Nestlé has announced that confectionery brand Smarties has moved to recyclable paper packaging for its products at a global level.
The initiative will remove approximately 250 million plastic packs, sold globally every year.
The food giant added that Smarties is one of its first global confectionery brands to switch to recyclable paper packaging.
'Sustainable Packaging'
Alexander von Maillot, global head of confectionery at Nestlé, said, "Shifting Smarties packaging to recyclable paper is one of our key sustainable packaging initiatives in the confectionery category.
"It is a further step in realising Nestlé's ambition to make all of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025 and to reduce its use of virgin plastics by one-third in the same period."
The recent transition represents 90% of the Smarties range as 10% had already switched to recyclable paper earlier.
The paper packaging has been sourced sustainably and is made of a coated paper, paper labels or carton board.
Nestlé has also added information on proper disposal of the paper packaging on its labels to raise consumer awareness.
'New Materials'
Louise Barrett, head of the Nestlé confectionery product technology centre in York, said, "Developing safe and convenient paper-based solutions for Smarties has required the pioneering of new materials and testing by Nestlé packaging experts at our R&D Centre for confectionery in York, UK and the Swiss-based Institute of Packaging Sciences.
"We adapted our existing manufacturing lines to allow for the careful handling that is required for paper, while also ensuring recyclability across all new formats."
The transformation of the Smarties packaging is one of the brands' 'Smart Initiatives,' which aim to support sustainability and enhance the overall product experience, Nestlé said.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
