Carton Ondulé de France

What Carton Ondulé de France does

Carton Ondulé de France is a professional trade federation headquartered at 23 rue d'Aumale, 75009 Paris, that represents and promotes the French corrugated cardboard production sector. The federation represents more than 70% of businesses in the French corrugated board industry, encompassing 12 major groups operating 70 production sites across France and an industry workforce of approximately 11,600 direct employees and 40,000 total direct, indirect, and induced jobs. The French corrugated board market generated €3.23 billion in turnover in 2021, making France the third-largest producer in Europe (behind Germany and Italy) and tenth globally. The federation's mission centers on industry advocacy, communication campaigns, environmental messaging, and partnerships with manufacturing, fresh produce, and distribution stakeholders.

The federation's operational surface centers on a portfolio of corrugated cardboard packaging solutions promoted across four primary use cases: industrial packaging (American-style boxes, automatic bottom boxes, pallet boxes, octabins for bulk products 500–1,000 kg, and cardboard pallets supporting up to 700 kg, accounting for 80% of industry usage), fruit and vegetable trays (CFQ-certified against a European professional standard), e-commerce shipping packaging (flexible formats with tamper-evident and recloseable features), and retail display/Prêt-à-Vendre (PAV) units. Underlying manufacturing technologies include digital, screen, offset, and flexographic printing (pre-print and post-print). The federation also promotes the CFQ European certification standard and supports environmental claims including a 92% French recycling rate, 89% recycled fiber input, 491 kg CO2 equivalent per ton (vs. 4–6x higher for aluminum/plastic), and cellulose fiber reusability of at least 25 cycles per University of Graz research.

The federation operates as a non-profit membership organization with 5 staff, funded by member contributions from the 12 industry groups. It does not sell products directly; pricing is determined by individual manufacturers. Go-to-market is sales-led through industry advocacy rather than commercial sales, leveraging LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Dailymotion, email newsletters ('La lettre de l'éco-circulaire' and 'La lettre carton ondulé'), industry publication tribunes (Emballages magazine, Emballage Digest), commissioned consumer/LCA research, and partnerships with European and national bodies including FEFCO, COPACEL, COFEPAC, REVIPAC, ADEME, AFNOR, CTP, EUROSAC, CITPA, and PwC. The current president is Dominique Lagarde, with Kareen Desbouis serving as General Delegate.

Name

Carton Ondulé de France

Legal name

Fédération Carton Ondulé de France

Website

https://cartononduledefrance.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Carton Ondulé de France is a Paris-based trade federation representing more than 70% of the French corrugated cardboard industry across 12 groups and 70 production sites, promoting industrial, fresh-produce, e-commerce, and retail display packaging through advocacy, certification, and environmental messaging.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corrugated Packaging Trade Federation

NAICS

Paper and Paper Product Merchant Wholesalers (4241)

SIC

Paperboard Containers & Boxes (2650)

akta.pro primary industry

Folding Cartons & Paperboard Packaging Converting (IMAMAHAB)

Keywords

• Corrugated cardboard packaging
• Industrial packaging solutions
• Sustainable packaging federation
• Trade association services
• Circular economy packaging

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Industry Representation and Membership: As a trade federation, Carton Ondulé de France represents and promotes the French corrugated cardboard production sector. Revenue is generated through membership contributions from industry players (12 groups operating 70 production sites) to fund industry promotion, development activities, and representation efforts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Carton Ondulé de France is a professional trade federation that promotes and develops the French corrugated cardboard production sector. It represents 12 industry groups operating 70 production sites and over 11,600 direct employees, advocating for the material's environmental credentials and connecting manufacturers with downstream sectors (industrial packaging, fresh produce, e-commerce, retail display).

