In this exclusive interview with Packaging World Insights, Laura Delapeyronnie, EMEA Marketing Manager Dairy at Amcor, shares valuable perspectives on the evolving landscape of soft cheese packaging. Amcor delves into how sensory cues such as visual appeal, tactile feel, and subtle sound shape consumers’ perception of quality, and explores how paper-based packaging can effectively challenge traditional plastic formats. The discussion also highlights strategies for communicating sustainable innovations, enhancing shelf presence, and addressing operational considerations all while preserving product integrity and resonating emotionally with consumers. Through this interview, Amcor offers a clear view of how functional performance and sustainability can go hand in hand with premium consumer experiences.
1. What is the single most impactful sensory factor that shapes the perception of quality for soft cheese packaging? Is it touch, sound, visual, or something else?
Recently, at Amcor, we set ourselves a challenge to gain a deeper understanding of consumers’ perceptions of packaging for soft cheese. This work was made possible thanks to close collaboration across teams: the Innovation team brought design and prototyping capabilities to test realistic concepts, the Market Insight team, led by Sarah Neerkorn, ensured the setup captured authentic consumer reactions, and cheese R&D expert Donatien Coulon helped anchor the study in material structures and formats currently under evaluation by cheese producers.
Building on this collective expertise, the study revealed a clear pattern: the visual and tactile cues have the greatest influence on how quality is perceived, with appearance acting as the initial filter and touch reinforcing or undermining that judgement. Matte, textured paper finishes tend to signal care, craft, and credibility, while high-gloss or overly shiny finishes are more likely to be associated with artificiality or lower quality. Sound plays a secondary but still meaningful role, as the subtle rustle of paper reinforces perceptions of authenticity and naturalness. It is the combination of what the pack looks like and how it feels in the hand that most strongly shapes whether a product is seen as premium, trustworthy, and well-made.
2. What specific paper-based packaging attributes most directly go on to challenge the barrier performance perception, which is typically associated with plastic?
The most important attributes are those that visibly demonstrate protection, freshness, and robustness. Paper-based solutions that feel substantial, resist tearing, and are designed to manage moisture effectively help counter the idea that only plastic can preserve soft cheese properly. When packaging can be associated with maintaining taste, texture, and weight over time, and when it looks engineered rather than flimsy, it begins to challenge the assumption that paper is inherently less functional. The combination of credible performance cues and a reassuring physical structure plays a key role in shifting perceptions away from plastic as the default “protective” material.
3. How can a brand effectively communicate a packaging innovation that is both more sustainable as well as functionally superior to legacy formats?
Effective communication relies on clarity, reassurance, and simplicity. Brands need to show that improved sustainability does not come at the expense of quality, freshness, or ease of use. This means clearly explaining, in accessible language, how the packaging protects the product, preserves taste and texture, and fits into everyday routines and also making its environmental benefits visible and easy to understand. Overly technical explanations can create distance or confusion, whereas straightforward on-pack messaging builds confidence and helps consumers feel comfortable with change rather than suspicious of it
4. What is the role of shelf presence for soft cheese, and how does matte paper compete with a glossy visual of a vacuum-sealed plastic pack?
Shelf presence for soft cheese is driven less by visual ‘loudness’ and more by credibility and emotional resonance. Matte paper competes with glossy plastic not by trying to outshine it, but by offering a different kind of appeal: one rooted in authenticity, tradition, and care. Rather than looking mass-produced or industrial, matte paper feels crafted and considered, which can make it stand out precisely because it looks calmer, more natural, and more aligned with the product inside. This form of differentiation can be just as powerful on the shelf as visual brightness or shine.
5. From a brand’s perspective, what are the most significant operational hurdles in transitioning to advanced paper-based packaging?
One of the most significant operational hurdles is ensuring the packaging maintains production efficiency and product protection once paper is introduced. Paper-based solutions should be able to run on existing machines without requiring major changes to equipment or processes. At the same time, brands need confidence that paper-based formats can deliver the functional performance, including moisture control and product integrity, that they currently achieve with plastic.
With these challenges in mind, Amcor developed AmFiber™ Matrix for soft cheese applications. This recyclable, paper-based wrap is designed to provide effective product protection while reducing cheese weight loss. It supports consistent quality by enabling optimal moisture exchange, helping preserve taste and texture throughout the product’s lifecycle. Importantly from an operational point, it is designed to be easy to run on existing equipment, without the need for machine adjustments.
6. Finally, can you give us a key consumer insight that helps explain why paper is so valuable for soft cheese packaging?
My one takeaway from our research and our market understanding is that paper is not valued in soft cheese packaging for environmental reasons alone. Its impact also lies in its emotional and symbolic meaning in the eyes of consumers. Paper feels authentic, traditional, and closer to the product’s origins, which aligns closely with how consumers think about cheese as a food.
