Smarties is set to become the first global confectionery brand entirely sold in recyclable paper packaging. Nestlé Oceania announced the switch to the recyclable option for its Smarties confectionery range in Australia, and is upgrading its manufacturing lines to accommodate the change.
While some Smarties packs sold in the country are already in paper, the change sees all plastic packaging replaced with new recyclable paper packaging.
The change is part of a global move, making Smarties the first global confectionery brand entirely sold in recyclable paper packaging, removing approximately 250 million plastic packs sold globally every year.
The paper used is all sourced sustainably, including coated paper, paper labels, and carton board. The Australasian Recycling Label is included on all packs to raise consumer awareness and to ensure the packs are recycled properly.
“Shifting Smarties packaging to recyclable paper is an important step in realising Nestlé’s ambition to reduce our use of virgin plastic by a third by 2025,” said Chris O’Donnell, Nestle’s general manager Confectionery.
“Developing safe and convenient paper-based solutions for Smarties has required pioneering new materials and testing by Nestlé packaging experts at both our Confectionery R&D Centre in the UK and the Nestle Institute of Packaging Sciences in Switzerland.
“We also had to invest in upgrading all the factories that make Smarties. The paper packaging requires careful handling, so we needed to adapt our manufacturing lines to allow for the new formats.”
The Nestlé factory at Campbellfield in Melbourne upgraded its manufacturing process to shift to paper packaging, investing in new production equipment, including a new wrapper machine.
In March, Australia’s first prototype of a soft plastic food wrapper was made with recycled materials for Nestlé KitKat bars.
Nestlé Australia also ranked in att #11 in Australia's Top 100 Food & Drink Companies 2020 report.
