It’s what’s inside that matters the most? Nonsense! Chocolate start-up nucao is among the first in the industry to use sustainable, recyclable primary packaging made entirely from paper – by Koehler Paper.
Chocolate. For most people, just hearing the word is enough to warm the heart. At least in Germany, as hardly any other nation in the world is quite as fond of chocolate: according to estimates by the data portal Statista, German consumers ate 8.12 kilograms per person in 2025.
Mathias Tholey shares this passion, but not just for taste reasons. As much as the industrial engineer and homeopathic practitioner has loved the irresistible melt-in-the-mouth treat since his childhood days, he also clearly sees its huge potential when it comes to sustainability. The co-founder of chocolate start-up nucao wants to develop part of this potential – with the help of Koehler Paper.
Raw Material with a Dark Side
“Cocoa is a wonderful crop. But it can be grown under a wide variety of conditions,” says the entrepreneur, pointing to the well-known negative side effects such as child labour, pesticide use and deforestation. To give some specific figures: according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, 5.2 million tonnes of cocoa beans were harvested worldwide in 2024. A good 36 per cent of this came from the Ivory Coast alone, where, according to the WWF, 90 per cent of the forests in some regions have been cleared and replaced by cocoa plantations.
That’s why nucao donates three percent of its revenue to reforestation projects and uses organic Fair Trade cocoa from Peruvian cooperatives. Through agroforestry – a combination of farming and forestry in the same production area – these organizations promote biodiversity and erosion protection and shun pesticides. That benefits the health of consumers: “We’re not just concerned about the environment and production conditions – we also want to protect health,” explains Tholey. “That’s why all our products are organic and vegan; they contain 30 percent less sugar than standard chocolate and have no added flavorings, as well as using just a few, high-quality ingredients.”
Can you taste sustainability? No. But it does have an impact on enjoyment, because you can consume the product with a clear conscience. That’s very important to a lot of people who care about climate change and fair trade.
Mathias Tholey,co-founder and co-managing director of nucao
All-Round Sustainability
And the products have another key feature: sustainable packaging. This is exactly where Koehler Paper comes into the picture. Since the end of 2022, nucao has been the first chocolate manufacturer on the market to use 100 per cent paper primary packaging for its chocolate-coated fruits under the nucao umbrella brand. Primary packaging refers to the material that comes into direct contact with the product. In this case, it is Koehler NexPlus® Advanced paper. After use, this can be disposed of as waste paper, and the fibres can be reused many times in line with the principles of the circular economy. Compared to conventional plastic wrappers, such flexible paper packaging significantly reduces the carbon footprint1. Koehler NexPlus® Advanced is recyclable in standard paper recycling in accordance with CEPI.
“From the very first bar, we had high standards concerning sustainable packaging but found there were yawning gaps in the packaging industry back when we founded the company in 2016,” recalls Tholey. Tholey and co-founders Thomas Stoffels and Christian Fenner then worked with other start-ups, focusing on composite materials that could be composted at home, but these were not recyclable. Ultimately, composting does not produce new raw materials that can be used for manufacturing more goods. nucao was not content with the loss of raw materials. In 2021, the company reached out to Koehler Paper – and one of its competitors. The long-standing experience and high product quality of the Baden-based family company quickly won over the trio from Leipzig, however. Tholey highlights three factors that stood out in particular:
Feel: The material feels very natural and like proper paper.
Compatibility with machinery: A lot of machines are designed for plastics, but the conversion to recyclable paper worked extremely well.
Functionality: The paper offers good barriers against oxygen, mineral oil and fats, which is essential for use with chocolate.
1 Source: Plastics Europe, Plastics – the Facts 2021 + oxidisation of PP; EcoInvent 3.6 – coated paper production + municipal incineration of paperboard; 30.08.2023
Entire range updated
Product protection is particularly important in the food industry, as Tholey explains. “We wrapped our chocolates in paper from Koehler Paper, stored them in a heating cabinet for weeks and then carried out sensory tests – with excellent results.” As these results have also been confirmed in real-world conditions, nucao now sells its chocolate bars and tablets in 100 per cent paper packaging.
The entire product range has been switched to paper packaging supplied by Koehler Paper. This means that the start-up has – for the time being – achieved the highest possible level of sustainability in its packaging, as, in addition to the primary packaging from Koehler Paper, it uses sustainable secondary packaging and outer cartons from other suppliers – all made exclusively from highly recyclable paper or cardboard-based materials.
“Perhaps even more sustainable raw materials will be developed in the future, such as cellulose derived from agroforestry,” says Tholey, emphasising: “After all, there’s always room for improvement.”
