UPM Specialty Materials and Royal Vaassen are expanding the role of fibre-based packaging in demanding food applications with a new paper solution developed for pet treats and snacks. The concept combines UPM’s Solide Lucent packaging paper with Royal Vaassen’s Barryrwrap barrier technology, creating a PFAS-free and recyclable alternative for a category that has traditionally relied on plastic, aluminium laminates or grease-resistant papers using fluorinated chemistry.

The development is notable because pet treat packaging remains one of the more technically challenging areas for paper substitution. These products are often oily, aromatic and sensitive to oxygen, moisture and light, meaning the packaging must do more than simply contain the product. It also needs to preserve freshness, prevent grease migration and protect flavour throughout shelf life. In many cases, those demands have historically pushed converters and brand owners towards multi-material structures that offer strong performance but are harder to recycle and more exposed to regulatory pressure.

The new concept is designed to address that challenge with a high-barrier fibre-based structure that maintains functional performance. According to the companies, the solution has been engineered to deliver protection against aroma, grease, light, moisture and oxygen, making it suitable for premium pet treat applications where both shelf life and product presentation are critical. Royal Vaassen positions its top-end Barryrwrap Everest format as a high-performance barrier solution intended to help pet food brands move away from conventional aluminium laminates without compromising pack integrity or shelf appeal.

The launch also reflects the wider direction of paper packaging development, as suppliers push fibre-based materials into applications once considered too demanding for paper alone, particularly where grease resistance and aroma retention are essential.

The regulatory context adds further relevance. As the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) increases scrutiny around recyclability and substances such as PFAS, brand owners are under growing pressure to reassess the material combinations used in sensitive food-contact packaging. In that environment, PFAS-free barrier papers are attracting greater interest, especially where they can support both compliance goals and on-shelf performance. The UPM and Royal Vaassen concept is positioned around that need, offering a route towards more circular packaging design without giving up the technical functionality associated with more complex laminates.

UPM’s Solide Lucent paper plays a central role in the solution. The company says its smooth surface, high density and consistent quality allow low coating weights while still delivering the strength and convertibility required for efficient use on high-speed packaging lines. That matters commercially, because barrier innovation must go beyond sustainability claims. It also has to run reliably in converting and filling operations, support strong printability and meet the visual standards expected by premium packaged goods brands.

For Royal Vaassen, the collaboration also highlights how paper packaging innovation is becoming more layered. Success depends not only on base paper selection, but on how substrates, coatings and converting performance work together in a finished pack. By combining high-barrier protection with recyclability and a natural paper appearance, the companies are targeting a part of the market where brand owners want sustainability to be visible and tangible, not just reflected in technical documentation.

The new packaging solution will be presented at Interpack in Düsseldorf, where both Barryrwrap solutions and UPM Solide Lucent will be shown as examples of recyclable paper formats moving into more performance-critical applications. For the wider packaging industry, the development underlines how the next stage of fibre innovation will depend not only on replacing plastic where substitution is relatively straightforward, but also on proving that paper-based solutions can perform in categories where barrier demands have traditionally limited change.