Fully Compostable Liquid Sachets Arrive: NatureFlex™ Cellulose Film Rewrites End-of-Life for Single-Serve Flexible Packaging

Around 855 billion sachets are used every year for ketchup, mustard, cooking sauces, hand cream and similar products. Their typical three-layer laminate of polyolefins, aluminium foil and polyester makes recycling close to impossible. In February 2026, Futamura, Repaq and GK Sondermaschinenbau launched a fully compostable liquid pouch based on NatureFlex™ cellulose film, certified for industrial and home composting. The following analysis covers the environmental challenge, the material route, market signals and practical adoption issues.

1. Convenience with a waste problem: the sachet recycling deadlock

Sachets (pouches) became global because they are convenient: tear open with one hand, carry anywhere, use once. That convenience, however, comes with a heavy environmental burden.

• Scale: industry estimates suggest about 855 billion sachets were used worldwide in 2018 alone.
• Material conflict: the standard three-layer build combines polyolefins, aluminium foil and polyester, materials that are incompatible and cannot realistically be separated in today’s recycling streams.
• Hard to recover: the packs are tiny and often contain food residue, complicating sorting and washing.
• Final destination: many end up in nature, contributing to microplastic pollution.

2. The material answer: barrier cellulose film plus a bio-based seal layer

In February 2026, Futamura, Repaq and GK Sondermaschinenbau jointly introduced a fully compostable liquid sachet solution based on NatureFlex™ technology. It is designed for products such as ketchup, mustard, cooking sauces and hand cream.

The core lies in the laminate design: a barrier cellulose film from Futamura is combined with a bio-based film layer to secure the seal. The structure holds dual certification for industrial and home composting, meaning full degradation is possible whether the pack goes to an industrial facility or a home compost bin.

Performance data:

• Under standard conditions (23°C, 50% relative humidity), oxygen transmission rate is as low as 0.5;
• Shelf life reaches up to 12 months;
• Production efficiency matches conventional structures and has been repeatedly validated on small, medium and large GK Sondermaschinenbau machines;
• Repaq’s technical manager says that after two years of joint R&D, the new packaging combines excellent product protection with notable ecological benefits.

3. Industry signal: designing the end-of-life for the hardest-to-recycle pack

Liquid sachets have long ranked among the most difficult packaging formats to recycle. The value of this compostable solution lies in designing for end-of-life at the source rather than waiting for recycling systems to catch up.

• The first commercial sachets using the compostable structure are nearing market launch;
• GK Sondermaschinenbau’s Sales Director reports that testing required virtually no changes to existing equipment;
• Futamura’s Regional Sales Manager states that a home-compostable liquid sachet meets real demand for comprehensive sustainable packaging across food and non-food applications;
• The broader bio-based materials market is expanding: industry statistics show a 22% CAGR, with the global market projected to reach $57.83 billion by 2026;
• Bio-based pouch materials are forecast to rise from $735 million in 2025 to approximately $1.256 billion by 2035, a 5.5% CAGR, driven mainly by food industry demand for sustainable packaging.

4. Adoption checklist for flexible packaging converters: material, equipment, certification, positioning

• Material: a barrier cellulose film plus a bio-based sealing layer opens an alternative path for liquid sachets and small-format sauce packs;
• Equipment: test results indicate that switching to this structure requires almost no adjustment to existing lines, keeping the conversion threshold low;
• Certification: dual industrial and home compostability is a key credential when brands evaluate sustainable packaging;
• Positioning: compostable formats fit high-value, sustainability-driven product lines and complement standard spouted pouches, bag-in-box (BIB) and stand-up pouches with taps.

Fully compostable liquid sachets move single-serve liquid packaging beyond the linear “use once, cannot recycle, pollute” cycle. From three-layer composite plastics to all-cellulose compostable structures, this material innovation shows that even the most challenging pack formats can move toward an environmental closed loop. For food, beverage and personal care brands that rely on sachets, now is the window to evaluate compostable options. Guangdong Kody Packaging (Dongguan Kody Plastic Products Co.,Ltd. / Guangdong Kody Packaging Products Co.,Ltd.) supplies spouted pouches, bag-in-box (BIB), stand-up pouches with taps, colostrum bags, liquid packaging bags and laminated roll film for food, personal care and liquid packaging customers; contact us for a quote and samples.