Heinz Is Creating The First Paper Ketchup Bottle In Hopes To Squeeze Plastic Use
By Mikelle Leow, 12 May 2022
Composite image via Kraft Heinz / Businesswire
Would you like some ketchup with your plastic? Heinz thinks not, so it’s working with sustainable packaging company Pulpex to develop a paper-based ketchup bottle and hopefully wean itself from the fossil fuel-based material.
Ideally, the bottle will be constructed from 100% sustainably-sourced wood pulp and easily recyclable in paper waste streams. According to a press release by Kraft Heinz, Pulpex bottles are proven to be lighter on their carbon footprint “than glass and plastic on a bottle-by-bottle basis.”
Dieline, however, points out that the packaging—at least for early iterations—might not be 100% plastic-free (looking at that bottle cap, this seems to be the case). Heinz told the news outlet that the bottle will not include PET, HDPE, and BPA plastics.
You also won’t be seeing paper ketchup bottles on shelves anytime soon. The packaging is still in a prototyping stage, and it will first be used to test the feasibility of paper as a container for ketchup “and other packaging formats in years to come,” says Kraft Heinz.
Image via Kraft Heinz / Businesswire
“Packaging waste is an industry-wide challenge that we must all do our part to address,” explains Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio. “That is why we are committed to taking steps to explore sustainable packaging solutions across our brands at Kraft Heinz, offering consumers more choices."
Rashida La Lande, EVP & Global General Counsel and Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer at Kraft Heinz, adds: “We hope to bring this bottle to market and to be the first sauce brand to provide consumers this choice in their purchasing decisions, as many consumers today are looking for more sustainable packaging options. We’re eager to continue discovering more sustainable packaging for our beloved and iconic brands.”
[via Dieline and Food & Wine, images via Kraft Heinz / Businesswire]