MINIMALIST AND WASTE-REDUCING PACKAGING


Helena Moring-Vepsäläinen, Product Safety Manager, Metsä Board shares three safety insights every brand owner should know when choosing a packaging material.


P


ackaging plays a vital role in product safety, regulatory compliance and consumer trust. As regulations emerge


and expectations around transparency continue to grow, brand owners need a clear understanding of how packaging materials perform throughout their lifecycle. Drawing on more than a decade of experience in product safety, Helena Moring-Vepsäläinen outlines three key considerations that can help companies make safer, more informed packaging choices. Packaging is more than a protective


layer. It is a critical part of product safety and brand trust. For food and other sensitive applications, safety should guide material choices from the very beginning. As regulations evolve and consumer


expectations rise, brand owners benefit from a clear understanding of how packaging materials perform in real-world use and how safety can be built in proactively throughout the value chain. Trust is something I think about a lot


in my daily work. Consumers expect what they buy to be safe to use and consume, which means that every product on store shelves carries an invisible promise. For brand owners, it is their packaging that stands behind that promise. That expectation of safe packaging,


from both consumers and brand owners, translates into a complex set of requirements that goes well beyond a packaging’s ability to move from point A (the factory) to point Z (the customer). When packaging is designed for food or other sensitive products, safety should always be the starting point. Based on a decade of experience


working with packaging materials and safety regulations, here are three key insights I believe companies should always keep in mind when choosing their packaging material.


1 - Safety regulations and expectations are constantly evolving Packaging safety is closely tied to regional regulations, and we are currently seeing significant changes in this area. Across Europe and globally, new regulations and amendments are now being introduced to strengthen requirements for food contact materials and other sensitive applications. At the same time, consumer expectations are also increasing. In practice, this means compliance


should not be viewed as a one- time exercise. Brand owners have to continuously monitor, interpret, and adapt to the shifting regulatory landscape we are facing. It also requires a deeper understanding of the next two points on my list: how specific materials perform in real-world conditions over time, and how different points in the value chain can introduce product safety risks.


2 - Material choice starts with understanding the raw material Material choice is where I believe some of the biggest safety gains can be made. For food and other sensitive products, it is essential to understand what a packaging material is made of, where it comes from, and how it is processed. The consistency and purity of the raw material play a critical role in preventing unwanted substances from reaching or impacting the product.


all play a key role and need to work together. Any gaps in communication or understanding have the potential to create safety risks. It is equally important that all parties


share a common understanding of the requirements, intended use, and potential risks. This means clear specifications, transparent information sharing, and ongoing dialogue between partners. One good example of how we pursue


WHEN PACKAGING IS DESIGNED FOR FOOD OR


OTHER SENSITIVE PRODUCTS, SAFETY SHOULD ALWAYS BE THE STARTING POINT


Packaging materials made from


fresh wood fibre, such as Metsä Board’s products, offer a high level of purity and traceability compared to recycled fibres, which may have been recycled multiple times. When the origin and composition of a material are well understood, managing potential risks and maintaining a consistent level of quality becomes significantly easier.


3 - Collaboration across the value chain makes a real difference One of the most important lessons my colleagues and I have learned is that product safety depends on constant collaboration and open communication across the entire value chain. Raw material suppliers, packaging producers, converters, brand owners, and retailers


this collaboration and transparency at Metsä Board is our Material Circularity Statement, which we published for the first time last November. It provides clear, structured information about the end-of-life management of our products, such as PPWR compliance, as well as compostability and recyclability properties. We published it because we wanted that data to be readily available to all our stakeholders, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. As a product safety team, we noticed that this kind of transparency leads to better decision-making for our customers and for other actors across the value chain. It also helps ensure that safety is considered from the very start of the packaging design process. And when that is the case, we have seen that it protects more than just the product. It protects the brand too.


Metsä Board is a producer of lightweight and high-quality folding boxboards, foodservice boards and white kraftliners. The fresh wood fibres we use in our products are a renewable and recyclable resource, that can be traced back to Northern European forests. We aim to phase out the use of fossil energy in our production by 2030. We promote a culture of diversity, equality and inclusion. Metsä Board’s shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki. In 2025, our sales totalled EUR 1.8 billion, and we employ about 1,900 people. Metsä Board is part of Metsä Group, whose parent company Metsäliitto Cooperative is owned by approximately 90,000 Finnish forest owners. The sales of the whole Metsä Group were EUR 5.8 billion.


JUNE 2026 • KENNEDY’S CONFECTION • 37


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