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In early 2021, after just two years of planning and development, Nestlé converted all of its Smarties packaging to recycled paper, becoming the first global confectionery brand to do so. This is part of the company’s promise to make 100 percent of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.
Because paper packaging has a different coefficient of friction than other materials such as the plastic it replaces, it does not run as quickly or smoothly on a packaging line. Or at least that’s our guess. Bruce Funnell, Global Head of Confectionery Packaging at Nestlé’s Product Technology Center in York, UK, tells a fascinating story of manufacturing excellence, including:
• How these plants were able to seal new paper designs at the same line speed • What line tests they did and how • What adjustments to existing packaging lines were required • Information about the new specialized packaging installed at the plant in Hamburg, Germany Line details.
If you would like to suggest a topic for a future issue of PACKAGING POSSIBILITIES, please email Lisa Pierce at [email protected].
Lisa McTeague Pierce Hi everyone. Here’s another episode of the Possibility of Packaging podcast by Lisa Pierce, executive editor of Packaging Digest, which talks about what’s new and what’s ahead for executives and engineers, packaging designers and developers. I can’t believe how lucky we are today to learn from our guest, a packaging veteran who works for Nestlé’s global confectionery business.
The world’s largest food company recently switched all of its Smarties from plastic to paper packaging. Bruce Funnell told us about it today. Bruce is the Global Head of Confectionery Packaging at the Nestlé Technology Center across the pond from York, UK. Hi Bruce, welcome and thanks for this interview.
Lisa McTigue Pierce So let me quickly share some details about the project to set the stage for our conversation. Nestlé completed the transition from plastic to paper in 2021 and all Smarties products are now packaged in paper, which is packaged in various locations but mainly in Germany, Hamburg, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Canada, Australia and South Africa. Clearly a global brand.
Bruce, please tell us about all Smarties packaging formats that you have. So I’ve seen hex tubes, flow packs, flat packs, stand up pouches, and cartons. anything else?
Bruce Funnell (guest) No, that’s all of them. So let’s start with a huge tube which is a Smarties round tube which is the largest single SKU [stocking unit] we have, move, basically move, remove the plastic end caps and replace the format with a whole box, follow the hexatube. which has become our trademark over the past few years. In addition, the small hexagon tube multi-packs previously used in flow packs have been converted to paper front and back labeling solutions, once again eliminating the need for plastic.
Doy style bags, from plastic to paper, pillow bags and, of course, flow wrap. Of course, there are other uses and less obvious plastics like stickers, Easter egg accessories and the like. Clearly, each of these issues needs to be addressed systematically in order to eliminate them from our portfolio.
Lisa McTigue Pierce So, not only the main packaging, the main packaging, but any plastic parts. So this is really a shift, a complete rejection of plastic.
Lisa McTigue Pierce Well, I know… you can look at it from many angles, but customer satisfaction is key. So how did Nestlé get its customers involved in this change?
Bruce Funnell (guest) So in Germany, for example, as you mentioned, Germany and Hamburg are very important to us. We have done consumer research to test the new paper hex tube without plastic cap against amperage before release. Compared to previous editions, the carton concept received very high and very positive ratings.
Consumers are really worried about, you know, they… Can a one-piece hex tube be resealed? Can they also close it and leave some product for later?
Lisa McTeague Pierce Good, very good. Yes, resealable packaging is always at the top of the list of consumer preferences, no… almost no matter what the product is. But it’s definitely time to serve more.
OK. So this is the corner. other corner. I was wondering how the packaging team was involved in the decision to switch to paper packaging, or maybe a better question is when did the packaging team get involved in the project?
Bruce Funnell (guest) I thought that was true from the start. So the project obviously was a collaboration between packaging experts in Nestlé, our packaging institute for example in Switzerland and the different infrastructure of Nestlé through R&D operations and supply chain. So the project obviously was a collaboration between packaging experts in Nestlé, our packaging institute for example in Switzerland and the different infrastructure of Nestlé through R&D operations and supply chain. So the project was obviously the result of a collaboration between the packaging experts at Nestlé, our packaging institute, for example in Switzerland, and various Nestlé infrastructures through R&D and the supply chain. The project is thus clearly the result of a collaboration between Nestlé packaging specialists such as our packaging institute in Switzerland and other Nestlé infrastructure through R&D and the supply chain. … I mean, the packaging supply chain is really involved from the very beginning, because … they are the real key to its implementation, from material selection to printing and conversion, packaging, filling, logistics and our customers.
