Henkel coatings enable sustainable fiber-based and flexible packaging without compromising on functionality. Protect products and brands while boosting line speed and automation – let’s design the next generation of packaging together!
by 2030
Packaging coatings market size estimate.
Source: Packaging Coatings Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2026 - 2031)
in 2025
Consumption of functional and barrier coatings for paper and board packaging.
Source: The Future of Functional & Barrier Coatings for Paper & Board to 2030
by 2035
All packaging in Europe must be recyclable at scale.
Source: The EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR): What It Means
Coatings are an essential, often invisible part of modern flexible packaging. They add barrier, heat-seal, print and handling performance that films alone can’t deliver, enabling safe, functional and recyclable packaging designs. As a result, Henkel’s flexible packaging coatings solutions are a key lever for sustainability and emerging regulatory compliance.
Fiber-based packaging is reshaping food service and e-commerce. Brands need recyclable wrappers, boxes and mailers that protect products and cut plastic waste. Henkel’s high-performance barrier and heat seal coatings enable sustainable mono-material fiber solutions for food and e-commerce packaging.
- Material agnostic
- Recycling processes
- Legislation
- Material science for better packaging design
Henkel Packaging Adhesives is a material-agnostic packaging adhesives expert with deep know-how in plastic, paper and metal packaging. Our in-house bonding and coating specialists design reliable, sustainable and recyclable mono- and multi-material solutions across the entire packaging value chain.
Different substrates need tailored designs for recyclability. Fiber packaging is typically repulped and deinked, while flexible packaging is mainly mechanically recycled, with chemical recycling emerging. Henkel supports all routes through coatings that ensure performance while enabling design-for-recycling and scalable solutions.
Global packaging rules are tightening, driving recyclable designs, waste reduction, safer materials, and clearer reporting. Producers face faster material changes, simpler mono-material structures, and more testing. Coatings add barriers, sealability, printability, and durability while supporting lightweight, recyclable packaging.
Henkel combines material science, polymer and resin know-how, and application engineering to help customers design compliant packaging structures across fiber-based and flexible packaging. With global lab and technical support, Henkel partners on design-for-recycling, performance testing, and scale-up—from concept to production.
Packaging coatings are functional layers applied to flexible films, paper or board to add performance the base substrate does not provide on its own. Depending on the application, they can deliver barrier protection, heat-seal or cold-seal behavior, printability, surface protection, release properties and handling performance. In practice, packaging coatings help protect products, support converting and filling efficiency and enable packaging designs that are better aligned with recyclability goals when the full pack structure is designed accordingly.
Packaging coatings improve performance by adding targeted functions to the substrate, such as oxygen, moisture, grease or aroma barrier, plus heat-seal or cold-seal performance, printability and surface durability. When the coating is matched to the substrate, product and line conditions, it can help maintain seal integrity, protect pack contents and support efficient converting, filling and distribution. This makes coatings an important design tool for balancing product protection, operational efficiency and packaging sustainability goals.
Packaging coatings can support PPWR and broader recyclability goals by helping converters reduce material complexity and replace certain additional layers with coating functionality where technically feasible. In flexible packaging, that may support simpler or mono-material-oriented designs; in fiber-based packaging, coatings can add barrier and sealability while remaining compatible with recognized paper recycling processes when properly specified. Under PPWR, packaging must be designed for material recycling and, from 2035, recycled at scale, so coating selection should be assessed as part of the total pack design rather than treated as a stand-alone recyclability claim.
Choosing the right packaging coating depends on the substrate, packed product, required barrier and seal properties, converting and filling conditions, food-contact or safety requirements and the intended end-of-life route. Key questions include whether the application needs moisture, grease, oxygen or aroma barrier; what sealing window and line speed are required; how the coating must interact with inks, adhesives, or other layers; and whether the final structure needs to fit recognized recycling streams or specific regulatory requirements such as PPWR. The best coating choice balances performance, processability, compliance and sustainability.
Barrier coatings for flexible packaging and fiber-based packaging differ because films, paper and board behave very differently in converting, use and recycling. Flexible packaging coatings are typically designed for film-based structures and may focus on oxygen or moisture barrier, seal performance, surface durability and compatibility with mechanical recycling-oriented mono-material designs. Fiber-based barrier coatings are designed to give paper or board functions such as grease, moisture, water-vapor, oxygen, or aroma barrier plus sealability, while still supporting repulpability and compatibility with recognized paper recycling processes when properly formulated. In both cases, the goal is product protection with lower material complexity, but the technical solution depends heavily on substrate and recycling route.
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