many consumers changing their behavior to adopt a greener lifestyle. They consciously pay attention to the environmental impact of the products they are purchasing, and the packaging is also under critical scrutiny. Packaging made of recycled materials is often assumed to be a more sustainable choice which, based on many aspects, is not always factually true.

​​Finland's leading ready-to-eat food company, Saarioinen, launched soup packaging just before Valentine's Day, for consumers to share their own messages. An online platform combined with digital printing, opened up exciting new opportunities for the packaging.

​Creating sustainable, safe and pure medical and pharmaceutical packaging solutions that are compliant with good manufacturing practices and quality management is on the increase globally, and the COVID-19 pandemic has been increasing the need further.  

​The French cosmetics company Sothys has chosen Metsä Board's paperboard for its 2021 advent calendar. The impressive, folded calendar is made of the lightweight paperboard – MetsäBoard Pro FBB Bright 320 g/m². 

​Ever wondered what the secret is behind the bold, bright and beautiful designs on the box for the new TV or laptop you've just bought, or the eye-catching vegetable boxes and store displays at your local supermarket? The answer is coated white top kraftliner, a material that changed the corrugated packaging market for good after its introduction in the early 90s. 

I might be biased, but I’ve always seen the corrugated package as a simply brilliant construction. And with sustainability and circular economy thinking at the top of the agenda for both brands and consumers today, this lightweight, sustainable and recyclable material is more relevant than ever.  

​The general climate debate has made it clear that halting global warming at an increase of 1.5 degrees will require concrete action from companies. Growing numbers of customers, investors and consumers are demanding that companies act responsibly. Those that aim to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions can gain a significant competitive advantage.

​In an industry where multiple companies are involved in the conception of a single product it is important to identify and resolve potential challenges in the supply chain during the planning process. This is most successful when all those involved are able to come together and exchange ideas. The Packaging Inspiration Forum (PIF) is a place to do just that. It was set up by the PrintCity strategic alliance and took place digitally for the first time this year. Metsä Board is pleased to be a member of the PrintCity Alliance.

​On 23 April, the UNESCO World Book Day, bookstores, publishers, libraries, schools and reading enthusiasts across Germany celebrate a large reading festival, a regional tradition since 1995.

​Metsä Board’s Husum pulp mill renewal is ongoing, with the construction of the new modern recovery boiler and turbine in full swing. Metsä Board has set the target for all its mills and raw materials to be 100% fossil free in 2030. The renewal of the Husum mill is a significant step towards this goal. 

​One of the pioneers in the field is Unilever, a global market leader in various sectors and the owner of several world-class brands. The company strives for sustainable packaging. 

​Financial Times published its first listing of Europe’s Climate Leaders in May.

​Mars Wrigley UK has taken another step in its journey towards 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging with the removal of the black PE liner from its Maltesers boxes – a familiar site on store shelves since 1930.

​Pro Carton and ECMA have recently revealed the finalists for the European Carton Excellence Award 2021. Yves Rocher’s luxurious New Year makeup calendar, produced by Durero Packaging on Metsä Board paperboard, is one of the finalists.

​Pro Carton and ECMA have recently revealed the finalists for the European Carton Excellence Award 2021. Smarties Giant Hexatube, produced by the carton converter WestRock on Metsä Board paperboard, is one of the finalists.

​A long-term collaboration between Finnish startup The Paper Lid Company and Metsä Board is set to revolutionise the future of takeaway beverage cups with the launch of a 100% recyclable paperboard lid. “This innovation is hands down the best example of packaging design I have ever been involved with,” says Ilkka Harju, Packaging Services Director at Metsä Board.

​Fifty years ago, on 16 October 1971, the Kemi mill launched its liner production. The mill, which originally produced brown kraftliner, has developed its products to serve as an increasingly high-quality material for packaging and showcases. Today, Metsä Board’s Kemi mill is a leading producer of coated white top kraftliners.

​How many tonnes of food have we wasted this year? What impact can switching from plastic to paperboard packaging have? What are the benefits of reducing the weight of paperboard? All these questions and more are answered in Metsä Board’s online impact report – an interactive, visual tool that highlights the importance of sustainable packaging.  

​During the darkest and often busiest time of the year, it’s great if we can rise above everyday life, even for a moment. 

​​There are important milestones reached in the Metsä Board Husum's pulp mill renewal project. After the new high-power recovery boiler's steel frame was installed in the summer, now it's time for another important part of the project: the new turbine installation.

​Ifolor, an international photo service company, has launched a completely plastic-free and experiential chocolate calendar that can be personalised with your own photos. After use, the calendar is easy to recycle in the paperboard collection. 

​Listening to consumers, adapting to the regulatory landscape, and embracing innovation are key factors for companies trying to reach their sustainability goals. With these driving forces pushing the packaging industry and its material suppliers towards a more sustainable future, how can and should companies respond?

​In cooperation with the German Prinz von Hessen winery, Metsä Board has developed a new packaging, which is both a gift and a transport box. Metsä Board's packaging design team designed the robust and eye-catching packaging solution at its Excellence Centre in Äänekoski, Finland.

​​The historic Wahlman log house has been successfully transported through Metsä Group's integrated mill area to a new and fitting environment in the park of Äänekoski Art Museum.

​Finnish Golf Coat Oy is launching a new golf ball packaging that, when empty, takes on a second life as an insect hotel. The innovative packaging is a result of a co-creation workshop organised by Metsä Board.

The historic Wahlman log house, which is now located on land owned by Metsä Board in the centre of Äänekoski, will be moved to a new plot in a fitting environment. Owing to a change in the city plan, Metsä Board will move the Wahlman house to the Äänekoski Museum of Art park. The company will also transfer ownership of the house to the City of Äänekoski.