Some of the UK’s favourite canned foods are set for an eco-friendly packaging makeover as Heinz ditches its plastic multipack wrapping in favour of recyclable cardboard.
The new and super-skinny Heinz Eco-Friendly Sleeve Multipack will replace the whole Heinz multipack canned range, including beans, soups and pasta varieties, in major retailers in the UK from September 2021.
The move follows a successful trial of the new sleeve on the Heinz to Home range and will see the new multipacks rolled out across all UK supermarkets, removing 550 tonnes of shrink-wrap packaging in the process.
“It is clear that convenience is important to shoppers and sustainable packaging has a significant impact, too, with 71% of UK shoppers more satisfied with a product if it is easily recycled or composted,” said Jojo de Noronha, northern Europe president at Kraft Heinz.
“We feel this new recyclable and easy-to-carry paperboard sleeve ticks both of those boxes and is the perfect eco-friendly solution for our multipacks.”
“Our packaging innovation team continues to work hard to develop further sustainable solutions across our business as we make a £25 million investment over three years to implement the infrastructure needed to ensure this roll-out is a success, which will be a win for the environment as well as shoppers across the UK.”
Heinz’s new recyclable sleeve is made with Westrock’s CarrierKote paperboard, which comes from sustainably managed forests and has been certified by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).
The product’s innovative wrap design uses no glue and contains 10 percent less material than a traditional paperboard sleeve, whilst offering a reduced carbon footprint by producing 18.7% less CO₂ than the equivalent shrink-wrap design.
“We’re extremely proud to leverage the world’s most comprehensive portfolio of sustainable paper and packaging products to create customized, consumer-centric solutions,” said Patrick Kivits, president of consumer packaging at WestRock.
“Our team worked in close collaboration with Heinz stakeholders to deliver a solution that would enable Heinz to achieve its sustainability goals and resonate in the UK market, while managing the cost and risk of this transition.”
Image courtesy of Heinz.
