Huhtamaki launches plastic-free egg carton in US & Brazil

Huhtamaki, a key global provider of sustainable packaging solutions, introduces Smilepack, a 100% plastic-free molded fiber egg carton, in the United States and Brazil.

Smilepack cartons are Huhtamaki’s first product designed especially for the US egg industry, providing a sustainable and functional alternative to traditional polystyrene foam or plastic packaging for eggs. In the United States, the egg packaging market is expected to reach $405 million at a CAGR of 4.38% by 2025, according to Global Egg Packaging Market - Outlook and Forecast by Arizton.

According to Huhtamaki, the Smilepack egg cartons are made with fiber recovered from recycled paper, which can be reused up to seven times. In addition, the cartons can be recycled in the regular paper stream, and they are home and industrially compostable. Smilepack is already in use in the US by a prominent producer and distributor of free-range eggs, whose products are sold in retail stores across the country. It is estimated that by switching to fiber packaging, this company will eliminate around 4.6 million plastic egg cartons or about 200 metric tons of plastic annually.

The design of the egg cartons has been crafted to fit perfectly in commonly used outer crates and is tailored for existing retail shelves in the US market. Additionally, Smilepack cartons provide up to 10% more space on the label to showcase the benefits of the eggs.

“We are proud to be able to offer this sustainable and functional solution to customers across the U.S. and Brazil,” said Gala Mansurova, head of Eggs, Produce and Fruits Category, Fiber Foodservice Europe-Asia-Oceania at Huhtamaki. “We are committed to design for circularity to ensure that our products are recyclable, compostable, or reusable by 2030, and as part of that, we are focused on developing innovative sustainable packaging solutions for our customers where innovation and sustainability go hand in hand. In the case of Smilepack cartons, we provide a sustainable alternative to plastic packaging and have also optimized the design for easy handling and increased on-shelf visibility for our customers.”

Smilepack is designed to optimize the logistics of packing, stacking, loading, and retrieving eggs and is now available in various colors.