Beauty brands "snag up" pulp-molded packaging? Unpacking the "middlemen" in this sector
Do traditional paper boxes have irregular shapes? Almost impossible. Plastic vacuum forming for irregular shapes? Sure, but the texture is cheap.
Pulp molding can achieve——
0.8mm ultra-thin wall deep stretching, creating a streamlined curved surface similar to ceramics;
One piece seamless molding, with a slightly frosted texture on the surface, presenting a "jade like luster" under light;
It can be made with relief textures, hollow structures, and nested inside and outside, directly turning the packaging into a "part of the product".
A cutting-edge perfume brand has made a "water drop shaped" inner holder with pulp molding, and users can directly use it as jewelry holder after disassembling it, and the repurchase rate has increased by 37% - because "they can't bear to throw it away".
Starting from 2025, the European Union's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) will officially come into effect:
All packaging entering the EU market must be recyclable or compostable, and the plastic packaging tax rate has been significantly increased.
L'Oreal, Est é e Lauder, Shiseido - these beauty giants have listed the proportion of pulp molded packaging as a key KPI in their 2024 ESG reports.
A set of data: The carbon footprint of pulp molded packaging is only 1/5 to 1/8 of that of plastic thermoforming of the same volume, and the LCA score of the entire life cycle is significantly leading.
In the past, pulp molding was expensive due to equipment and molds. But with the scaling up of production capacity, the turning point has arrived:
The amortization cost of a single mold has decreased from 2-3 yuan/piece three years ago to 0.5-0.8 yuan/piece;
The automation level of equipment has been improved, reducing the number of manual workers from 6 to 1-2 per line;
Compared to hard gift boxes of the same quality (grey board+special paper+hot stamping+partial UV), the comprehensive cost of pulp molding has been reduced by 15% -20%.
When both "cheaper" and "more advanced" are established, substitution is not a trend, it is inevitable.
Pulp molding sounds "simple" - isn't it just pouring the pulp into the mold and pressing it?
This is the biggest misunderstanding in the industry.
In actual production, the real technical difficulties are densely distributed in:
Slurry formula
Ratio of long and short fibers, addition of additives, and concentration control
Poor matching → cracking during molding, surface fuzzing, insufficient strength
Mold Design
Flow channel layout, exhaust hole position, demolding slope
Poor mold quality → uneven wall thickness, tensile fracture, yield rate below 70%
vacuum adsorption
Negative pressure curve, multi zone pressure control, uniformity of slurry distribution
Poor suction → Local material shortage, thickness difference>0.3mm
Hot pressing and shaping
Uniformity of temperature field, holding time, and mold opening speed
Poor compression → deformation, sticking to the mold, yellowing of the surface
Production line rhythm
Multi mode alternation, automatic pick-up, online drying
Slow → bottleneck of production capacity, fast → loss of quality control
Each of these five stages is a deep pit of 'know-how'.
At present, there are only a few equipment manufacturers in the world that can provide a full chain solution of "slurry formula+mold design+whole machine integration+production line debugging".
Foshan Meishi Machinery is one of the most noteworthy companies.
