Heinz has recently unveiled a new version of its plastic bottle cap in the U.K., marking the culmination of a nine-year effort involving 185,000 hours of product development, 45 iterations, and $1.2 million in investment.
The key innovation behind the new cap lies in its construction: unlike its predecessor, the new cap is crafted from a single material, mono-material polypropene (PP). This shift eliminates the need for multiple types of plastic, including a hard-to-recycle silicone material used in the old cap’s valve mechanism, streamlining the recycling process.
With the new design, Heinz aims to make its bottle caps indistinguishable to consumers while significantly reducing the environmental impact. By simplifying the material composition, recycling facilities can process the caps more efficiently, potentially diverting hundreds of millions of caps from landfills each year.
The new cap’s success was recognized with the Rigid Pack of the Year award for Kraft Heinz at the 2023 U.K. Packaging Awards, underscoring its significance in sustainability and innovation.
Plastic packaging manufacturer Berry Global played a crucial role in the cap’s development. Matthias Hammersen, sales director at Berry Global, highlighted the collaborative effort to create a recyclable cap that maintains performance standards and enhances the consumer experience.
Heinz’s commitment to sustainability extends beyond its bottle caps, with a broader goal of reducing its global use of virgin plastic by 20% by 2030, amounting to over 100 million fewer pounds of plastic.
This forward-thinking approach to innovation has the potential to inspire similar initiatives across industries that rely on plastic packaging, such as the beauty and personal care sector. By adopting recyclable and sustainable packaging solutions, companies can significantly reduce the environmental impact of their products and contribute to waste reduction efforts.
Rashida La Lande, Executive Vice President at Kraft Heinz, emphasized the importance of embracing change and investing in innovative technologies and partnerships to drive progress in packaging design. This commitment underscores Heinz’s dedication to implementing sustainable practices and advocating for the adoption of reuse models across the industry.