Can paper-based packaging crack the canned tuna market?
The tin can has long defined the look of packaged tuna.
On supermarket shelves where competing brands vie for shoppers’ attention, the familiar format leaves little room for visual distinction.
Tetra Pak wants Philippine tuna brands to consider Tetra Recart, a retortable paper-based packaging format designed for shelf-stable foods.
The company says it can cut carbon emissions and save space while helping tuna brands stand out from competition.
The proposal comes as the Philippines’ tuna market expands and packaging companies look for new ways to serve local producers.
“The Philippines has a strong foundation as one of the world’s leading tuna exporters,” says Larry Tobias, business development director for Tetra Pak Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia.
The country produced more than 230,000 metric tons of tuna in 2025, up from over 201,000 metric tons the previous year, based on data from the Department of Agriculture.
“Converting suitable tuna products from cans and glass jars to cartons can help Philippine producers strengthen their export offer and support the industry’s long-term, sustainable growth,” Tobias says.
‘Functional, protective’
Tetra Recart is made primarily from paperboard, which accounts for 71 percent of its composition, the company says. It is also made up of 24 percent plastic, while aluminum foil, eight times thinner than a human hair, makes up the remaining 5 percent.
“These are your functional and protective barriers. The product inside is protected from light, oxygen, moisture and odors,” Tobias says.
Tetra Recart comes in six sizes, ranging from 100 to 500 milliliters. The company claims its compact shape allows up to 25 percent more finished packs to fit on a pallet and 25 to 40 percent more packs to be displayed on shelves.
The carton can also accommodate different tuna preparations, including flakes, chunks and shredded tuna. Tetra Pak says it can even be used for ready meals, opening up possibilities beyond the usual tuna-in-water or tuna-in-oil offerings.
“From Tetra Pak’s point of view, it will be an ongoing journey. Probably the next one, two or three years, there will be a new tuna category or tuna product coming out and Tetra Pak will be ready for that,” Tobias says.
Pitch to go green
Environmental sustainability is a big part of Tetra Pak’s pitch.
The company says Tetra Recart has a carbon footprint 85 percent lower than steel cans and 83 percent lower than glass jars, citing life cycle assessments of the packaging in the European market.
No such assessment for the Philippines can be found on its website.
In an emailed statement to the Inquirer, Tetra Pak says independent studies overseas found beverage cartons generally have a lower climate impact than other packaging due to their high share of renewable and paper-based materials.
“While these studies are market-specific, they reflect a consistent global pattern that informs our approach wherever we operate, including the Philippines,” Tetra Pak adds.
The company says its Cartons for Communities program collected more than 700 tons of used beverage cartons in the Philippines in both 2024 and 2025.
No nationally verified, third-party recycling rate data for Tetra Pak packaging is available in the Philippines, according to the company.
But Tetra Pak says it has two recycling partners in the Philippines and that existing processes for cartons can turn recovered material into products such as furniture, school materials and roofing tiles.
New option
“We are collaborating with waste processors, waste collectors, junk shop and even with the LGUs (local government units) … What we’re doing right now, together with the LGUs and brand owners, is we remove them (packages) from the landfills, bring them to our recycling partners and give new life,” Tobias says.
Still, the format is not meant to send the tin can into retirement.
Tetra Pak says it wants producers to consider Tetra Recart as another packaging option, rather than replace their existing lines outright.
“We’re not here to say we’re much better than cans … What we can say is whatever the shelf life of a product is, Tetra Recart can be comparable also on those shelf life claims,” Tobias says.
“The industry is changing. Tuna is changing. This is a high opportunity for us to catch the wave,” he adds.
