What Paboco does

Paboco (legal name: Paper Bottle Company A/S) is a Danish sustainable-packaging manufacturer that produces paper bottles made from FSC-certified wood fibres. The company's core technology is a proprietary moulding process that enables the creation of an integrated barrier and paper threaded neck, yielding a bottle composed of approximately 85% paper and less than 15% HDPE barrier — recyclable as paper packaging and available in 500ml and 330ml formats. Differentiation includes full-surface digital printing with water-based inks and embossing/debossing capabilities, plus a fibre cap closure co-developed with Blue Ocean Closures and launched in October 2024.

Paboco operates a B2B enterprise model targeting brand owners in beauty, homecare, premium spirits, food and beverage, vitamins/pills, and pet care. The company's go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales (handled by the CEO and Commercial Director) with a community-led Pioneer Community model that has, since 2021, engaged five founding global FMCG brands — Absolut Group, Carlsberg Group, The Coca-Cola Company, L'Oréal, and Procter & Gamble — in multi-year co-development and product validation. Revenue is generated through direct sale of paper-bottle units and bespoke custom design services; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed.

The company was formed in 2019 as a spin-out of the EcoXpac/BillerudKorsnäs paper-bottle project, with Carlsberg's 2015 "green fibre bottle" initiative as a foundational catalyst. Since October 2023, Paboco has been a majority-owned subsidiary of ALPLA, an Austrian packaging and recycling specialist with approximately €5.2 billion in turnover. Paboco operates its full-scale manufacturing facility in Slangerup, Denmark, targeting over 20 million paper bottles by end of 2025.

Name

Paboco

Legal name

Paper Bottle Company A/S

Website

https://paboco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Paboco (Paper Bottle Company A/S) is a Danish B2B manufacturer of FSC-certified paper bottles (85% paper, <15% HDPE barrier) serving enterprise brand owners in beauty, homecare, spirits, food, beverage, vitamins, and pet care. Founded 2019, majority-owned by ALPLA since October 2023, with manufacturing in Slangerup, Denmark.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Packaging Manufacturing

NAICS

Paperboard Container Manufacturing (32221), Paper Manufacturing (322)

SIC

Papers & Allied Products (2600), Paperboard Containers & Boxes (2650)

akta.pro primary industry

Fiber-Based Sustainable Packaging (Recycled Paper, Molded Fiber, Bagasse) (IMALAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Paper-Based Packaging & Single-Use Paper Products (Paper Bags, Wraps, Cartons) (CRADALAL)

Keywords

• Sustainable paper packaging
• Fibre-based bottles
• Recyclable bottle manufacturing
• FSC-certified packaging
• B2B packaging solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Slangerup

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Paper Bottle Product Sales: Paboco designs and produces customised paper bottles for B2B brand customers. Brands can choose between standard paper bottles or bespoke designs. Revenue is generated through the sale of paper bottle packaging units to consumer goods companies in beauty, homecare, food & beverage, spirits, vitamins, and pet care sectors.
2. Co-development & Custom Design Services: Paboco offers bespoke design services allowing brands to express unique identity and connect with consumers. Custom design projects are available for inquiry, with design flexibility for brand expression.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Paboco designs and manufactures fibre-based paper bottles made from 85% paper with less than 15% HDPE barrier, available in 500ml and 330ml sizes, using proprietary moulding technology and FSC-certified wood fibres. The bottles are recyclable as paper packaging and serve as sustainable alternatives to plastic bottles for enterprise brands in beauty, homecare, premium spirits, food, beverage, vitamins, and pet care sectors.

Product overview

Paboco (The Paper Bottle Company) is a sustainable packaging manufacturer offering a single core product line: the Next Gen Paper Bottle. The product is a fibre-based bottle comprising approximately 85% paper with less than 15% HDPE barrier, designed to be recyclable as paper packaging. Key variants include the standard 500ml and 330ml sizes, as well as the recently launched fibre cap closure developed with Blue Ocean Closures. The bottles target beauty, homecare, premium spirits, food and beverage, vitamins, and pet care brands seeking sustainable packaging alternatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Next Gen Paper Bottle Paboco's flagship paper bottle made from 85% paper with less than 15% HDPE barrier, recyclable as paper packaging, available in 500ml and 330ml sizes, with design options including embossing, debossing, and digital printing capabilities. Targeted at enterprise brands in beauty, homecare, premium spirits, food, beverage, vitamins, and pet care.
• Paper Bottle with Fibre Cap First market-ready paper bottle with a fibre cap, co-developed with Blue Ocean Closures, enabling fully fibre-based closure solutions for paper bottle packaging.
• Bespoke Paper Bottle Design Service Co-development and bespoke design services enabling brand customers to create unique customised paper bottle designs, including surface printing, embossing, and debossing for brand expression.

