Ferrero Rocher launches PP “eco-designed” chocolate box to boost recycling

14 Sep 2021 --- Ferrero Rocher is launching new “eco-designed” chocolate boxes made from polypropylene (PP) as part of its global climate commitments. A phased rollout beginning this month will see reformed 16-piece and 30-piece boxes hit the market. 

In 2019, The Ferrero Group pledged to make 100 percent of its packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. 

In addition to being easier to recycle, the innovation will reduce the use of plastic and the impact on the climate. For example, the new boxes use 40 percent less plastic for the 16-piece and 38 percent less plastic for the 30-piece.

The company estimates it will save approximately 2,000 metric tons of plastics globally in its first year. Once the implementation of the new eco-designed boxes is complete across the entire Ferrero Rocher box portfolio, the full impact of the project is estimated at approximately 10,000 metric tons less plastic used per year. 

“Today, our new eco-designed box enriches those experiences further by making them more sustainable,” says Jerome Gray, president global marketing premium chocolate of The Ferrero Group.

Slashing emissions 
To develop the new box, Ferrero’s R&D team trialed over 29 different plastic resins in collaboration with materials expert Milliken. 

The new PP box will have 70 percent lower carbon footprint than the previous design, according to Ferrero.The new 16-piece and 30-piece boxes also have at least a 30 percent lower carbon footprint, says the company.

Additionally, when a box is recycled, it has an even lower climate impact – reaching a 70 percent lower carbon footprint versus the previous box.

“The Ferrero Rocher eco-designed box is a clear example of our dedication to enhancing packaging circularity,” says Fabio Mora, global packaging director of The Ferrero Group.

“Packaging is a complex issue that we are committed to working in close collaboration to build a more circular economy through packaging-related strategies, joining forces with governments, manufacturers, suppliers, waste disposal management companies, NGOs and others.” 

“In this instance, we worked in close partnership with Milliken who brought their innovative and critical thinking to help reduce the environmental impact through the use of a new polypropylene material for the Ferrero Rocher box.”

The new eco-designed Ferrero Rocher box is marked as “an important first step” on the brand’s journey toward more sustainable packaging. All box formats and packaging components will evolve toward more sustainable packaging by 2025, in accordance with the Ferrero company commitment.

Ferrero innovations 
The eco-designed box joins other innovations made by Ferrero recently, including thinner Kinder Bueno plastic packaging material and paper-based external packaging for its Kinder bakery range in Italy. 

Meanwhile, the business has struck new global partnerships with HolyGrail 2.0 and Consumer Goods Forum. The objective of HolyGrail 2.0 is to prove the viability of digital watermarking technologies for the accurate sorting of packaging waste at a large scale.

By Louis Gore-Langton