The Finnish manufacturer of high-quality fresh-fiber paperboard has opened a new packaging design studio in Milan, Italy, to accelerate the development of packaging solutions with its customers, particularly across its key European markets.
"Milan offers a unique combination of a strong packaging ecosystem and a world-class design environment. Being there allows us to work more closely with our customers and strengthen collaboration across key European markets,” says Erja Hyrsky, SVP Commercial Operations at Metsä Board.
Open since July 2, the studio combines AI-assisted design, simulation capabilities, and materials expertise. It aims to enable customers to explore and test innovative packaging concepts much earlier in the development process, reducing uncertainty, accelerating decision-making, and shortening development cycles.
This initiative comes at a time of accelerating demand for innovation among brands facing mounting pressure to reduce material use, replace fossil-based materials, meet tightening regulations and still deliver strong shelf impact. At the same time, expectations for speed have fundamentally changed: solutions must be developed faster, with greater certainty around performance, recyclability and compliance.
“Our customers don’t just need new packaging ideas – they need solutions that are validated for actual use conditions, and they need them faster than ever. By combining design, materials and data, we can move from concept to validated solution much earlier, with greater confidence,” adds Erja Hyrsky.
“Instead of developing solutions in isolation, we can test and refine them together, making sure they are ready for market introduction much earlier,” says Ilkka Harju, Packaging Services Director at Metsä Board. “For brands in segments such as food, pharma and beauty, where packaging plays a critical role both functionally and commercially, this integrated approach is becoming essential.”
