Unilever’s Pot Noodle trials paper pots in Tesco supermarkets for household recycling win

14 Jul 2023 --- Unilever brand Pot Noodle is trialing paper pots for its instant noodle soups with UK supermarket Tesco. The new pots can reportedly be recycled at home with other paper waste and include on-pack recycling labels to guide shoppers on correct disposal.

The new design marks the brand’s biggest innovation in its packaging since its launch over 40 years ago. Pot Noodle, the UK’s “biggest” instant hot snack brand, says the new paper pot has launched with an initial stock of 500,000 for the brand’s Chicken & Mushroom flavor. 

“There have been plenty of challenges along the way, but we are committed to reducing the plastic in our packaging and to a paper-based future for our pots without compromising on the Pot Noodle experience our shoppers know and love. We are now excited to learn from this initial trial with the ambition of bringing our paper pots to more shoppers across the UK soon,” says Andre Burger, general manager of Unilever UK & Ireland’s Foods (Nutrition) segment.

Pot Noodle says the challenge was to find the most effective way to reduce plastic and ensure quality.Paper-based potential
A single layer of ultra-thin plastic film provides barrier protection, ensuring ingredients remain fresh and protecting the paper when water is added. But the brand stresses that the plastic film does not inhibit the pot’s recyclability. 

The trial will be used to gain shopper feedback, and if it’s successful, the brand will switch the full Pot Noodle range to paper pots. Once complete, the move could reduce the UK’s annual virgin plastic production by 4,000 metric tons. 

Insights from the trial are said to support the scale-up of the innovation at the Pot Noodle factory.

Shape and quality 
The innovation process to develop and refine the paper pot took over three years. It was led by the brand’s R&D teams at Hive, Unilever’s Global Foods Innovation Centre in the Netherlands, which worked closely with packaging experts in the UK.

Pot Noodle says the challenge was to find the most effective way to reduce the pot’s plastic while ensuring the packaging still holds its distinctive shape and delivers the same quality eating experience.

Burger comments: “Pot Noodle has been a much-loved British brand for over 40 years, and while our great taste will never change, we’re always challenging ways to make our products and packaging better.”

“From material development and testing to new manufacturing processes and capabilities, big packaging innovations require the investment of time and expertise across many teams and partners.”

We recently explored how major packaging suppliers are pioneering new barrier coatings to enhance the applicability and circularity of paper-based packaging.

Edited by Natalie Schwertheim