Great Earth Expands Use of Fiber-Based Closures to Entire Line
Swedish nutraceutical brand rolls out paper screw caps across all supplement jars, a first large-scale commercial use of Blue Ocean Closures’ molded fiber technology.
Great Earth’s full supplement line now features molded fiber screw caps developed with Blue Ocean Closures, replacing plastic across more than 70 products.
Great Earth and BOC
Following a successful pilot that began in 2024, Swedish nutraceutical company Great Earth converted its entire line of supplement jars to fiber-based screw caps developed by Blue Ocean Closures (BOC). This marks one of the first, if not the first, full commercial rollouts of molded fiber closures in the health and wellness sector.
According to Blue Ocean CEO Lars Sandberg, the pilot launch on Great Earth’s top-selling magnesium supplement was “very positively received by both the market and other actors in the value chain.”
He says the move, being the first of its kind, aligns closely with both companies’ sustainability ambitions.
“This introduction — being first to market with an innovation — has been recognized as a strong move, in line with our shared vision to improve sustainability,” says Sandberg.
Scaling up and running on existing lines
Transitioning from pilot to full rollout, Great Earth and BOC worked to ensure the new closures could be adopted across the company’s entire range of more than 70 jarred products.
“Moving from pilot to scaling this solution to the full supplement range will take some time,” Sandberg noted, emphasizing the need for “continued close collaboration between us as well as with fillers and distributors.”
Importantly, the switch to fiber did not slow down production. Sandberg confirmed that “the capping line efficiency is not affected by the switch — it runs at the same speed,” though “some small adaptations may be necessary as we move to bigger volumes.” He added that ongoing testing for storage stability has shown “good results.”
BOC’s design aims for drop-in compatibility with existing filling and sealing systems.
“No exchange of machinery or equipment [was required],” Sandberg says. “Small adjustments to the settings on the lines are made as we increase volumes.”
Torque performance and seal integrity are reported to be equivalent to conventional plastic closures.
Technical details: materials, barrier, and recyclability
The fiber caps feature a mechanically assembled induction seal liner, the same liner Great Earth had used with its previous plastic caps. Sandberg explained that it “does not affect recyclability as it is attached to the bottle, not the cap.”
The liner provides the necessary oxygen and moisture barrier, ensuring shelf life “is not affected.” The caps themselves are made from FSC-certified fiber, and each closure can be recycled in standard paper streams.
For nutraceutical applications, BOC’s focus was on dry products rather than beverages.
“Blue Ocean Closures created a first design proposal, and final design discussions were held together with Great Earth,” says Sandberg. “Beverages are outside the scope of this project.”
Both companies also collaborated with fillers during validation and testing.
Sandberg added that Blue Ocean is “pursuing a wide range of applications and custom solutions,” including work on “fiber caps for beverage cartons — a huge segment of its own representing around 135 billion screw caps per year.”
Consumer and retailer response
On the consumer side, Great Earth conducted a survey of 500 participants to evaluate usability and perception.
“The response on usability was unanimous--100% of participants found the fiber lid easy to open and user-friendly,” says Patrik Falk, Great Earth CEO.
Consumers rated the lid’s perceived strength at 4.3 out of 5, leading Falk to conclude that “a sustainable material can also be a robust, high-quality material.” Most strikingly, 95% said they would choose a product with the fiber lid again, which Falk described as “the ultimate validation” of the sustainable shift.
Retailers have also responded positively. Sandberg cited a statement from Sweden’s Apotek Hjärtat, Sweden's leading pharmacy chain, which read, “We need to reduce the use of plastic where we can and help our customers make conscious choices. The closure is recyclable and made from renewable resources, which is in line with our packaging strategy.”
Great Earth also earned “Sustainable Supplier of the Year” from Apoteket AB, another major pharmacy chain, which praised the company for “combining sustainable innovation with a focus on health and well-being.”Older prototype of Blue Ocean Closures, used during pilots with Pernod Ricard's Absolut brand of vodka. Blue Ocean Closures
The business case: from cost to circularity
For Great Earth, the shift is about long-term competitiveness as much as sustainability. Falk described the transition as “business-critical,” noting that sustainable packaging has become “a competitive advantage.” He added that the recognition from major retailers underscores how packaging innovation can drive both environmental and commercial success.
“Today’s consumers want their wellness choices to reflect their values,” Falk says. “Sustainable solutions can’t carry a price premium, but when given the choice at the same price point, consumers consistently choose the sustainable option. Our fiber lids make that choice simple at the shelf.”
Falk says the company’s goal is 100% circular packaging by 2030, and that the fiber lid is “just the first step.” He continues: “Each category requires its own tailored innovation, and we are already deep into that process. When we set our 100% circular goal for 2030, we didn’t have a perfect roadmap — we simply knew it was non-negotiable. That’s the power of setting a bold target without having all the answers: it forces innovation to happen.”
On the cost side, Sandberg confirmed that “there’s no difference in price at present” between the fiber and plastic caps, a fact bolstered by Blue Ocean’s recent breakthrough in manufacturing efficiency. According to an October 2025 company announcement, BOC’s proprietary deep-forming technology enables production cycles below two seconds and energy consumption roughly one-tenth that of conventional plastic molding. The company now reports that fiber-based closures “can match or even undercut fossil plastics in cost” while remaining recyclable and low-carbon.
“This is the moment when sustainability and profitability truly align,” Sandberg says.
Looking ahead
As Blue Ocean scales up production for nutraceutical applications, Sandberg says brands across Europe are starting to adopt fiber cap solutions. “We are very fortunate to work with early adopters such as Great Earth and global brands such as The Absolut Company,” he says. “This is truly a game-changer for sustainability in packaging — and for the planet.”
For Great Earth, the change represents both leadership and learning. “We’re not just meeting EU regulations,” Falk says, “we’re years ahead of them. That’s the difference between compliance and leadership.”
Editor’s note: The Blue Ocean–Great Earth collaboration represents a rare commercial milestone in molded fiber packaging — a proof point that sustainability-driven innovation can achieve functional, regulatory, and cost parity with plastic. The nutraceutical sector, with its shelf-stable dry contents, may well become the proving ground for paper-based closures before the technology expands into more demanding categories like beverages and liquid foods.
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