The mono-material caps, manufactured in polypropylene, are being introduced on 400ml and bigger top-down bottles of Heinz Tomato Ketchup in the UK, with plans to be extended for more of the Heinz sauces range in the UK and Europe in future
Kraft Heinz Company’s ketchup bottles with new cap. (Credit: Berry Global Inc.)
American plastic packaging products maker Berry Global has partnered with Kraft Heinz Company to launch the first fully recyclable ketchup cap for the latter’s squeezy ketchup bottle.
The cap is a mono-material cap, produced in polypropylene, to meet the requirements for recyclability.
Berry Global said the caps are being introduced on Heinz Tomato Ketchup 400ml and larger top-down bottles, including the 50% Less Sugar and Salt versions, throughout the UK.
The caps will eventually be extended to more Heinz sauce varieties in the UK and Europe.
They are designed using the manufacturing capabilities of Berry Global that support brand’s move towards more sustainable packaging solutions.
Berry Global food market sales director Matthias Hammersen said: “Heinz set us the kind of challenge that suits us and our development departments best: to reconstruct the design of the cap to make it fully recyclable, without affecting the performance that millions of consumers know and love.”
The project has taken eight years to complete, involving 45 prototypes and over 185,000 hours of development work, in order to achieve the best possible balance between sustainability and functionality.
The packaging company was involved in every step of the design and production process from concept to the development of the assembly equipment for industrial production, as well as the manufacturing of the series tools in Berry’s own tool shop.
Heinz made sure the cap fulfilled the highest quality standards by putting it through a rigorous testing process.
An extensive consumer poll verified that the public would embrace the novel idea because it consistently delivers the ideal amount of sauce without compromising its squeezability, Berry Global said.
Heinz believes that the switch to recyclable caps could prevent up to 300 million plastic lids from ending up in landfills annually worldwide.
Kraft Heinz Northern Europe president Jojo de Noronha said: “We know our consumers care about their impact on the environment and so do we, which is why we’re delighted to see our innovative, more sustainable caps on Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottles across the UK.
“Although a small change, this makes it easy for the millions of Heinz lovers across the country to recycle their whole squeezy bottle at once – a small action with big potential for impact.”