The firm will now pack its twist-wrapped sweets Quality Street in paper packaging and KitKat in wrappers made with 80% recycled plastic
Nestlé Confectionery announces change in packaging for its Quality Street and KitKat brand products. (Credit: Nestlé)
Food and beverage company Nestlé Confectionery has announced a change in packaging for its Quality Street and KitKat brand products.
According to the firm, Quality Street will now package its twist-wrapped candies in recyclable paper.
Nestlé aims to eliminate more than two billion pieces of packaging from the Quality Street supply chain by switching the double layer of foil and cellulose with a paper wrap.
The second brand, KitKat, will debut wrappers composed of 80% recyclable plastic in upcoming stocks.
These wrappers can be recycled in more than 5,000 supermarkets in the UK and the Republic of Ireland by placing them in domestic recycling, said the firm.
Nestlé said the rollout will start this month on the company’s flagship two-finger products and will be completed by 2024 throughout the full product line.
The move aligns with Nestlé’s continuous efforts to reduce its effect on the environment and support a circular economy by reducing the use of virgin plastic and boosting recycling.
The packaging for nine of the 11 Quality Street candies will now be made of paper without any change in the taste, said the food company.
According to the firm, the Orange Crunch and the Green Triangle will continue to be packaged in their plain foil wrappers because they haven’t historically had cellulose wrapping.
Nestlé said the switch to paper will take several months to complete and customers should expect to discover a mixture of the old and new wrappers in their Quality Street cartons, pouches, tubs, and tins for Christmas 2022.
Nestlé Confectionery business executive officer Richard Watson said: “These major packaging innovations have been pioneered by our teams here in the UK.
“The new KitKat packaging is enabled by a significant upgrade to Nestlé’s York Factory, while the category-leading Quality Street paper twist-wraps have been designed at our Confectionery Product Technology Centre in York, and implemented in Halifax, the home of Quality Street for 87 years.”
The new KitKat packets will now include Recycle At Store On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) to assist consumers in recycling more material and information about the Recycling Locator Tool to guide them to the nearest recycling facility.