Michelman Launches Bio-Based, Plastic-Free Coatings for Food Packaging
Michelman has introduced two new bio-based, plastic-free coatings, Nuvita Life 4002 and Nuvita Life 4605, aimed at enhancing the sustainability of retail food packaging. These coatings are designed to provide high barrier performance while ensuring recyclability and compostability for fibre-based packaging applications.
The Nuvita Life 4002 is a heat seal coating that offers oil and grease resistance (OGR) and an excellent barrier against mineral oils. It is engineered to create strong seals across a wide sealing window and is overcoatable, providing flexibility in packaging design.
In contrast, the Nuvita Life 4605 serves as a topcoat, delivering OGR, water resistance, and moisture barrier capabilities, ensuring robust protection for various retail food packaging formats. Both coatings are crease resistant and feature a low coefficient of friction, making them compatible with vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) processing lines.
Target applications for these coatings include pouches and sachets for dry foods, flow wraps for food bars, and envelopes for tea. Notably, the coatings are microplastic-free, compliant with the European Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD), and are 100% bio-based in dry film, supporting dual end-of-life outcomes for compostability and recycling.
Michelman emphasizes that these new coatings align with evolving regulatory frameworks, including the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which aims to enhance recyclability targets and promote compliant waste management practices.
This launch follows Michelman’s previous introduction of Michem Coat 9250, a water-based coating designed to improve the recyclability of paper cups. The company continues to innovate in the packaging sector, helping brand owners and converters meet global recyclability and performance standards.
In a related development, DataLase recently unveiled a clear-to-white coating for plastic bottles, providing an alternative to traditional labels and enhancing sustainability by eliminating the need for filmic and paper materials. This innovation allows for high-opacity white images to be produced on clear backgrounds using laser imaging technology.