McCormick's Old Bay Leads Charge of Spices Back to Tin
McCormick's Old Bay, and newer clean-label players, are bringing spices back to printed tin, pairing shelf impact and vintage charm with potential sustainability upside as EPR pressures grow.
Old Bay Seasoning in tin: McCormick’s Old Bay returns to its classic printed tin canister—iconic blue-and-yellow graphics with a red lid—shown here with front panel and back label (nutrition facts/recipes).
OLD BAY®
Iconic Baltimore seafood seasoning Old Bay, the flagship spice of the Chesapeake Bay region for generations, is changing its packaging from plastic back to its original material, tin. While maintaining its fan-favorite logo and design, this brings back the classic feeling and user experience of years past, on shelves this month.
"Old Bay is more than a seasoning. It's a symbol of heritage, flavor, and Baltimore pride," Giovanna DiLegge, VP, marketing, U.S. consumer at McCormick & Company. "The return to tin is our way of honoring generations of fans who've made Old Bay a staple for decades. From crab feasts with family and friends to much more, Old Bay has long been the flavor that brings people together."Eat Happy Kitchen “BBQ Dust” (front): Clean-label brand Eat Happy Kitchen debuts a vintage-inspired printed tin package for its BBQ Dust seasoning, designed to pop on shelf and look at home on the countertop.Eat Happy Kitchen
McCormick isn't alone among spice brands making the shift from a legacy format into printed tin plate containers. The woman-owned, clean label spice brand Eat Happy Kitchen is making its own move into fully redesigned vintage-inspired tin packaging, but not from plastic, rather from a recycled paperboard structure.
The company's founder Anna Vocino had this to say:
This was a complete redesign of the packaging. Previously, Eat Happy Kitchen's seasoning line was in canisters made from recycled paperboard with an aluminum plug and a plastic top. The new packaging is printed tin plate with plastic lids,"she said. "Designed to deliver clarity on the shelf and style on the counter, the new tins embrace the ‘kitchen couture’ movement, turning everyday pantry items into part of the kitchen aesthetic. Those who grew up in the ’50s, ’60s, or ’70s, vintage spice tins are iconic, and Anna wanted Eat Happy Kitchen’s updated packaging to capture that familiar, nostalgic charm."Eat Happy Kitchen “BBQ Dust” (back): Rear panel of the new tin pack highlights nutrition facts, brand details, and a QR code—pairing retro aesthetics with modern connectivity.Eat Happy Kitchen
Beyond nostalgia and vintage aesthetic, it's likely that there are sustainability implications for this move, especially as EPR legislation may reward more widely recyclable packaging, or packaging that uses high-content recyclable materials, as tin (steel) plate often does. Questions on this have been distributed to both brands to answer more fully.
Looking for CPG-focused digital transformation solutions? Download our editor-curated list from PACK EXPO featuring top companies offering warehouse management, ERP, digital twin, and MES software with supply chain visibility and analytics capabilities—all tailored specifically for CPG operations.
Eat Happy Kitchen “BBQ Dust” (front): Clean-label brand Eat Happy Kitchen debuts a vintage-inspired printed tin package for its BBQ Dust seasoning, designed to pop on shelf and look at home on the countertop.Eat Happy Kitchen
