As Tariffs Reshape the Molded Fiber Market, Yangi Brings Its Dry-Forming Technology Cellera® to U.S. Converters | Packaging Dive
Swedish company Yangi announced its entry into the U.S. market with its dry-forming technology Cellera® and a ready-to-eat packaging series, in response to domestic capacity demand driven by tariffs and anti-dumping duties. The technology is said to reduce process water usage by 90-99% and energy consumption by 55-75% compared to wet forming.
Yangi, the Swedish developer of Cellera®, a dry-forming technology for fiber-based packaging, is entering the U.S. market with its quick-serve packaging range, as part of an international expansion effort backed in part by a Swedish Energy Agency grant announced earlier this year.
The range — plates, bowls, hot- and cold-beverage lids, and takeaway trays, among other formats — is designed for converters and brands serving the quick-serve foodservice (QSR) sector, a segment facing a widening gap between demand for molded fiber packaging and available domestic production capacity. That gap has become more pressing as anti-dumping duties and tariffs on imported molded fiber products push converters and brands to look for domestic alternatives. Yangi will introduce the range to the U.S. market in person at PACK EXPO International, taking place October 18–21, 2026, in Chicago. Visitors can find Yangi at Booth S-3422, South Building.
A direct, quantified alternative to wet molding
With U.S. demand for molded fiber packaging continuing to outpace domestic supply, converters are looking to build robust domestic production capacity to reduce import dependence and strengthen supply chain resilience. Cellera's dry-forming process eliminates the need for a water slurry and multiple drying steps, and the added infrastructure and floor space that conventional wet-molding requires, giving converters a direct, quantified alternative:
- Up to 90–99% less process water than conventional wet-molding — since forming happens without a water-based step.
- 4.3-second cycle times versus wet-molding's typical 30–60-second cycle — a significant throughput advantage without a drying-step bottleneck.
- 1.8 kWh/kg energy consumption versus wet-molding's typical 4–7 kWh/kg — roughly 55–75% less electricity consumption, based on a third-party verified Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).
Together, these efficiencies add up to a simpler manufacturing setup with fewer utilities to install and maintain, with lower operational complexity and cost.
"Converters and brands are seeking solutions that combine high operational performance with improved resource efficiency," said Hanna Rüdel, Chief Commercial Officer of Yangi. "For U.S. converters, that means a renewable, FSC-certified, PFAS-free material that's proven curbside recyclable — deployable at scale, with the performance to match."
Cellera: a machine platform built for industrial-scale production
Cellera is Yangi’s dry forming machine platform, already commissioned at the production site of a European converter — a deployment in a live commercial manufacturing environment. Under industrial production conditions, the platform has demonstrated continuous operation, high uptime, fast production cycles, and repeatable product quality, based on operational feedback from the customer site.
"Yangi has built the supply chain and partnerships needed to deliver Cellera to North America, working with technological partners like GDM, a Coesia company, and AP&T," said Johann Kaiser, CEO of Yangi. "That gives us a strong North American footprint, and the proven industrial capabilities converters expect from an equipment supplier."
Dry-Formed Trays Tested and Validated in Foodservice Use
Yangi's dry-formed takeaway trays have completed a live foodservice deployment, one of several customer trials run at Yangi's technical center in Varberg, through a collaboration with Flavor Boss, an award-winning food-truck and catering operator in Sweden. The trays performed reliably throughout a full day of festival service, with positive feedback from the team and customers.
Yangi's technical center serves as a proving ground for new formats and materials, where converters and brands can validate product performance at industrial-relevant volumes ahead of market launch so they can move forward with confidence.
"Dry forming has moved from concept to industrial reality, and Yangi built it to get there," said Anna Altner, Founder of Yangi. "Cellera is commissioned and running today, not in a lab, but on a converter's production floor. We've spent over a decade making sure that when this technology reached the market, it would already be proven. Now we're bringing that same platform to U.S. converters, ready to run, not ready someday."
Packaging producers, converters, and brands interested in evaluating Cellera for their production setup or product portfolio are invited to contact Yangi's team by visiting https://www.yangi.se/ or requesting an in-person meeting or visiting our booth (S-3422) at Pack Expo International in Chicago.
Journalists interested in a briefing or an on-site interview at Pack Expo can arrange one through the media contact below.
Yangi helps the packaging industry create more value with fewer resources, enabling high-quality, fiber-based packaging at competitive economics. Yangi is the technology provider of Cellera®, a serial dry-forming platform that produces fiber-based packaging with near-zero process water, powered by FiberIQ®, Yangi's patented fiber-formation system, enabling precise material control and consistent, cost-competitive quality at industrial scale. Headquartered in Sweden and built on more than a decade of research and engineering, Yangi works directly with packaging producers, converters, and brands, supplying the machines, materials, service, and support needed to bring dry-formed packaging into high-volume production. The result is renewable, recyclable packaging: a sustainable alternative to both conventional wet-molding and single-use plastics. To learn more, please visit www.yangi.se.
