Amcor has announced the commercialization of AmPrima® Plus recycle-ready packaging that supports cheese processors in meeting sustainability goals driven by retailer and legislative mandates across North America, without compromising packaging performance.

Agropur’s Grand Cheddar™ signature premium cheddar cheese transitioned from a paperboard overpack with plain flow wrap film to an all-flexible package from Amcor, using AmPrima® Plus. To maintain the signature high-end look, Amcor employed Amplify® finishing technologies including matte overlacquer and metallic inks to make the product stand out.

“The new Agropur Grand Cheddar™ package demonstrates flexible packaging’s unique ability to deliver meaningful source reduction and cost savings,” said John Kearny, Senior Commercial Director – Dairy, Amcor Flexibles North America. “Amcor’s AmPrima® Plus solution represents innovation in material technology. It's the industry’s first recycle-ready flow wrap for chunk cheese, a multi-billion dollar food category, that meets the Association of Plastic Recycler’s guidelines for recyclability without compromising other packaging performance requirements.”

When recycled, AmPrima® Plus flow wrap provides a 45% reduction in carbon footprint over standard flow wrap, according to an Amcor ASSET™ life cycle assessment that is certified by the Carbon Trust.

Key features include:

• Compatible with existing flow wrap equipment—a drop-in film that supports fast, easy transition to recycle-ready material
• Maintains barrier performance, with excellent abrasion and puncture resistance
• Protects the flavors and textures of premium natural cheese
• Provides superior heat resistance
• Achieves equivalent line speeds to non-recycle-ready flow wrap film on existing equipment
• Offers excellent clarity to showcase cheese
• Prints as easily as any traditional flow wrap film, regardless of how it is printed, including special graphic techniques, allowing for Amplify® finishing technologies

Amcor offers a complete portfolio of recycle-ready packaging solutions for the dairy industry. In addition to AmPrima® Plus, available for flow wrap, stand-up pouches, overwrap, and forming/non-forming applications, Amcor’s broader portfolio of sustainability solutions also includes Eco-Tite® recycle-ready shrink bags, Amcor Revolution™ Barrier APET films and the AmFiniti™ platform, which enables the use of mechanically and chemically recycled content in both flexible and rigid formats. These solutions help dairy processors transition from non-recyclable structures to packaging that aligns with North American recycle-ready guidelines while maintaining the performance and functionality required for today’s dairy applications.