Mars' Kind is Next in Line with Curbside Recyclable Paper Wrapper
The repulpable paper used to flow-wrap these bars is a curbside recyclable, How2Recycle pre-qualified paper film supplied by Printpack. The move is more evidence of a growing global, now national trend toward paper films able to run on existing equipment.
The Kind Dark Chocolate Nuts & sea salt bars will be sold in singles in the paper wrapper at Whole Foods, so a consumer will not purchase a carton.
KI Snacks, a Mars Snacking brand, is introducing a curbside recyclable paper wrapper pilot at Whole Foods Markets in the U.S. The news comes shortly on the heels of Riverside Natural Foods launching its MadeGood Foods snack bars in curbside recyclable paper wrappers. Taken together, the two U.S. announcements demonstrate that the global paper wrapper trend for confectionery and snack bars is finally making U.S. landfall with in-market, commercially available pilots and launches.
KIND Snacks says the pilot marks a significant step toward achieving a recycle-ready wrapper for the bars category while the brand continues to make progress towards its goal of ensuring all packaging is designed for recyclability by 2030. Printpack, KIND’s technical packaging partner, says that the pulpable paper used to flow-wrap these bars is a curbside recyclable, How2Recyclepre-qualified paper type. Stakeholders say that this packaging material will help make it possible for consumers to recycle.
“Our collaboration with KIND represents a true paradigm shift in sustainable packaging,” says Sandra Lewis, principal packaging advisor, Whole Foods Market. “Through their innovative development of this recyclable paper wrapper, they're fundamentally reimagining how snack foods can be packaged. Working together to bring this solution to our shelves represents a significant milestone in our mission to reduce single-use plastics.”
The company says the project builds on KIND’s first pilot of a paper-based wrapper in 2023, which was an e-commerce trial available exclusively on kindsnacks.com. This initial pilot gave the brand a foundation of consumer feedback and performance insights, like strong preliminary shelf life, transit, and machinability data. After spending the last year in R&D to integrate learnings, KIND and its partners bring to market what they say is an improved, fully recyclable wrapper available in-store. While in market, the company will collect more data from retailers and consumers to assess next steps on the project.
KIND Snacks says that its packaging goal, that all its packaging is designed for recyclability by 2030, is part of the brand’s overall sustainability strategy. This latest paper wrapper pilot, the company says, will continue KIND’s practice of launching projects and pilots grounded in science and with scalability in mind.
“At KIND, we’re constantly listening to our consumers, and what we hear is clear—they want products that not only deliver exceptional quality but also align with their values,” says Osher Hoberman, CMO of KIND North America. “This new paper wrapper pilot is a direct result of that feedback. We’re proud to continue to lead the industry with bold, forward-thinking and innovative solutions, not just for our packaging, but across our entire product portfolio.”KIND's Dark Chocolate, Nuts, & Sea Salt with Almonds & Peanuts, its more popular variety, now carries "New Recyclable Paper Wrapper" on its label.
Shelf life, durability and recyclability thresholds
“We chose paper for these pilots because we believe paper is the best solution to drive circularity right now as there is already a market and infrastructure for paper recycling,” Kerri Clark, VP of packaging R&D at KIND told Packaging World. “We hope to gather insights on the consumer experience and technical research, and from there, we’ll take our learnings and explore what the best paper type is to scale this pilot. At select Whole Foods where the product is sold, we’re placing a sticker on the bars where consumers are invited to take a survey about the new paper wrapper. Our insights team is also conducting intercept testing to compare results from the previous paper wrapper in 2023.”
The existing, legacy package material that the new paper package would replace if it were to scale is printed polypropylene. That package has a 12- to 15-month shelf life.
“Currently the shelf life is six months for this paper wrapper, and we’re looking forward to gain insights from this test and learn approach while the bars on shelf at Whole Foods Market,” Clark says. “Durability was also key when creating this paper wrapper, and something we were not going to compromise on when considering shelf life. We had to make sure we chose a paper wrapper that had a high oxygen and moisture barrier.”
KIND worked with packaging designer and global branding experience agency SGK to design the packaging’s aesthetic. The flexographically printed paper film material is able to run on existing flow-wrapping equipment. Minor adjustments were made to the machinery to mitigate tearing when forming within the equipment.
To communicate to consumers that the wrapper is now curbside recyclable, some design changes were rolled out. On the front of pack, there is text that states “new recyclable paper wrapper.” On the back, it states “Check local programs for recyclability. Learn more about our paper wrapper test at kindsnacks.com/paper-wrapper. Rollstock runs on existing flow-wrapping equipment. Minor adjustments were made to mitigate tears while forming.
The KIND dark chocolate, nuts, & sea salt bars will be sold in singles in the paper wrapper at Whole Foods, so a consumer will not purchase a carton. However, the carton does carry the same aesthetic and verbiage as the paper wrapper single bar stating “new recyclable paper wrapper bar” and is the same as KIND’s traditional cartons that carry the legacy/existing packaging, Clark says.
Global trend makes U.S. landfall
As referenced at the outset, this move is the latest in a spate of confectionery and snack shifts to paper-based or fiber-based packaging. British brand Walkers Chocolates recently switched to paper with their own brand Turkish Delight using a film fromEvoPak, made with hydrophilic polymer hydropol byAquapak. Italian wafer and confectioner Loacker launched in Koehler Paper’s option, NexPlus Seal Pure MOB flexible packaging paper, And Finnish brand owner Orkla Snacks began piloting a new paper wrapper from UPM Specialty Papers called Asendo Pro, replacing traditional polypropylene plastic wrappers, for its Panda Milk Chocolate brand. All of these recent moves follow a host of chocolate and confectionery swaps away from plastic into paper-based wrappers that happened over the last year to 18 months, including by Nestlé KitKat and Mars in Australia, and Mars candy bars in the U.K.
Some observers of this trend worry that barrier properties supported by coatings/additives, or usually, some % of PE or metalized film/aluminum, mean that the package isn't 100% paper, thus contaminating streams, and worry that the form factor or size means that the wrapper won't be collected. So we asked Jeff Snyder at Rumpke Waste & Recycling to weigh in on those concerns.
"All paper materials that come through the MRF are separated by ballistic/ elliptical, screens or optics. If it is paper, we will get it where it needs to go. The size of the package concerns me a little bit at some MRFs across the country. The bigger question is how the paper mills feel about it being 80%, meaning they are buying fiber packaging where a portion of it will be lost in the process and not fully recycled. The paper-making process will take any non-fiber out through the pulping and stock cleaning process. I usually tell folks if you can tear it [like paper], then put it in the [recycling] bin," Snyder says.
The KIND paper wrapper will be available exclusively at select Whole Foods Market stores across Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Texas, southern California, and select stores in Louisiana, Arizona, and Nevada starting May 1through October 1while supplies last for KIND’s best-selling Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt single bars. PW
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KIND's Dark Chocolate, Nuts, & Sea Salt with Almonds & Peanuts, its more popular variety, now carries "New Recyclable Paper Wrapper" on its label.
