KleanNara expands clay-coated board exports to South Africa

KleanNara, a South Korean paper products manufacturer, has expanded exports of its eco-friendly white paperboard product, Clay Coated Kraft Board, to South Africa. The move aims to bolster sales and secure local customers. 

The Clay Coated Kraft Board is said to offer enhanced strength, water resistance, and printability compared with conventional white paperboard, making it suitable for premium packaging applications such as home meal replacement and household product packaging.

“As demand for packaging materials that combine sustainability and functionality continues to rise in global markets, opportunities to expand Clay Coated Kraft Board into overseas markets are increasing,” says a spokesperson from KleanNara.

“Building on the export competitiveness we have developed in existing overseas markets, including Vietnam, we will actively target new markets such as South Africa and continue strengthening the competitiveness of our high-value-added white paperboard products in line with global environmental changes and customer needs.”

Growing demand for paper solutions

KleanNara shares that the global shift toward sustainable packaging is supporting Clay Coated Kraft Board’s export growth. Stricter regulations, such as the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, are driving demand for recyclable materials and recycled-content paper-based packaging.

The company aims to capture new demand in South Africa while enhancing production stability and quality competitiveness through expanded exports, leveraging Clay Coated Kraft Board’s ability to integrate sustainability with functionality.

KleanNara established a branch office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to strengthen its regional sales capabilities and support expansion across Southeast Asian markets. The company identifies South Africa as an emerging market with increasing demand for recyclable packaging solutions.

Recently, Packaging Insights spoke to the Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa about the strong end markets for fiber and clean recycling streams in the country. The association revealed that the paper recycling rate had climbed in the country, reaching a 63.3% in 2025, up from 60% in 2024. 

Industry stakeholders in South Korea have been accelerating innovation. A collaboration between researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and Yonsei University created a “high-performance, sustainable” paper coating material designed to reduce microplastic pollution.

CJ Biomaterials’ patented polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biopolymer was being utilized for convenience store chain CU’s New Today’s Chicken Noodle cup packaging. The company developed the microwavable paper coating technology by combining PHA with polylactic acid.

Earlier this year, South Korea proposed revisions to its packaging regulations for courier shipments, introducing more flexible requirements for parcels containing fragile products and easing standards for companies using automated equipment or recycled and paper packaging materials.