Unilever switches Ingman ice cream to fully renewable packaging material from Stora Enso

The penetration of ice cream is as high as 89.6% in Finland, and 1 litre packs remain popular, with over 11.6 million packs in total sold in 2019 (Nielsen HomeScan, December 2019). Unilever is one of the biggest players on the market and the owner of the Ingman ice cream, which has been sold in Finland since 1978.

Unilever wanted packaging that could help them meet their target of cutting the company’s environmental footprint by half in ten years. Fully renewable and recyclable 1 litre cartons made of Performa Cream™ by Stora Enso with a plant-based PE Green™ barrier coating help Unilever reduce their use of fossil-based materials and reduce waste.

”Unilever is responding to the needs of consumers who are looking for more eco-friendly solutions and packaging made from fully renewable and recyclable materials. Our paperboard with a plant-based barrier provides the same protection, sealability and food safety as a carton with fossil-based barrier. The package can be recycled in Finland’s carton recycling system”, says Sari Häkli, Head of Brand Owner Accounts at Stora Enso Packaging Materials division.

Not just the package, but the entire Ingman ice cream brand’s visual identity is being reformed. “We are beyond excited to introduce Ingman’s new brand identity and the new fully plant-based packaging material in the 1 litre ice creams. The renewed Ingman now delivers the joy of ice cream together with the sustainability that has always been an integral part of our ice creams and our factory policies, and now even stronger with the new packaging material. We are very happy to take this step forward together with Stora Enso”, says Hilla Carpén, Senior Brand Manager of Ingman ice creams.

Paperboard is a climate-friendly packaging material as such and helps companies transform into the circular bioeconomy. Growing trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and the carbon remains stored in cartons and secondary products in recycling. The Ingman ice cream cartons have clear recycling instructions to consumers.? The board for the new ice cream cartons is FSC Mix labelled, verifying its traceable origin in sustainably managed forests. Stora Enso’s mills producing consumer packaging boards have quality, product safety and environmental management certificates, confirming the use of the best environmental, hygienic and efficient production techniques.

Source: Stora Enso, press release, 2020-02-26.