Michelman introduces 100% bio-based, plastic-free coatings for recyclable food packaging

USA – Michelman has announced Nuvita Life 4002 and 4605, 100 percent bio-based, plastic-free coatings for fibre-based retail food packaging that support both recyclability and compostability while delivering high barrier performance.

Nuvita Life 4002 is a heat seal coating that imparts oil and grease resistance (OGR) and excellent mineral oil barrier. 

It provides strong seals over a wide sealing window and is overcoatable, offering design flexibility for packaging structures. 

Nuvita Life 4605 is a topcoat that delivers OGR, water resistance, and moisture barrier performance, providing robust protection for a range of retail food packaging applications.

Designed for Dual End-of-Life Outcomes

Both coatings are engineered to enable dual end-of-life outcomes, supporting compatibility with existing recycling streams and compostability. 

They are aligned with evolving regulatory frameworks including the Single-Use Plastics Directive and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, contributing to recyclability targets and compliant waste management pathways.

The coatings are also crease resistant and engineered with a low coefficient of friction to support compatibility with vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) processing lines. 

Target applications include pouches and sachets for dry foods, flow wraps for food bars, and envelopes for tea.

Unlocking Paperization in Retail Food

Lori Gobris, global marketing director for packaging at Michelman, explained that the Nuvita Life series unlocks new possibilities for paperization in retail food applications. 

She noted that these forward-looking technologies allow fibre-based packaging to deliver the high barrier performance converters and brands need while supporting compliance with regulations targeting plastic pollution and waste reduction.

The Nuvita portfolio is a new family of next-generation sustainable packaging coatings designed to deliver high-performance protection while enabling key sustainability outcomes such as recyclability, compostability, and the elimination of petroleum-based plastics. 

Within that family, the Nuvita Life series targets retail food packaging applications where maintaining product freshness and integrity is critical, providing reliable grease, moisture, and aroma barrier performance.

When Paper Packaging Gets a Plastic-Free Upgrade

Retail food packaging has long relied on plastic coatings for grease, moisture, and mineral oil barriers. 

Michelman’s Nuvita Life series replaces those fossil-based barriers with bio-based alternatives, without compromising the seal strength, crease resistance, or VFFS compatibility that converters need. 

For brands targeting SUPD compliance and PPWR recyclability, that substitution is not just an improvement; it is a requirement.

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