The Minelli Group, a family-owned company with nearly a century of experience in wood manufacturing, is exploring new directions in sustainable packaging. Through its mPackting division, the company is integrating biochar—produced from its own wood waste—into cosmetics packaging. The goal is to reduce waste, improve environmental performance, and respond to emerging market demands for sustainable materials.

Background and business focus

The Minelli Group has long produced wooden components for handles, brushes, gun stocks, and kitchenware. In recent years, it has expanded its operations to include the B2B packaging sector. mPackting, the company’s packaging division, focuses on products for the beauty industry, including perfume caps, cosmetic bottles, and skincare containers.

According to Corrado Fioroni, who helps lead this initiative, the packaging sector is competitive and price-sensitive. Wood is a renewable material, but it has two main disadvantages in this context: it costs more than plastic, and it is less adaptable to the shapes and finishes typically required for beauty packaging. “Plastic is cheap and moldable,” he notes. “Wood isn’t, so we had to find a way to offer something with both performance and environmental value for clients and markets where wood is not the best option.”

Exploring bio-based alternatives

The company began evaluating bioplastics and other bio-based polymers that could be molded into complex shapes. At the same time, they considered how to repurpose the large volumes of wood waste—estimated at 20 to 30 tons per month—generated from other parts of the business. Most of this scrap wood had been used for heating or given away to local pellet producers.

The turning point came when the Minelli Materials team came across literature on biocharBiochar is a carbon-rich material created from biomass decomposition in low-oxygen conditions. It has important applications in environmental remediation, soil improvement, agriculture, carbon sequestration, energy storage, and sustainable materials, promoting efficiency and reducing waste in various contexts while addressing climate change challenges. More. Made by heating biomassBiomass is a complex biological organic or non-organic solid product derived from living or recently living organism and available naturally. Various types of wastes such as animal manure, waste paper, sludge and many industrial wastes are also treated as biomass because like natural biomass these More in a low-oxygen environment, biochar is stable, carbon-rich, and has been used primarily in agriculture. Its potential as a filler in bio-based plastics offered a way to combine wood recycling with packaging production.

Developing a new material

The team began experimenting with biochar as an additive in bio-based and biodegradable polymer blends. Early versions of the material were brittle, but over time and through collaboration with local universities and polymer specialists, they arrived at workable formulas. These included blends of PLA, PHA, PBS, and starch-based polymers. The final product is suitable for injection and blow molding, depending on the application.

The percentage of biochar in the material varies by product. In simple forms like eyeliner sticks, they can incorporate 30–40% biochar by weight. For more complex applications like blow-molded bottles, lower percentages are required to maintain flexibility and prevent failure. The team continues to refine these blends to balance performance and environmental attributes.

Certification and testing

The material has received certification for industrial compostability and is being evaluated for home composting as well. Minelli Group also holds TÜV certification confirming that the material is 100% bio-based. These third-party certifications are seen as important for building trust with customers, especially in a market that can be cautious about switching away from conventional plastics like polypropylene.

Although the material has only been commercially available for about six months, interest has been growing. Fioroni reported positive reception at trade shows and said the company is currently in discussions with potential partners. While not yet naming customers, he anticipates product launches by the end of the year.

Application design

One prototype discussed during the interview is a perfume cap composed of a wooden exterior and a biochar-based inner ring. The ring is designed to flex around the pump and can be removed at end-of-life for composting. This modular approach allows for separation of components based on local recycling and composting infrastructure.

Fioroni emphasized that the team is working toward conducting a full life cycle assessment (LCA) of the material. However, he acknowledged that LCA methodologies do not always fully account for carbon storage benefits or post-consumer outcomes such as compostability. “We’re trying to identify ways to capture the value that isn’t easily measured in a standard LCA,” he said.

Alignment with sustainability goals

The biochar packaging initiative is part of Minelli Group’s broader sustainability efforts, which include publishing an annual sustainability report and setting environmental performance targets. The company sees its work with biochar as aligned with both its business objectives and its environmental commitments.

Fioroni makes it clear that this work is driven by both practical and strategic considerations. “There is market demand for sustainable materials,” he said, “and we are positioning ourselves to meet that demand in a credible and transparent way.”

Next steps

Looking ahead, Minelli Group plans to begin producing its own biochar, rather than sourcing it externally. This would further close the loop on its material use and may open up additional opportunities for process control and product innovation.

The company also plans to continue refining its material formulations, expand its list of applications, and explore new market partnerships. While still in an early phase, the initiative illustrates how a traditional manufacturer can approach sustainability through targeted, material-based innovation.