Metsä Board’s AI-driven Milan packaging studio accelerates fresh fibre design

ITALY – Metsä Board has opened a packaging design studio in Milan on 2 July 2026, combining AI-assisted design, simulation tools and fresh fibre expertise to accelerate packaging development and strengthen collaboration across key European markets.

The facility, located in one of Europe’s leading design capitals, enables customers to co-create packaging solutions with greater speed, precision and confidence while responding to tightening sustainability and regulatory demands.

Parallel Development and Data-Led Validation Shorten Time-to-Market

The Milan studio integrates AI-supported design, advanced simulation technologies and deep material expertise under one roof, allowing packaging concepts to be tested and refined much earlier in the process.  

By advancing design, materials and performance in parallel rather than sequentially, the facility reduces uncertainty, speeds up decision-making and shortens development cycles.

This approach aligns with the growing expectation that solutions must be validated for actual use conditions faster than ever.  

For brands in the food, pharmaceutical and beauty sectors, where packaging plays a critical role both commercially and functionally, this integrated working model helps improve material efficiency while maintaining performance and compliance. 

Milan Design Ecosystem and Fresh Fibre Portfolio Drive Innovation

Strategically positioned in one of Europe’s leading design hubs, the studio draws on the unique concentration of design talent and a strong packaging ecosystem in Milan.  

It supports customers in developing solutions that reduce material use, replace fossil-based materials and meet regulatory pressures without compromising shelf impact.  

The facility complements Metsä Board’s existing Excellence Centre in Äänekoski, Finland, which focuses on material research and performance testing, as well as its North American design studio in Norwalk.  

Metsä Board’s fresh fibre-based folding boxboards, foodservice boards and white kraftliners are renewable, traceable to Northern European forests, and designed to support recyclability. 

Parallel Development and Data-Led Validation Shorten Time-to-Market

The Milan studio enables earlier customer collaboration, allowing shared testing and refinement that reduces development time and brings market-ready packaging solutions to practical use more quickly.  

Metsä Board commercial operations SVP Erja Hyrsky said the facility allows the company to work more closely with customers and strengthen collaboration across key European markets, adding that customers need validated solutions faster than ever and that combining design, materials and data enables moving from concept to validated solution much earlier with greater confidence.  

The facility was first announced in February 2026 and opened on 2 July to welcome customers, partners and industry stakeholders.

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