WACKER finds a way out of a sticky situation with BucketBox

WACKER, a global chemical company, has been working hard to develop a new gumbase premix to make chewing gum and part of the challenge was to find a sustainable packaging solution for it. This goes to the heart of their approach to find responsible packaging solutions.

To make chewing gum, you need containers to be filled with 110° C hot molasses, which turns solid after three days. Typically, non-recyclable plastic buckets and complex 3-piece boxes with thick silicon barriers are used for this type of production.
This was no longer an option due to the final product upon cooling down not separating well from the packaging. The 3-piece corrugated box design was also awkward to handle.

Mondi’s challenge was to find an easy-to-handle corrugated solution that was heat resistant, leak proof, food safe, resource efficient and of course fully recyclable. 

Using Mondi’s EcoSolutions approach, a team of experts worked closely with Wacker to determine what the packaging and sustainability requirements were for this product, and how the product would be handled and stored. 

Mondi engineers were tasked to create a one-piece corrugated box design with no open flute that helps with handling and storage, in addition to being recyclable in paper waste streams. 

The Mondi  development teams were able to draw from their experience in the extrusion coatings business where they offer sustainable packaging solutions for other food packaging clients.

In a market full of so-called alternative solutions, Mondi truly partnered with our customer to identify the most sustainable packaging for their new product. Once we found the release lining, all other benefits of the design were pure value add.

The outcome: BucketBox is a one-piece folding corrugated solution that is 100% leak-proof from top to bottom thanks to its highly functional Paratherm ® barrier coating. Beyond its resource conserving design and excellent release properties, the food-safe solution is complemented by a smart closure solution for easy and safe opening.