A larger-than-life origami cat, more than 4,000 kilometers across Germany, and stops at retailers and brand manufacturers: With the “Pack It in Paper” roadshow, Koehler Paper has chosen an unconventional format to discuss the future of flexible packaging.
PPWR as a driver of packaging transformation
The campaign comes against the backdrop of growing requirements for circular packaging solutions. The European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and its implementation into national legislation – the Packaging Implementation Act was presented for its first reading in the German Bundestag on 16 April 2026 – are challenging manufacturers, brands and retailers to consistently align packaging solutions with recyclability and material efficiency. Paper is increasingly becoming a focus, particularly where barrier papers already provide a genuine alternative to plastic.
Koehler Paper, a company of the Koehler Group based in Oberkirch, Germany, produces specialty papers, including packaging papers for food and drugstore products. The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness among manufacturers and retailers and highlight viable solutions in response to increasingly demanding regulatory requirements. Decisions about packaging materials are not made by paper manufacturers alone – retailers and brand owners play a decisive role in this process. This is exactly where the cat makes its stops
Why a cat?
The proverbial many lives of a cat represent the high recyclability of paper: Paper fibers can be recycled up to 25 times, allowing them to remain in the material cycle for a long time. The cat’s mission is to highlight the benefits of modern barrier papers. At the launch of the campaign, and fittingly timed with the first reading of the Packaging Implementation Act, the cat toured Berlin’s government district. In May, it also appeared at the interpack trade fair in Düsseldorf.
Eight stops in the first stage
From the political arena and the trade fair, the campaign moved onto the road. The two-part tour includes around 20 stops, eight of which took place during the first stage. The tour began on 8 June at the Kehl production site, where flexible packaging papers are manufactured. The focus there was on why packaging solutions of the future need to be designed more consistently with their end of life in mind. In Ulm, the role of retailers took center stage, highlighting their ability to accelerate visible change at the point of sale.
The visit to Ritter Sport in Waldenbuch demonstrated how demanding a material transition can be: Chocolate packaging has to meet strict requirements in terms of product protection and barrier performance, and not every product variety can be packaged in the same way. In Bad Wimpfen, the focus was on the requirements of large discount retailers: Packaging must be efficient, safe, suitable for processing and recyclable. Paper can also play an important role when considering cost factors such as EPR fees.
In Frankfurt am Main, discussions focused on single portions and the balance between taste, freshness, stability and material usage. In Schwalbach am Taunus, the focus was on Design for Recycling: recyclability begins as early as the product and packaging development stage. That paper-based packaging solutions are already suitable for industrial applications is demonstrated by nucao in Leipzig. The confectionery manufacturer packages its entire product range with paper from Koehler Paper, including on high-speed packaging lines. The first stage of the tour concluded in Cologne, where the focus was on the impact at the point of sale – where packaging must simultaneously protect products, provide information and attract attention.
Each stop focused on a different aspect of packaging – from recyclability and product protection to material efficiency, brand impact and industrial processing. The overarching message: Circular packaging solutions are not created by paper manufacturers alone, but through collaboration between retailers, brand owners and industry partners.
The campaign is also taking place digitally in parallel: An infotainment series on LinkedIn and on pack-it-in-paper.faz.net accompanies the tour stop by stop, ensuring that the content remains visible beyond the locations visited.
Continuation in autumn
Additional partners who would like to participate in the initiative are explicitly welcome: The transition to circular packaging cannot be achieved by any company alone. It requires collaboration between paper manufacturers, brands, retailers and recycling partners.
Further partners who wish to take part in the initiative are explicitly welcome: no company can make the transition to circular packaging on its own; it can only succeed through the collaboration of paper manufacturers, brands, retailers, and recycling companies.
Find out more about paper-based packaging: pack-it-in-paper.faz.net
