Nordic by Nature: How the Nordic Region is Shaping the Future of Sustainable Packaging

While much of the world wrings its hands over the plastic problem, the Nordic Region is busy solving it. In the latest FuturePrint podcast, I sat down with Guy Newcombe of Archipelago Technology—whose water-based Powerdrop coatings are helping paper containers do what plastic once did, minus the environmental hangover.

At the heart of this story lies a paradox: we know plastic is a menace, yet the world consumes trillions of plastic containers annually. The market cries out for alternatives, and the Nordics are answering. Paper, once dismissed as too leaky for serious packaging, is getting a new lease of life through intelligent coatings and high-speed processing.

Archipelago’s role? Making paper behave more like plastic—repelling water and oil, with coatings that don't interfere with recyclability. Crucially, Powerdrop systems are fast enough to integrate into wet and dry moulding lines, reaching outputs of 100 million units per year. That's industrial scale, not just a laboratory dream.

Newcombe pointed to the concentration of innovation in Finland and Sweden—not just from legacy papermakers but also design-led start-ups like Pulpac, Blue Ocean Closures and Yangi. Add heavyweight research from institutes like VTT and RISE, and the region begins to look like a blueprint for pan-European progress. Even IKEA is in on the act, replacing plastic bags in flat-pack furniture with paper-based alternatives.

It’s a movement powered by science, yes—but also by sentiment. Consumers want change, and brands, from P&G to Unilever, are listening. That’s where companies like Archipelago find themselves in the right place at the right time, coating billions of containers—and, in Newcombe’s words, helping make ‘business save the planet’.

The inkjet community should take note: this isn’t a side hustle. With estimates suggesting over 7,000 Powerdrop coaters could be deployed globally, consuming billions in coatings annually, this may prove to be one of the print industry’s most consequential pivots yet.

The Nordics are leading. The rest of us would do well to follow—preferably in recyclable, pinhole-free packaging.

Keep an eye out for the full podcast which will be available next week.