Mono-Material Shelf-Life & Barrier Durability Patent Snapshot
The mono-material shelf-life and barrier durability patent space is highly concentrated, with just two applicants — Sonoco Development Inc and Société des Produits Nestlé SA — accounting for all activity among the largest filers. Filing activity peaked in 2021 and has since eased, signalling a field that is early-stage but past its initial burst rather than one that is actively expanding.
Sonoco leads a two-player field with high concentration
Sonoco Development Inc holds the top position with 3 patent families, followed by Société des Produits Nestlé SA with 2 patent families. These two applicants together represent the entirety of the ranked corpus, making this one of the most concentrated emerging niches observed.
The top five filers account for 100% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, confirming an extreme tier-gap: no broad mid-tier exists. This structure reflects a very early or highly specialised field where few organisations have committed to sustained IP development.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sonoco Development Inc | 3 | |
| 2 | Société des Produits Nestlé SA | 2 |
Sonoco’s leadership in containers and packaging subclasses (B65D 43 and B65D 81) positions it as the primary packaging engineering player, while Nestlé’s focus on animal feed subclasses (A23K) suggests a product-application angle rather than a pure materials science approach. Both applicants show ‘new entrant’ momentum profiles, indicating their patent activity is recent rather than deep.
Patent publication typically lags filing by 18–24 months, so activity from 2024 onward is likely under-represented in the current corpus. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2021 spike dominates the trend; containers and packaging lead the technology mix
The filing trend reveals a single concentrated burst of activity in 2021, followed by a return to low annual volumes. The technology composition is anchored in physical packaging structures rather than materials chemistry.
Annual filing trend
Activity was negligible from 2017 through 2020, surged to a peak of 4 patent families in 2021, then fell back to minimal levels. The 2024 and 2026 data points should be treated with caution given publication lag; the apparent dip after 2021 reflects easing from the peak rather than sustained contraction. The field is past its peak on an annual basis.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
Containers and packaging (B65D) is the visible branch with 5 records, followed by animal feed (A23K), layered products and laminates (B32B), and packaging and wrapping (B65B) each at 2 records. The presence of A23K alongside structural packaging classes confirms that applicant strategies diverge: one is materials/structure-oriented, the other is application-oriented.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
Wet pet food systems
The present disclosure is drawn to wet pet food systems and methods of packaging wet pet foods. The wet pet food systems include a sealed pouch constructed of a monomaterial of polypropylene and a wet pet food contained within the sealed pouch. The wet pet food can include a member selected from the group consisting of a mousse, a chunk-in-loaf, and… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
Open this patent in Eureka →| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Multilayer polymer film | 9 |
| 2 | Container assemblies with paper-based end closures | 3 |
| 3 | Container assemblies with paper-based end closures | 1 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
Sonoco Development Inc
Sonoco Development Inc holds 3 patent families, the largest position in this corpus. Its technology focus is concentrated in B65D 43 and B65D 81 — both covering container and packaging subclasses — indicating an engineering-led approach to mono-material barrier solutions. Its momentum trend is flagged as ‘new entrant,’ meaning its activity in this specific niche is recent. As the most cited work in the corpus includes multilayer polymer film concepts, Sonoco’s structural packaging patents sit at the technical core of the field.
families: 3Société des Produits Nestlé SA
Société des Produits Nestlé SA holds 2 patent families, with its technology focus entirely in A23K subclasses covering animal feed (A23K 10, A23K 30, A23K 50). This application-specific angle suggests Nestlé is addressing mono-material shelf-life requirements for a defined product category rather than developing platform barrier technology. Its momentum is also flagged as ‘new entrant,’ consistent with Sonoco’s profile. One PCT filing (WO2021198997A1) is among the representative patents, indicating some international scope.
families: 2Frequently asked questions
The current corpus contains 7 patent families. This is a very small corpus, indicating the niche is early-stage or highly specialised relative to broader packaging and barrier technology fields.
Sonoco Development Inc leads with 3 patent families, followed by Société des Produits Nestlé SA with 2 patent families. These are the only two applicants in the ranked corpus.
The field is classified as Decline, with annual filings easing back from a peak of 4 families in 2021. Activity before 2021 was negligible, suggesting a brief exploratory wave rather than a sustained growth trajectory.
The United States leads with 4 patent records. Europe (EPO), Mexico, and WIPO (PCT) each have 1 record. International coverage outside the US is limited, leaving significant geographic white space in major packaging markets.
Containers and packaging (B65D) is the most represented branch with 5 records. Animal feed (A23K), layered products and laminates (B32B), and packaging and wrapping (B65B) each appear with 2 records.
No co-applicant relationships are recorded in the current corpus. Both active filers appear to be developing their IP independently, with no academic or industry collaboration filings detected.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
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