Yes, we really need to understand the end-to-end impact and the needs and concerns across the entire supply chain.
Lisa McTeague Pierce OK. We will also look at some of them in more detail, which is very interesting. So, Bruce, tell us a little about some of the considerations for packaging equipment using the new material on the packaging line.
Bruce Funnell (guest) Yes. You know, in most cases we had to adjust existing production lines. You know, it’s… they’re designed to work on plastic.
Bruce Funnell (guest) So it’s very important to get them moving, you know, handle them gently without tearing or puncturing the paper.
You know, sealing… sealing is another area where we need to innovate. As for heat sealing, I don’t know if you know it, but I think readers should know the principle of heat sealing. But, as you know, heat must be quickly transferred to the sealant so that we can close the package in time, so as not to reduce the speed of work, and ensure effective sealing … … on the package.
Paper is different. Paper is a very good insulator, so we had to look for alternative ways to achieve effective sealing without slowing down production or adding additional processing steps.
Lisa McTeague Pierce OK. I think we’ll get into some details later, but let’s talk about materials first, because I believe the project will also require the development of new packaging materials, especially when you move from plastic bags to packaging materials. packaging in paper bags. So, what innovations have been made in material terms?
Bruce Funnell (guest) Yeah, I think it’s important to say, you know, the first principle is that all the food we make has to be properly packaged. So make sure it’s safe and doesn’t get corrupted in any way. You know, although paper is one of the most recyclable materials, it does not by itself have sufficient barrier and functional properties to be used as food.
Bruce Funnell (Guest) He’s really porous. He’s porous. you know. Anyone who spills ink on paper will see it soak into the paper. So, you know, we had to work outside. We must work with external partners (i.e. suppliers) to develop paper alternatives that retain the barrier and functional properties needed to keep the product safe and fresh. You understand and support the safety and quality of the product during the expiration date.
Lisa McTeague Pierce: I know that in some other plastic-to-paper conversions, especially the heat seal and barrier properties you talk about here, there is often a very thin inner layer of plastic that still provides a heat seal barrier like yours. It is known that an internal plastic-to-plastic seal is used to form the seal. Is this the structure of many of your paper bags?
Bruce Funnell (guest) So these papers use a water-based coating that effectively clogs all the pores you mentioned and keeps us in a barrier. But it is important to say that the material… it is no longer a coating, if you will, like in magazines, magazine glossy paper. This means that it can be recycled in the paper recycling stream without problems, and all these coatings, inks, etc. can be stripped and disposed of as part of the normal paper recycling process.
Lisa McTeague Pierce Okay, fine. Thank you. So, I know you’re doing some material testing. Could you tell us more about how you were able to test these materials on the packaging line and what these tests showed? I know that in other cases it has been a little more difficult for companies to test a new material on a line that is already producing a different type of packaging and find the time to make it work. You know, finding time to use a car when it’s not doing what it’s supposed to do. This is problem? Did you make any changes to your materials during this iterative testing process?
Bruce Funnell (Guest) We did it. I mean, it’s important to say that not all documents are the same. During development, we found that although we selected some documents, we had to customize them for the application, you know, by testing and developing a program to evaluate their performance requirements. Extensive testing was done during development. As you mentioned, we do this at different stages, from pilot to full-scale industrial tests.
You know, we had to tweak and tweak some components of the packaging line to ensure Smarties were properly protected throughout the supply chain and ultimately delivered to consumers without compromise.
Lisa McTeague Pierce OK. Will you be able to find the time and debug it on serial equipment during testing, or do you have a pilot line?
Bruce Funnell (Guest) Yes, we have a pilot facility. Whether it’s a pilot test at a supplier, at a processor, at our factory, at our facility, we can do it. Obviously, everything starts on a laboratory scale, from small to pilot, and then to full-scale industrial tests.
