Nestlé Packaging

We are committed to a waste-free future.

We are helping to create a future where cleverly designed packaging, innovative new materials, better recycling infrastructure and reusable or refillable packaging can prevent waste from contaminating the land and oceans. Reaching this goal requires participation from all levels of society. We are proud to be a catalyst for that change, inspiring a future where people and partners everywhere rethink how they engage with packaging.

Our vision is ambitious: A world in which none of our packaging, including plastics, ends up in landfill or as litter on land or in seas, oceans, and waterways.

Our five-pillar packaging strategy

We are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to make simple, yet smart and sustainable packaging. This includes refillable designs, alternative delivery solutions and more recycled content. When considering the 'after-life' of our packaging, we are committed to helping to improve the recycling infrastructure where our products are sold, as well as encouraging people to do what they can to limit waste.

Our Institute of Packaging Science is the only research institute of its kind in the food industry. Set up in 2019, the Institute has a number of packaging experts dedicated to developing the next generation of sustainable packaging materials. It is helping evolve the way packaging is designed, from developing refillable or reusable packaging to using simplified or recycled packaging materials, high-performance barrier papers and bio-based, compostable and biodegradable materials.

Our strategy provides a structure for our entire team, including the Institute of Packaging Science, our packaging experts, researchers, product developers and our many partners to achieve our overall aims:

1 Reducing our use of virgin plastic packaging material

We want to use less packaging material, including less virgin plastic. Examples of how we’re doing this include removing unnecessary plastic lids, accessories, layers and films.

KitKat is New Zealand’s first chocolate bar to be packed in wrappers that use 30% recycled plastic. In 2023, across Australia and New Zealand, 40 million 45g KitKat bars were packed in the recycled wrapper - saving around 250,000m2 of virgin plastic.
READ MORE ABOUT KITKAT: NEW ZEALAND’S FIRST FOOD WRAPPED IN SOFT PLASTIC
2 Exploring reusable and refillable systems

To reduce the need for disposable packaging, we are working hard to eliminate non-recyclable plastics and investing in innovative, alternative delivery systems.

Many of these solutions are already being used by Nestlé in other countries around the world, including a bulk delivery system for pet food, reusable containers for foods such as ice cream, and refill stations for products like coffee.

3 Pioneering alternative packaging materials to facilitate recycling

We are collaborating with industrial partners to develop new packaging materials and solutions. For example, we have eliminated plastic straws from our products, using paper as an alternative. The innovation required us to develop an entirely new supply chain to meet a key technical challenge: Bendable paper straws that are durable enough for consumers, while meeting rapid dissolvability criteria for paper recycling.

Across our portfolio, we’re evaluating the materials we use and testing alternatives, like using recyclable paper packaging for our entire range of Smarties. The change to paper packaging, removes approximately 250 million plastic packs around the world each year.