The latest food products turning to paper-based packaging to reduce the amount of single-use plastic in the supermarket aisles.
As supermarkets and food companies seek ways to replace plastic packaging with fibre-based alternatives, we look at five products that have made the switch.
M&S Garlic Bread
A staple side dish of home-made pasta meals and Peter Kay live sets, garlic bread is traditionally sold in plastic packaging, largely because of its large butter content. But Marks & Spencer has swapped the plastic for FSC-approved paper which is fully recyclable in consumer waste streams. Since M&S sells 4.3 million packets of garlic bread every year, that represents a huge amount of plastic saved from landfill.
“We know our customers rank packaging as a top priority and M&S is committed to reducing plastic packaging as a key part of our roadmap to net zero,” says Lucinda Langton, Head of Sustainability at M&S Food. “It’s a good step forward to remove 5.5m units from our supply chain and we continue to work with our suppliers to find innovative new materials, processes and equipment so we can make change at scale.”
Aldi Butter
Continuing the butter theme, Aldi has switched the packaging of two of its own-label butters to paper-based packaging, which will help to remove over 10 tonnes of non-recyclable packaging from circulation every year. The move comes after a number of other packaging redesigns from the budget supermarket, including its own-label toothbrushes now being sold in cardboard packaging.
“We are constantly exploring ways in which we can make a meaningful change to our products,” said Luke Emery, Aldi’s Plastics and Packaging Director. “Through the introduction of these new recyclable packaging innovations, we hope to help customers reduce plastic use when shopping for everyday items at Aldi.”
Sainsbury’s Fresh Fish And Chicken
Once upon a time, all meat was packaged in paper, but as soon as plastic was found to offer a longer shelf life, it quickly took over. Now, Sainsbury’s is making a return to fibre-based packaging for its fresh fish and chicken as the first retailer to introduce pulp trays for all of its salmon and trout products, as well as its fresh breaded chicken. These new trays will save 346 tonnes of plastic a year.
“With salmon being one of our most popular fish, we made it a priority to reduce the plastic on the packaging of this much loved product,” said Claire Hughes, Director of Product and Innovation at Sainsbury’s. “We are now the first retailer to make the move to have recycled pulp card trays across all our by Sainsbury’s and Taste the Difference salmon products, enabling a 70% plastic reduction.”
Fibre-Based Screw Cap
Nutritional supplements may point towards a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle, but they still tend to rely on plastic packaging for safe transport and low contamination risk. But a Swedish nutrients company has announced that it will be swapping the plastic screw caps of its bottles for a fibre-based alternative.
Great Earth has launched the new packaging for its range of vitamin supplements, which the company says will reduce its plastic use by 2.6 tons per year. The supplements brand joins The Absolut Company and Coca-Cola as supporting partners in cap makers Blue Ocean Closures’ fibre-based closures project, with the first batch of products available in several markets during autumn.
Pizza Hut Table
OK, this isn’t technically a switch to paper-based packaging (pizzas have been transported and served in carboard boxes for years), but it continues a long line of innovation in pizza packaging. Conscious that takeaway pizza is the go-to meal for people who have just moved house, Pizza Hut has invented the Moving Box Table, a pizza box that turns into a miniature table, which offers a practical solution for pizza lovers who need a quick and easy dining set-up.
Based on the results of a Pizza Hut survey that found that 79% of house movers admitted to eating their moving day pizza on the floor, the table was designed to be easy to assemble and came complimentary with orders of a large pizza in three of the most popular US cities to move to: Dallas, Charlotte and Orlando.