The redesign retained the brand’s signature premium look, while significantly lowering material usage. In parallel, it reduced greenhouse gas emissions and supply chain costs, delivering sustainability and efficiency benefits in the same packaging update.

Amcor, a global leader in responsible packaging solutions, has commercialized AmPrima® Plus, a recycle-ready packaging format for cheese. It supports processors across North America in meeting sustainability goals influenced by retailer requirements and legislative mandates, while preserving packaging performance.

Agropur’s Grand Cheddar™ signature premium cheddar cheese transitioned from a paperboard overpack with plain flow wrap film to a stunning 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.

The 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.