Following a successful rollout in Australia, Mars Incorporated is now expanding the trial of paper packaging for its Mars bars to the UK as part of a new pilot test to explore different packaging options.
Mars says it will produce the Mars bars wrapped in recyclable paper packaging that will be available for a limited time at Tesco stores. Mars Wrigley Australia has already rolled out paper-based wrappers across its range of Mars bars, Snickers and Milky Way, which are produced by Amcor.
After extensive development work and investments in the UK, the company believes the trial will achieve a reduction in plastic on the Mars bar packaging, a significant step in its journey to innovate toward its packaging commitments.
Following the trial, Mars says it will use the learnings from the launch with Tesco to inform other trials across the region, all in the name of the company's Sustainable in a Generation plan.
Richard Sutherland-Moore, packaging expert at Mars Wrigley UK’s Research and Development Centre in Slough, said: “We are exploring different types of alternative packaging solutions for our confectionery products. For Mars bar, the challenge was to find the right paper packaging solution with an adequate level of barrier properties to protect the chocolate whilst guaranteeing the food safety, quality and integrity of the product to prevent food waste.”
Adam Grant, general manager, Mars Wrigley UK said: “With our Mars bar pilot project, we are taking a big step to see how paper-based packaging works in everyday life. From the test, we will derive insights for our sustainable packaging strategy.”
Andrew Flood, Tesco packaging development manager, said: “We’re delighted to partner with Mars Wrigley to trial an alternative version of their iconic Mars bar packaging, aligning to our own strategy of removing plastic and packaging in our business where we can, reducing it where we can’t, reusing more and recycling what’s left.”
As part of Mars' Sustainable in a Generation Plan, the company says it is investing hundreds of millions of pounds to meet its goal of reducing its use of virgin plastics by a third in the short-term, which includes using less plastic, recycled plastic and alternatives to plastic packaging.
