Plastic The New Cigarettes For FMCG Brands As Mars Trials Paper Wrap

Mar 10, 2023

Mars is trialling paper-wrapped packaging in 500 Tesco stores in the U.K. (Photo by Sean ... [+] Gallup/Getty Images)

Could single-use plastic really come to be regarded as the cigarettes of the new generation?

That's certainly the view of Wai-Chan Chan, managing director of the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), who believes a profound change in consumer behavior has already started to happen.

And increasingly it appears to be the view of the world's major fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands.

Just this week candy favorite Mars bars (available globally outside the U.S. and from the same stable as Snickers) was given a new exterior with recyclable paper wrappers instead of plastic.

The move is part of a pilot, trialling more environmentally friendly materials for Mars Food's candy bars and the new packaging has been rolled out across 500 Tesco supermarkets in the U.K. this week.

The confectionary company said that it is looking to explore different types of packaging and how they perform in everyday life. The idea is to use that feedback to inform future packaging pilots.

And Mars Inc. added that the change will make "200 million bars per year carbon neutral in the U.K., Ireland and Canada".

The move follows European candy rival, Nestle, which switched to paper packaging for Smarties (a similar confectionary to M&Ms) in January 2021 and for its selection box star performer Quality Street in December 2022.

Nine of the 11 Quality Street range of candy miniatures have changed to paper-based packaging, while the remaining two stayed in their foil wrappers as these are recyclable anyway.

Nestlé also announced at the end of lst year that it was switching KitKat wrappers to 80% recycled plastic, allowing them to be recycled at grocery stores across the U.K. or put in household recycling in Ireland.

Mars Inc. admitted that for its test program it had been a challenge to identify the right paper packaging solution with what it described as an "adequate level of barrier properties to protect the chocolate".

However, with its current plastic wrappings not recyclable, as is the case for most such items including potato chip packets and many candy wrappers, a switch to paper is an important environmental move.

Nestle switched to paper and foil packaging for Christmas favorite Quality Street for the last ... [+] holiday season. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

The U.K. government in January announced a ban on single-use plastics such as plastic cutlery, plates and polystyrene trays, although that ban has not yet come in to effect. Meanwhile, plastic drinking straws were banned in the U.K. in 2020, while France banned single-use plastics for takeaway food venues in January.

And momentum to switch from plastics is growing.

The CGF — a worldwide organization bringing members together to tackle the huge transitions happening in the retail market — is encouraging brands to focus on what they can change and "what your staff, employees and regulation will demand is the best way forward," managing director Chan said on stage at a retail gathering in Barcelona last month.

"We know how consumers buy will change and we know there will be a big channel shift. And we know technology is changing, including AI. So there are some things you know will happen, but you don't quite know how," he said. "What we definitely have to act upon is the planet. Consumers, employees, regulators all want it and our role is to create a coalition for healthier lives. If you have CEOs driving the agenda, things will happen."

Mars said it is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to redesign thousands of types of packaging as it bids to reduce the use of virgin plastics by a quarter in the short-term, while also increasing its use of recycled plastic in its packaging.