As Nestlé embarked on an ambitious three-year effort to develop paper capsules for its popular Nespresso platform, one of its biggest secret weapons coming from within.
In 2019, the CPG giant formed its Institute for Packaging Sciences to help the food and beverage maker meet its “very ambitious” packaging commitments across its portfolio, Gerhard said. down riderwho heads the division.
In this case, the institute, working with other divisions in Nestlé and an external partner had to overcome the challenges posed by paper packaging while maintaining the same quality and taste that consumers have come to expect from the Nespresso brand.
Nestlé also had to address a number of other challenges, including making sure the shape was compatible with the Nespresso platform, that the capsules were filled and sealed correctly at the factory, and ensuring that the coffee met strict food safety and regulatory standards. .
The paper capsules, which will be tested this spring in France and Switzerland, complement the recyclable aluminum capsules by offering choice to consumers, the company said.
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Courtesy of Nestle
Nespresso’s capsules are a key part of the Swiss-based manufacturer’s goal to improve the sustainability of the millions of pounds of packaging material the company uses each year in its frozen foods, coffees, creamers and plant-based meats.
be protected has promised that by 2025 95% of its plastic packaging will be recyclable. More generally, the company wants all its packaging to eventually be recyclable or reusable.
Nestlé also committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century. While the majority of its CO2 emissions come from sourcing ingredients such as dairy, another 12% is generated from packaging, giving the company a way to make a more immediate impact.
“For me, it’s an emotional issue.” down rider saying. “With the size of be protectedwe really can… offer sustainable solutions for be protected and the market.”
Overcoming inevitable challenges
As be protected makes strides to improve its packaging, even if a new option is possible, that doesn’t always mean it will be practical on the market. The packaging must meet a series of requirementsincluding food protection, maintain food safety, contribute to the company’s goal of reducing CO2 emissions, maintain compatibility with existing manufacturing machinery and not be cost prohibitive.
These challenges are one of the main reasons why some of Nestlé’s early packaging revisions came about by replacing the plastic straws and spoons found in products, such as Nesquik and Nescafé, with paper-based equivalents that are crucial to use the product but do not have to overcome. many of these obstacles.
“There are some products where we can move faster,” he said. knockdown, Who joined be protected nearly two decades ago as a food engineer working with products including DiGiorno pizza, Blue Bottle, Starbucks coffee, and Coffeemate before joining the packaging institute. “But you have to be careful not to implement solutions too quickly because it can have long-term effects that are very negative.”
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New packaging, several of which trace its origins to the institute, has found its way into many of from Nestle best known brands.
In the USA, from Nestle Natural Bliss cream bottles can be recycled without removing the label cover due to the compatible materials and inks used. For Stouffer’s individual trays, their popular frozen treats, the material is made from 30% recycled plastic. The company recently transitioned from using black dye to unpigmented bins, which can increase the likelihood that material can be accurately sorted at recycling facilities.
From plastic to paper
Few packaging materials have drawn as much criticism as plastic. While the material’s durability, low cost and water resistance have made it popular, plastic has been condemned for polluting the environment and endangering wildlife.
The future of packaging, Niederreiter said, will likely be a mix of paper, glass, other less-used materials and even plastic.
“Plastic will be part of the portfolio in the future,” he said. “Plastic itself is not bad. It’s only bad if it’s not well managed.” Niederreiter said that in markets where plastic is not collected and recycled, or the program is not robust, Nestlé could turn to paper and other alternatives.
The popularity of paper as a packaging material has grown exponentially and is likely to have an even bigger presence in the future.
“There are some products where we can move faster. But you have to be careful not to implement solutions too quickly because it can have long-term effects that are very negative.”
Gerhard Niederreiter
Director of the Nestlé Institute of Packaging Sciences
A handful of big CPGs have dabbled in paper packaging, including Kraft Heinz with a ketchup bottle, Bumble Bee with cardboard wrappers for tuna cans, and Diageo with paper whiskey bottles.
Niederreiter said the biggest challenge with paper is that it’s porous like a sponge, increasing the ability for moisture and oxygen to seep into food that packaging is designed to prevent. To slow down the process, Nestlé, other CPGs and packaging providers have added a thin layer of aluminum. inside a sheet of paper that can be removed before recycling. Once these and other obstacles are overcome, paper has several advantages.
“The consumer knows what to do with paper. I no longer have to explain to anyone in the world what to do with the paper”, down rider saying. “Paper is renewable. Paper is compostable, right?
Addressing the consumer
While the future of packaging is largely focused on the work of CPG companies and their suppliers be protected saying the buyer will play an even more important role.
Consumers, many of whom choose which products to buy based on the sustainability profile of the offer, have shown a greater willingness to bring their own packaging to stores when buying items, such as coffee or cereals. They’re also more willing to buy the product, similar to what people do with large plastic water jugs at home, and then return the empty packaging to the store when they’re done.
”Consumers are receiving more sensitive to packaging and increasingly willing to bring their own packaging to the retailer in the US.” down rider saying. “This is, in my opinion, the future.”
In 2019, Haagen Dazs (be protected he has since divested his ice cream business in the US.) partnered with Loop on a reusable, double-walled steel ice cream container that keeps ice cream in peak condition during transport and consumption. The packaging could be collected, cleaned, refilled and reused.
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Permission granted by Nestlé
At the moment, be protected is testing reusable Loop containers for cereal, coffee, and nesquick in France with supermarket chain Carrefour, and nesquik in Germany in collaboration with the start-up circulation.
While be protected Headquartered in Switzerland, the company has a large global presence, including in the US, which is now responsible for $25.5 billion, or 28% of from Nestle global sales. He CPG Giant’s large presence allows it to take packaging changes and implement them around the world, or incorporate them into other offerings available in other parts of the world.
Doing what he does best
be protected is careful to point out that it is a food and beverage company, not a packaging producer. The institute develops packaging prototypes of what be protected would like to use in one of your products. The company then contacts a supplier to manufacture the material.
The Nestlé Packaging Institute includes a team of 50 scientists based at its research headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
But Nestlé’s efforts extend beyond the institute itself. The company works closely with its own 200 packaging R&D specialists, as well as packaging suppliers, start-ups and universities. The company is also aware of packaging developments announced by its competitors, or in other industries outside of food and beverage.
But a fledgling packaging option can be a money-wasting endeavor for be protected. The manufacturer may never have produced it before, and be protected you are asking, at least initially, for it to be produced in smaller batches, which is usually more expensive. Once production goes up, costs usually go down.
“You always think ahead and that’s at least where I think in two or three years with the volumes we’ll get cost-neutral solutions,” Niederreiter said.