Product overview

Carton Ondulé de France represents the French corrugated cardboard packaging industry through a portfolio of interconnected physical packaging solutions. The core offering centers on corrugated cardboard packaging materials and formats including industrial packaging (caisses américaines, caisses palettes, octabins), display and ready-to-sell units (PAV/présentoires), fruit and vegetable trays, e-commerce shipping packaging, protective cushioning, and specialty pallets. The CFQ standard provides quality certification for fruit and vegetable trays. All products emphasize the material's core attributes: renewability, recyclability (92% recycling rate), lightness, robustness, and circular economy compatibility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 491 kg CO2 emissions per ton vs. 4-6x higher for aluminum and plastic
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FEFCO (Fédération Européenne des Fabricants de Carton Ondulé)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Federation of Corrugated Cardboard Manufacturers. Carton Ondulé de France collaborates closely with FEFCO, including participation in the climate neutrality roadmap to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and representation of 70%+ of French corrugated board sector businesses.
• COPACEL (Union Française des Industries des Cartons, Papiers et Celluloses)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench Union of Paper, Cardboard, and Cellulose Industries. Key industry body representing the broader paper and cardboard sector in France.
• COFEPAC (Confédération des Fédérations des Industries du Papier, du Carton et de la Cellulose)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConfederation of federations within the paper and cardboard industry, bringing together various professional organizations for coordinated industry representation.
• REVIPACminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPaper-carton packaging sector within the Eco-Emballages extended producer responsibility system, managing recycling and recovery of packaging materials.
• ADEME (Agence de l'Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l'Énergie)minorOthersFrench Environment and Energy Management Agency. Public sector partner providing support for environmental studies and sustainability initiatives, including co-funding of comparative LCA studies.
• AFNOR (Association Française de Normalisation)minorOthersFrench Association for Standardization. Public sector partner for standards development and certification including NF brand standards.
• Club partenaire Légumes de FranceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the French vegetable growers organization, collaborating on packaging studies and the 'free choice of packaging' charter signed at SIVAL 2015.
• Alliance Carton NatureminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCarton Nature Alliance, an organization promoting natural cardboard solutions and sustainable packaging initiatives.
• Fédération du Cartonnage et des Articles de Papeterie (FFCP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederation of Cartonnage and Stationery Articles, representing related sectors in the paper and packaging industry.
• MIP (Mouvement de l'Intersecteur Papier Carton)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMovement of the Paper and Cardboard Intersector, bringing together professional organizations for coordinated industry representation.
• PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsulting firm engaged to conduct comparative life cycle assessments (LCA) between corrugated cardboard and plastic packaging for fruits and vegetables (melon, endive, mushroom segments).
• EUROSACminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean confederation of paper sack manufacturers, representing another segment of the paper packaging industry at European level.
• CITPA (Confédération Internationale des Transformateurs de Papier Carton)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational Confederation of Paper and Cardboard Transformers, representing the international industry community.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• REVIPAC: REVIPAC is the paper-carton packaging sector organization within Eco-Emballages managing recycling and recovery of packaging materials — a direct functional peer covering end-of-life and EPR dimensions of the same corrugated value chain.
• EUROSAC: EUROSAC is the European confederation of paper sack manufacturers — a peer federation operating at the European level for an adjacent segment of the paper packaging industry, sharing the same representative/promotional model.
• COPACEL (Union Française des Industries des Cartons, Papiers et Celluloses): COPACEL is the French federation of paper, cardboard and cellulose industries — Carton Ondulé de France's closest domestic peer, representing the broader upstream sector that supplies corrugated manufacturers.
• Pro Carton: Pro Carton is the European association of cartonboard and carton manufacturers — a closely related industry federation promoting paper-based packaging with overlapping environmental messaging and standardized study sponsorship (e.g., the 25-Loops study cited by Carton Ondulé de France).
• Fédération du Cartonnage et des Articles de Papeterie (FFCP): FFCP is the French federation of cartonnage and stationery articles — a sister federation within the French paper/packaging family, partnering with Carton Ondulé de France on industry-wide coordination.
• CITPA (International Confederation of Paper and Cardboard Transformers): CITPA is the international confederation representing paper and cardboard transformers globally — a peer federation for Carton Ondulé de France at the international advocacy level.
• COFEPAC (Confédération des Fédérations des Industries du Papier, du Carton et de la Cellulose): COFEPAC is the confederation of paper/cardboard industry federations in France; Carton Ondulé de France is one of its constituent federations, making it a direct organizational peer.
• FEFCO (European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers): FEFCO is the direct European-level peer and parent coordinating body for Carton Ondulé de France; it represents corrugated board manufacturers across Europe and runs the climate-neutrality roadmap the French federation participates in.
• Alliance Carton Nature: Alliance Carton Nature is a French natural cardboard promotion organization explicitly listed as a partner of Carton Ondulé de France; it is a direct peer in the sustainable paperboard packaging advocacy space.

Broad incumbents

• CEPI (Confederation of European Paper Industries): CEPI is the broader European confederation representing the entire paper industry — an upstream incumbent peer relative to Carton Ondulé de France's narrower corrugated focus, providing regulatory and sustainability intelligence used by member federations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CartonOnduleFR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carton-ondul%C3%A9-de-france

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Carton Ondulé de France