Heinz reveals first recyclable ketchup bottle cap after eight-year US$1.2M investment

09 Jul 2021 --- Heinz is introducing its first fully recyclable cap to its squeezable ketchup bottles. The cap arrives after eight years of R&D, involving more than 185,000 hours and US$1.2 million investment. 

Previous Heinz sauce bottles featured a flexible valve, designed to portion sauce per squeeze, but was typically challenging to recycle.

The new caps are designed to provide the same squeeze using a single, rigid and more recyclable material. They will be combined with Heinz’s recyclable ketchup bottle, resulting in fully recyclable packaging.

Heinz’s variants Tomato Ketchup and BBQ Sauce will be the first to feature the new cap, rolling out globally from 2022, starting in Europe.

Heinz’s first recyclable caps allow consumers to recycle every part of their Heinz squeezy bottle.The move aligns with Heinz’s goal to make all its packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. 

Popular Heinz ketchup
Heinz is one of the most well-known ketchup brands worldwide, selling one billion squeezy bottles globally in 2020.

In February, the company found standard ketchup is subconsciously associated with the Heinz brand in a Canadian consumer experiment.

The company also has plans to upscale ketchup manufacturing to meet the demand from a new generation of UK consumers.

Kraft Heinz Europe is working to make the recyclable Heinz Tomato Ketchup PET bottle fully circular by 2022 by using recycled material that can be repurposed into food-grade packaging.

By Anni Schleicher