Premier Foods cuts 40 tonnes of packaging from Bisto line
Its new recyclable paperboard drums – produced by Sonoco – will be introduced along with a new sized Bisto Gravy product, which will come in caddies that are 8mm smaller than the previous edition.
The move will save 40 tonnes of paper annually at Premier’s Bisto manufacturing line in Worksop, Nottinghamshire.
Commenting on the change, Savan Sabharwal – marketing controller on the Bisto range – said: “Reducing the size of our drum is a great example of how small changes can ladder up to make a big difference.
‘More sustainable solution’
“We make around 50m Bisto gravy drums each year and so change of this scale requires real collaboration. We’re really pleased to have found a more sustainable solution while retaining the quality of Bisto that people love and expect.”
Sonoco’s paperboard container is made from recycled paper fibre, including a paperboard end. All inks and adhesives are water-based and all materials used in the packaging are easily separable within the recycling process, according to the manufacturer.
Made from 95% paperboard, the new drums exceed the UK requirement for packaging to contain at least 85% paperboard to be accepted in the paper waste stream – a target that will increase to 90% by 2023.
Range-wide change
Premier is in the process applying the new height to all its gravy drums, which will include Chicken, Onion, Turkey and Vegetable variants.
Sonoco UK sales manager Philip Brown added: “Premier’s decision to reduce the height of the drum demonstrates its determination to give its customers a solution that uses less resources, while also giving them more of the products they love at the same great price.”
Meanwhile, last month, Kellogg’s announced its Corn Flakes cereal packaging was to go fully paper-based with the trial of a paper liner that can be widely recycled.
The company said the pilot, which will take part in partnership with Tesco in a small number of stores from January 2022, would help shape its packaging plans.