Lisa McTeague Pierce Good, very good. Thank you. So with breaking changes like this, you take a holistic approach during development to improve the package as much as possible. For example, you mentioned a six-tube multipack where you add the ability to take one tube out of the pack at a time. And I believe that in some cases, in some of the formats that we talked about, you can also reduce the overall packaging material compared to the plastic version. Can you tell us more about these developments?
Bruce Funnell (guest) I thought I could give you a couple of examples. We’ll probably start with the giant hex tubes, I think this is a great example of how we took the opportunity to not just take away the plastic parts, but really look at the whole design and change the current design. In this way, we can achieve a one-piece format versus a multi-component one. It also reduces headroom. Thus, the overall height is reduced by about 10%, which obviously improves the efficiency of the entire supply chain.
Lisa McTeague Pierce Wow. Yes. A great. Yes. This is a large hex tube. What about multipack?
Bruce Funnell (guest) Yes. So, back, yes, that’s the next item. The second example is the hex tube multipack [pictured above], which I am most proud of, very proud of. Not only did we get rid of the plastic packaging organizer, but we also wanted to make it easier to use. So, you know that the consumer is allowed to rip off one tube at a time. We know how important convenience features are for consumers and it really requires a lot of testing with multiple images, multiple perforation patterns, different label materials. But we think it’s worth the effort in the end when you see how easy it is for consumers to use and how well it works in the supply chain.
Lisa McTeague Pierce Good, very good. I’ve seen pictures of it, but I don’t know… it’s for sale – six pack – is it here in the US? I have to see it.
Bruce Funnell (guest) I don’t think so. I think it’s only in Europe, mainly in the UK and Germany.
Lisa McTigue Pierce Well maybe next time I’m there I’ll look it up to try this feature. I love playing with packages.
Lisa McTigue Pierce So Bruce, let’s talk about the number of items, since you make a lot of Smarties, I was just wondering how you decided to go with this particular product line for this packaging change. Is quantity a problem? What decisions were made along the way?
Bruce Funnell (guest), of course. You know, volume is a problem. It’s a bold move when you move over 400 SKUs from one material to another and around 250 million packs are sold worldwide every year. Solve each of our Smarties product lines worldwide in a very short time. This……
Bruce Funnell (guest) It appears to have been announced in January 2019 and delivered in early 2021. So, you know, two years is an amazing feat.
Bruce Funnell (guest) You know, it’s very helpful to take a step-by-step approach. However, you know that some production lines require investments in new equipment, which requires reasonable coordination to ensure that supplies are not affected. As you mentioned, you know how to use a line that is already in production, find the right time, and build the right inventory to make this transition.
Lisa McTeague Pierce I want to go back to the barrier properties or performance properties of materials. I mention this because in other conversations I’ve had with food companies over the past few years, partly due to some product rationalization due to COVID and supply chain issues, some about expiration dates and what if you…if you’re able Shortening the shelf life can sometimes give you some green packaging benefits. You know, whether it’s a less complex design that’s easier to recycle, or a shorter package like a head… minimizing free space in the hex tube and such. Have you ever experienced these issues when reviewing packaging changes for your products?
Bruce Funnell (Guest) Yes, I think you know how important it is that all the food we prepare is properly packaged to make sure it’s safe and won’t spoil in any way. You know, although paper is one of the most recycled products, as we have already mentioned, it does not by itself have sufficient barrier and functional properties to be used as food. Therefore, we must develop paper-based alternatives that retain barrier and functional properties, ensuring product safety and quality throughout the shelf life.
Lisa McTigue Pierce Well, before we hear more from Bruce about the new packaging line installed by Nestlé and the lessons learned from the project, let’s take a break and listen to something special.
Lisa Pierce and packaging digest. If you enjoyed this podcast, I have great news for you. Other episodes feature other executives from brand-owning companies, including tuna giant Bumble Bee Foods, food and confectionery market leader Mars, spirits maker Absolut, and snack food king Frito-Lay. Find these conversations and more on the Packagingdigest.com Slash Packaging Hyphen Podcast. www.packagingdigest.com/packaging-possibilities-podcast Check out our current podcast for more.
Lisa McTigue Pierce So, Bruce, some of the existing packaging lines you mentioned have been adapted to work with the new material. But the interesting thing is that you can also install a brand new packaging line for tall paper tubes. I’m assuming it’s a tall hex, am I right?
Post time: Dec-21-2022