Mondi’s Laser-Marked Pouch Wins German Packaging Award

07 August 2026: Mondi’s laser-marked packaging concept has won a German Packaging Award 2026 for a design intended to make eCommerce and bag-in-box packaging easier to customise and recycle. The German Packaging Institute lists the entry, developed by Mondi Consumer Flexibles and Mondi Halle GmbH, among the winners in the Sustainability (Overall Concept) category.

Mondi announced the award on 5 August 2026. The concept combines a corrugated outer box with flexible packaging that the company describes as recyclable. Its main technical change is the use of laser marking to apply artwork directly to the flexible pack during converting, removing the need for decorative printing and printing plates.

Faster design changes without printing plates

According to Mondi, laser marking can shorten the process of changing artwork and make personalisation easier. Brands could update pack designs or introduce product variants without preparing new printing plates for each change.

The approach can be used with packaging supplied in reels, the company’s re/cycle StripPouch and larger re/cycle FlexiBag formats. Mondi says these packs can use simplified material structures with fewer decorative elements. Depending on the application, the structure may also incorporate bio-based feedstock or post-consumer recycled content.

Environmental claim comes from an internal assessment

Mondi says its internal Product Impact Assessment found a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions for a laser-marked StripPouch made from bio-based, mono-material polyethylene. The comparison was made against a conventional stand-up pouch made from fossil-based polyethylene and produced with printing and lamination.

The company did not publish a reduction percentage in its announcement. The result should therefore be read as Mondi’s own assessment rather than an independently verified industry benchmark.

Commercial use is still being explored

Mondi is working with customers and partners to explore wider commercial use of the concept in pet food, home and personal care products and eCommerce packaging. This means the technology has received industry recognition, but Mondi’s announcement describes broader implementation as a next step rather than a completed market rollout.

Jens Koesters, Manager Technical Service, R&D and Innovation at Mondi Consumer Flexibles, said the concept was designed to give brands more artwork flexibility while helping them work towards circularity goals.

The award confirms the concept’s design credentials. Its wider impact will depend on customer adoption, the materials selected for each application and recycling systems available in the markets where the packs are sold.