Tetra Pak has taken a significant step forward in its sustainability journey by extending its advanced paper-based barrier technology to high-speed Tetra Pak® A3/Speed filling lines. In doing so, Maeil Dairies has become the first producer in the world to implement this innovative solution for its soy milk products, marking an important milestone for both companies.
This development reflects a wider transformation taking place across the food and beverage industry, where manufacturers are increasingly prioritizing low-carbon, renewable packaging materials. As environmental concerns and regulatory pressures continue to grow, producers are accelerating their shift toward fiber-based and more sustainable alternatives that reduce reliance on fossil-based components while maintaining performance and efficiency on high-speed production lines.
Advanced to replace the aluminum foil layer used in aseptic cartons, the new paper-based barrier preserves comparable levels of food defense and shelf life. When combined with plant-based polymers resulting from sugarcane, the Tetra Brik® Aseptic 200 Slim carton utilized with Maeil Soy Milk 99.9 product in South Korea achieved 87% renewable content and offered a 26% reduction in package carbon footprint, as confirmed by the Carbon Trust.1
A major milestone of this launch in Asia is that Maeil Dairies is the first producer worldwide to implement packaging resources with the new paper-based barrier on a Tetra Pak® A3/Speed filling machine, representing that the technology is now completely compatible with high-speed industrial production. The Tetra Pak® A3/Speed offers high package outputs of up to 24,000 packages per hour with low operational charges, allowing large-scale deployment while keeping high food safety values. Furthermore, existing Tetra Pak® A3/Speed lines can be effortlessly upgraded with a high-frequency inductionheating sealing system, permitting producers to accept the new packaging material without noteworthy capital investment.
The new set for Maeil Soy Milk 99.9 marks the first use of Tetra Pak’s paper-based barrier in the plant-based beverages group. Maeil Dairies, an ancient innovator in the plant-based beverage market, sees the shift as a natural continuation of its sustainability journey.
The world’s first aseptic beverage carton, where the outdated aluminum foil layer was swapped with the innovative Tetra Pak paper-based barrier, was introduced in 2023, setting a new benchmark for sustainable packaging. This new technology shortens the packaging material structure, decreasing it from three to just two major components. This generates opportunities for recycling substructure, with downstream advantages such as increasing the recovery of paper content during the recycling of cartons, offering high-quality fiber and non-fiber portions.
12 March 2026
12 March 2026
12 March 2026
12 March 2026
