US – American food company Kraft Heinz has announced that one of its leading food products Kraft Mac & Cheese will be packaged in what it terms as the “first-ever recyclable fibre-based microwavable cup”
Kraft Heinz announced that the new more sustainable and environmentally friendly cups will be first rolled out on a trial basis.
Upon completion of the testing stage, the American food company plans to launch a new Kraft Mac & Cheese Shapes variety later this year using the new cup and design.
Kraft Heinz explained says that the new microwave-safe cup is fibre- rather than plastic-based to be both recyclable and compostable in industrial composting facilities.
In addition, the cup features new direct print technology, removing the need for a plastic label.
“Consumers are at the heart of everything we do and we know they’re looking for more sustainable packaging options without sacrificing the convenience or taste they love from Kraft Mac & Cheese,” said Matt Carpenter, marketing director at Kraft Heinz.
Mr. Carpenter revealed that during development of the packaging, Kraft Heinz extensively worked with consumers to ensure the product was in line with their needs.
Kraft is also working with outside partners to certify and incorporate the appropriate recycling labelling to help consumers know what to do with the packaging.
According to Kraft Heinz, the innovation supports it in achieving its goal of making 100% of its packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.
The launch of a new packaging by Kraft Heinz follows a similar launch by KFC Canada which introduce a new sustainable fibre-based ‘spork’.
Introduced in December last year, the KFC spork ombines fork and spoon into one and is made from bamboo, corn and sugarcane.
The entire decomposition process according to KFC will take about 18 months requires no additional treatment and leaves no toxic by-products.
The fast-food chain says that beyond the testing period, it plans to permanently introduce the compostable cutlery across the entire Canadian chain eliminating up to 40 million pieces of plastic waste from its operations.
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