Lactips and SmartSolve have formalized a global partnership around a difficult packaging proposition:

Can flexible packaging deliver sealing, printability and commercial converting performance without using conventional plastic?

The French and U.S. companies began working together in 2024 and have since taken PureNil 0 from development into commercial production.

The material combines SmartSolve’s functionalized paper with Lactips’ natural-polymer technology to create a flexible, heat-sealable substrate that the companies describe as 100% bio-based and plastic-free.

But perhaps the most credible part of the story is what PureNil 0 is not trying to do.

It is not being positioned as a universal replacement for every plastic pouch.

Lower-barrier applications are the entry point

SmartSolve says PureNil 0 is designed primarily for dry products and applications with relatively low barrier requirements.

Potential food uses include:

confectionery,

snacks,

powdered beverages,

and other single-serve dry products.

The company specifically recommends product-specific shelf-life testing because performance will vary with the formulation and storage conditions.

That limitation matters.

Conventional flexible packaging became successful partly because multilayer structures can provide extremely high moisture, oxygen and aroma barriers using very little material.

Replacing those structures with paper becomes increasingly difficult as barrier requirements rise.

So rather than attempting to solve every application immediately, PureNil 0 is entering the market where paper has a better chance of meeting the specification.

That may be a more realistic commercialization strategy.

Existing form-fill-seal equipment could matter as much as the material

PureNil 0 can be heat sealed and, according to SmartSolve, can run on existing form-fill-seal equipment without machine modifications.

This is a major practical consideration.

A new packaging material becomes substantially more difficult to adopt if a brand or co-packer also has to:

replace filling equipment,

slow production,

change sealing systems,

or redesign an entire packaging line.

The ability to introduce an alternative substrate while retaining existing machinery reduces one of those barriers.

However, compatibility with standard equipment should not be interpreted as proof that every existing line will run the material at identical speed and efficiency.

Commercial validation still needs to consider specific machines, pouch formats, products and sealing conditions.

PureNil 0 is really a paper-and-coating technology

SmartSolve describes PureNil 0 as wood-pulp fibre combined with a proprietary bio-based heat-seal layer.

Its 3PN30 grade, for example, consists of approximately 63 microns of paper and a 28-micron heat-seal layer.

That structure highlights one of the biggest questions facing paper-based flexible packaging.

The paper itself is rarely the difficult part.

The challenge is adding the functionality normally provided by plastic:

heat sealing,

grease resistance,

barrier performance,

and sufficient mechanical integrity.

Lactips provides natural-polymer expertise for that functional layer.

Its commercial CareTips technology uses a natural protein with plant-based additives, and Lactips says its natural polymer is water-soluble and biodegradable rather than persistent like conventional plastics. Lactips has previously identified casein from the dairy supply chain as the natural protein behind its polymer technology.

That is an important distinction:

bio-based does not necessarily mean plant-based.

Its most unusual feature is what happens in water

SmartSolve says PureNil 0 disperses rapidly when exposed to water.

The company reports dispersion times of approximately 6–7 seconds with agitation for some grades and says the structure leaves no microplastic residue because its components are of natural origin rather than conventional synthetic plastic.

That gives the material a different end-of-life proposition from a conventional flexible pouch.

SmartSolve lists several possible pathways, including:

paper recycling,

water dispersion,

and ultimately composting.

But these claims should not all be treated as equally mature.

SmartSolve says its water-soluble paper has passed repulpability work at Western Michigan University and classifies PureNil 0 as compatible with standard paper stock preparation.

At the same time, its own technical information currently identifies marine biodegradation and full compostability testing as pending or expected, rather than completed certifications for every claim.

That is worth keeping clear in sustainability communications.

“Expected to pass” is not the same as independently certified.

Food contact expands the commercial opportunity

SmartSolve describes PureNil 0 as its first material capable of direct food-contact applications and says the components are non-toxic and recognized as safe for the intended applications. Production takes place in facilities operating to food-safety standards including FSSC 22000.

That opens a much larger market than the beauty and household applications previously demonstrated by the two companies.

But food-contact capability does not remove the barrier problem.

A confectionery wrapper may require relatively modest moisture protection.

A powdered drink sachet has different requirements.

A high-fat food, coffee product or moisture-sensitive snack may demand much more.

Each application therefore has to be qualified independently.

That is why the phrase “selected food applications” is more accurate than saying PureNil 0 is ready to replace flexible food packaging generally.

Commercial scale is the next test

PureNil 0 entered ramp production in January 2026, after being publicly introduced in October 2025. SmartSolve says it has now moved from development to commercial availability.

The new partnership extends beyond that single product.

Lactips and SmartSolve say they are developing a longer-term roadmap for additional generations of plastic-free, bio-based packaging.

That suggests PureNil 0 should be viewed as a platform starting point rather than the final material.

Future development will likely need to address the limitation already visible today:

higher barrier without sacrificing dispersibility, recyclability or converting performance.

That is the engineering trade-off facing much of the paper-flexible sector.

The narrow application window may actually be an advantage

Packaging innovation frequently becomes less credible when a new material is promoted as a replacement for everything.

PureNil 0 currently has a much clearer boundary.

It is primarily designed for:

dry products,

lower-barrier applications,

small flexible formats,

and applications where water dispersibility provides useful end-of-life functionality.

That leaves many conventional plastic applications untouched.

But flexible packaging is an enormous market. A material does not need to replace every pouch to become commercially meaningful.

If Lactips and SmartSolve can demonstrate:

reliable industrial speeds,

adequate shelf life,

consistent sealing,

competitive economics,

and credible paper-recycling performance,

even a relatively narrow group of applications could represent substantial volume.

That is why the most important claim around PureNil 0 may not be that it is “plastic-free.”

It is that the companies are trying to move a plastic-free structure from an interesting material concept into something packaging lines can actually run.

The next test is whether brands can do that economically at scale.

Last Updated on 22/09/2026 by Jota Machinery