Guilt-free pleasure: Nestlé unveils recyclable paper wrapper for Smarties chocolate bar
08 Jun 2020 --- Nestlé has taken yet another step toward more eco-friendly packaging, launching its Smarties chocolate bar in a recyclable paper wrapper. Almost 3.5 million Smarties blocks are sold each year and the news represents an “important next step” in moving the Smarties confectionery range of products to paper packaging. The Smarties bar packaging is made from a coated paper that is widely recyclable.
It is the first time that the technology Nestlé pioneered to launch its YES! bars – enabling paper to be used on high speed production lines previously designed for plastic or laminate packaging – has been used for such wide scale production. The move will save 9.3 metric tons of single use plastic from the UK market alone, the company tells PackagingInsights. 
“Our standard-sized tubes of Smarties went plastic-free in 2005 and we are in the process now of moving other items in the Smarties range to paper packaging,” Bruce Funnell, Packaging Lead at Nestlé, tells PackagingInsights.
“To demonstrate our commitment to accelerate sustainable initiatives, we have created the Nestlé Institute of Packaging Sciences, dedicated entirely to the discovery and development of functional, safe and environmentally friendly packaging solutions. We will make announcements about further packaging innovations in due course,” adds Funnell.
Launched in 1937, Nestlé’s well-known Smarties brand contains no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Sales of Smarties in the UK and Ireland totalled £69 million (US$87 million) in the past year. The Smarties paper-wrapped chocolate bar is available at Asda supermarkets and a wide range of independent and local stores, according to the company.
The Smarties bar packaging is made from a coated paper that is widely recyclable. “At Nestlé, we have committed to making 100 percent of our packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025. But we know we need to go further – and we are looking at a range of more sustainable packaging solutions for our confectionery products that can have an impact now,” notes Richard Watson, Business Executive Officer for Nestlé Confectionery in the UK and Ireland.
Marching to an eco-friendly tune
Nestlé is fast making advancements in circularity and environmental sustainability for its packaging. Recently, the company announced it is also piloting reusable and refillable dispensers for petcare and soluble coffee as part of its efforts to reduce single-use packaging.
The in-store dispensers encourage consumers to bring reusable containers to purchase different types of Purina cat food and Nescafé soluble coffee. Consumers can also digitally access product information that is typically found on packaging, such as ingredients, nutritional values and shelf life via the dispensers.
Beyond paper, Nestlé also announced earlier this year an investment of up to 2 billion Swiss francs (US$2.08 billion) to pioneer the shift from virgin plastics to food-grade recycled plastics and accelerate the development of innovative sustainable packaging solutions. Building on its 2018 commitment to make 100 percent of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025, the food and beverage giant says it will reduce its use of virgin plastics by one third in the same period whilst working with others to advance the circular economy and clean up plastic waste from oceans, lakes and rivers.
In July 2019, Nestlé also formed a closed-loop recycling program with waste management specialist TerraCycle in the UK & Ireland for its confectionery flexible plastic packaging. Pouches, bags and wrappers from single bars, blocks and multipacks are accepted through the Confectionery Recycling Program, which takes the accumulated waste and turns it into new plastic items.
Over-packaging and non-recyclability are the two big issues that confectionery packaging must overcome in order to reach higher levels of sustainability, Ariane Van Mancius, Packaging Innovation Expert and Owner of Now New Next, told PackagingInsights, at the time.
Nestlé Japan also replaced the plastic wrapping on its KitKat candy bars with paper.Other recent actions Nestlé has announced to introduce alternative and recyclable packaging materials include, launching a new Nesquik within a recyclable paper pouch, as well as the whole range of the company’s Buxton Natural Mineral Water which will be made from 100 percent recycled plastic (rPET), while remaining 100 percent recyclable, by 2021.
Sweet sustainability
The confectionery arena is seeing increased efforts towards more environmentally friendly packaging. Last week, Stora Enso’s innovation hub launched new eco-friendly packaging concepts for the food and personal care sector. Performa Light is a renewable and recyclable paperboard for premium folding cartons for chocolate, confectionery and beauty product packaging.
Nestlé Japan is also replacing the plastic wrapping on its KitKat candy bars with paper in a bid to become one step closer to its commitment of 100 percent recyclable or reusable packaging by 2025. The Japanese market’s material switch will occur across five KitKat multipack products from September 2020 and across all individual products in 2021. The switch to paper is unique to the Japanese market, where the popularity of KitKats continues to surpass that of other geographies.
Meanwhile, gourmet meringue maker Flower & White previously surpassed confectionary giants to debut its products in plastic-free packaging, reportedly being one of the first in the sector to do so. Flower & White, which retails in the UK through Selfridges and QVC, as well as overseas to countries including the US, Canada, Germany and Australia, utilized Sirane’s Earthfilm, which is a paper-based packaging solution with a barrier that ensures product protection and shelf-life.
By Kristiana Lalou