Quantifiable outcome

• 85% paper composition with less than 15% HDPE barrier — recyclable as paper packaging
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Blue Ocean ClosuresflagshipTechnology or Integration · 1 October 2024Blue Ocean Closures co-developed the first market-ready paper bottle with a fibre cap with Paboco, launched in October 2024. This represents a key technical milestone enabling fully fibre-based closure solutions for paper bottles.
• The Absolut GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Absolut Group joined Paboco's Pioneer Community in 2021 as one of the founding brand partners testing ground-breaking paper bottle products. Absolut is testing paper bottle applications for its spirits portfolio.
• Carlsberg GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Carlsberg Group joined Paboco's Pioneer Community in 2021. Carlsberg initiated the 'green fibre bottle' project with EcoXpac in 2015 and has been central to the paper bottle innovation journey since its inception.
• The Coca-Cola CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Coca-Cola joined Paboco's Pioneer Community in 2021 as one of the founding brand partners testing ground-breaking paper bottle products for beverages.
• L'OréalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021L'Oréal joined Paboco's Pioneer Community in 2021 as one of the founding brand partners, testing paper bottle applications for beauty and personal care products.
• Procter & GamblecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Procter & Gamble joined Paboco's Pioneer Community in 2021 as one of the founding brand partners testing paper bottle products for home care and consumer goods applications.
• EcoXpaccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019EcoXpac, a Danish innovation company, started the paper bottle project in 2010 and was the original entity driving the innovation. BillerudKorsnäs became majority shareholder of EcoXpac as the project progressed, leading to the formation of Paboco in 2019.
• BillerudKorsnäsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015BillerudKorsnäs was exploring paper bottle product possibilities in parallel to EcoXpac's efforts. As the projects merged, BillerudKorsnäs became majority shareholder in EcoXpac, contributing fibre technology and stock preparation expertise before the formation of Paboco in 2019.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pulpex: Pulpex is the most direct competitor to Paboco, developing fiber-based bottles from sustainably sourced pulp with its own patented moulding technology and partnerships with major brand owners (including Diageo, Unilever, and PepsiCo). It targets the same end markets — beverages, personal care, and home care — making it the closest like-for-like comparable in the paper-bottle category.

Broad incumbents

• ALPLA: ALPLA is the parent company and one of the world's largest plastic packaging manufacturers (~25,500 employees, 206 sites, €5.2B turnover). It is comparable as the broad incumbent packaging manufacturer behind Paboco and as a key account competitor in rigid plastic bottles and HDPE containers across FMCG end markets.
• Tetra Pak: Tetra Pak is a global leader in paper-based cartons and aseptic packaging for beverages, dairy, and food. It is comparable as a broad incumbent demonstrating that fiber-based, recyclable packaging can scale to billions of units globally across FMCG end markets where Paboco also competes.
• Billerud (formerly BillerudKorsnäs): Billerud is a Swedish paper and packaging materials company that was a founding shareholder of Paboco via its majority stake in EcoXpac. It is comparable as a broad incumbent supplying fiber-based packaging substrates to FMCG brands and as a strategic investor in paper-bottle innovation.
• SIG Group: SIG Group is a leading aseptic carton packaging manufacturer competing in beverages, dairy, and food. It is comparable as a broad incumbent in fiber-based packaging for liquids, with overlapping FMCG customers and sustainability-driven product roadmaps that intersect with Paboco's target segments.
• Elopak: Elopak is a Norway-based supplier of paper-based packaging, primarily fresh milk and juice cartons. It is comparable as a broad incumbent in renewable, fiber-based liquid packaging that addresses the same plastic-substitution drivers Paboco targets across beverage and food end markets.
• Stora Enso: Stora Enso is one of Europe's largest forest products companies, producing packaging board, biomaterials, and wood-based solutions. It is comparable as a broad incumbent supplying renewable fiber-based substrates and packaging materials that underpin the same sustainability-driven end markets as Paboco.
• Smurfit Kappa: Smurfit Kappa is a global paper-based packaging leader serving FMCG, e-commerce, and industrial customers. It is comparable as a broad incumbent scaling fiber-based packaging solutions in response to plastic-substitution demand, often to the same FMCG accounts Paboco is courting.

Emerging players

• EcoXpac: EcoXpac is the Danish innovation company that originated the paper-bottle project in 2010 and later merged with BillerudKorsnäs's parallel effort before becoming Paboco in 2019. It is directly comparable as the predecessor entity and continues to be referenced as part of Paboco's innovation lineage.
• Blue Ocean Closures: Blue Ocean Closures is a Swedish startup co-developing fibre-based closures with Paboco. It is comparable as the closest enabling technology partner for paper bottle caps and competes in the adjacent fiber closure space relevant to fully recyclable bottle systems.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/paboco
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/paboco
• Instagraminstagram.com/paboco

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Paboco