Carton Ondulé de France reveals the development prospects of a leading industry

Paris, 21 September – Professional corrugated board organisation, Carton Ondulé de France, which represents more than 70% of businesses in the corrugated board sector, presents the development prospects of the industry: support for industrial and commercial changes such as the development of e- commerce, the answer to new societal expectations such as responsible consumption. Corrugated board manufacturers are innovating to propose new services – smart packaging, targeted marketing, re-use, etc. To promote the intrinsic properties of this versatile material and its capacity to adapt to present and future needs, Carton Ondulé de France has chosen a new signature: “Corrugated board is a Genie for trade”.

Corrugated board offers new services to support the development of e-commerce

E-commerce, which represents 4% of the corrugated board market, is a major growth driver for the corrugated board industry. E-commerce produced more than 460 million parcels and a 14.6% increase in net sales in 2016. Such rapid growth heralds a complete change in production, distribution and consumer habits – challenges that are already being met by corrugated board. “The range of products people buy on-line is being diversified – clothing, obviously, but also electronic goods and even fresh food!” says Bertrand Arnault, President of Carton Ondulé de France. “Corrugated board has the advantage of meeting very different specifications (respect of the cold chain, protection of fragile objects, etc.) Businesses in the industry are developing packaging that is very easy for packagers to handle and can be adapted to the requirements of every type of product.”

Corrugated board also meets very stringent technical specifications: tamper-proof systems to prevent theft, special tests to ensure that packaging will stand up to transport, solutions to facilitate returns, etc. “Corrugated board is an efficient, discreet material,” adds Kareen Desbouis, general delegate of Carton Ondulé de France. “It is the first physical intermediary between the seller and the consumer. It is therefore a crucial marketing tool for our industry. We propose packaging that showcases product brands, is customisable and re-usable!”

“A Genie for trade”: a new signature to promote the properties of corrugated board

Recyclable and 92% recycled, corrugated board is innovative, efficient, responsible packaging, which fits in perfectly with circular economy. “All these properties make it the ideal material”, adds Kareen Desbouis. “Although it has been used for more than a century, it is resolutely modern because of the innovative solutions it offers sellers, distributors and consumers”. That is why corrugated board is a Genie for trade.

In addition to providing packaging, corrugated board meets new societal demands

Designers are creating more and more objects made of corrugated board to meet targets that are sometimes difficult to reconcile – temporary yet sturdy installations that are environment-friendly and very light objects that can be used for high-tech items such as virtual reality glasses and drones. For both professional and amateur designers and even artists it is a choice material as can be seen from the number of DIY corrugated board tutorials on the net.

“The corrugated board industry is capable of taking up the challenges of e-commerce and adapting to new types of consumption, at optimum cost. It is a material of the future!” adds Bertrand Arnault.