Tetra Pak debuts paper-based tuna carton with 85% lower carbon footprint than steel cans

SPAIN – Tetra Pak has launched a paper-based Tetra Recart carton for shelf-stable tuna in partnership with Spanish seafood producer Jealsa, delivering an 85% lower carbon footprint than steel cans while offering improved branding space and stacking efficiency for the 12.4 billion unit global tuna market.

The format challenges a category dominated by metal cans for generations, supporting a range of tuna products from spreads and flakes to shredded tuna and chunks, with plans to expand into additional tuna preparations. 

Tetra Pak’s comparative life cycle assessment confirmed the carton has the smallest carbon footprint in its category, with emissions 85% lower than steel cans and 83% lower than glass jars

How Tetra Recart’s Rectangular Design Transforms Retail Shelf Impact and Logistics

The Tetra Recart format offers distinct advantages over conventional round cans. 

Its rectangular shape and flat surfaces create “immediate shelf impact” while enabling bolder branding and clearer storytelling. 

The compact carton shape allows packages to fit tightly together, improving shelf efficiency and enabling more product per metre. 

The format’s robustness and rectangular design support efficient warehousing and simplify “pick and pack” for e-retailers, making it well suited to e-commerce and meal kit distribution.

Tetra Pak Packaging Solutions executive vice-president Tatiana Liceti said that the industry’s first carton for shelf-stable tuna gives producers and brands a new way to stand out on shelf, support cost-competitive, scalable production, and modernize with a paper-based alternative to cans.

What 71% FSC-Certified Paper and 21,000 Tonne CO₂ Savings Mean for Sustainable Seafood

The package contains up to 71% FSC-certified paper sourced from responsibly managed, renewable forests. 

At scale, replacing conventional cans with Tetra Recart equates to 21,000 tonnes less CO₂ per one million cans. 

Jealsa president Jesús M. Alonso Escurís said that in Jealsa’s 68-year history in shelf-stable seafood, the company had always been committed to innovation, and through collaboration with Tetra Pak, it had brought a game-changing packaging solution to market. 

Following the successful Swedish launch, Jealsa plans to roll out the format under its own brands, Rianxeira, Mare Aperto and Robinson Crusoe, as well as for third-party brands.

Consumer research indicates strong demand, with more than 80% of consumers saying they would buy tuna packaged in Tetra Recart and 58% preferring it to existing packaging alternatives.

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