Transcript created by AI, there may be transcription errors.
Anne Marie Mohan:
Hello, I’m Anne Marie Mohan, senior editor with the Packaging World. Last year my colleague Matt Reynolds reported on the transition by Duracell and by Energizer from the traditional plastic battery pack to a paperboard carton. At the time, it was a really big story and it continues to be when you think about these major brands switching over from one material and one format to another for their entire portfolio of products. It’s pretty significant. And as we learned, they realized quite a few sustainability benefits as well as benefits on shelf, greater shelf impact, ease of navigation for consumers and other advantages. We called it a transformation of the battery category. However, what I didn’t know at the time is that these companies weren’t the first to use paper packaging for batteries. In fact, it was a company out of Toronto that was among the first, if not the first, to use paper packaging for batteries.
The company is called Better Battery Company. It was founded by sisters Jacqueline Byles and Jessica Jenkins in 2021. The whole idea behind the company was to provide consumers with a more sustainable option for their household alkaline batteries. They looked at both the packaging and the product with a view towards sustainability. The batteries themselves are certified carbon neutral alkaline batteries. The packaging, as I will show you in a minute, has a number of sustainability and durability factors. They were really able to build these in and fine tune these when they started. Because they were an e-com company only, they didn’t have to worry about any retail considerations. This was only for e-comm customers. So as I mentioned, I will show you the packaging.
This is the original package format that they developed. The graphics have changed since, but this is the format. This package has four functions that I will elaborate on. The first one though is that it is designed to ship in its own container. So it’s a SIOC ships in its own container. Does not require a secondary case. Right there, it enables a lot of sustainability features, eliminates excess materials. It’s FSC certified. It’s recyclable first function. And in addition, with the shipping functionality, each battery is held in its own die-cut cavity, which keeps them secure during shipping and ensures that the terminals don’t touch. Second functionality storage, as you can see, as I mentioned, they’re all held very securely in here. And you’ve got this sturdy box. You just keep your batteries in here. You don’t have to worry about them rolling around in a drawer or any cabinet.
And then the next functionality, which I find the most innovative about this package is the battery path, which I have come to think of as the path to circularity. So if you can see here in the package, there’s these dark lines going from the top to the bottom. They’re separate lines for the different type of batteries. We have AA and AAA in here. So what the company suggests is that, as you can see, the white side of the battery is showing right now. That means that these batteries are fresh. They have not been used. What the company suggests is after you use the battery, you turn it over and it’s blue. So as you use them, as you go through the path, this will turn from white to blue. Once you’ve done that, and this is the final functionality, you can scan this QR code to go to Better Battery’s website, or you can go directly to their website and download a prepaid shipping label, which you can then use to send these batteries back to the company for recycling.
Excellent feature, excellent opportunity for consumers to find a way to responsibly dispose of used batteries. So as I mentioned, they eventually went into retail. That was in 2023. Then in 2025, they redesigned the packaging graphics for these formats. I have to mention that also when they went into retail, it gave them the opportunity to provide a greater assortment of batteries. Here’s a two count nine volt battery. They have a eight count AA and a number of other various package sizes and types. This can also be used for storage. These batteries can be returned for recycling, although I’m guessing not in these packages, but you can return these for recycling. They’ve been designed for retail. As you see, they have the die cuts for the pegs. Among the changes in the graphics, apparently when they were D2C only the packaging was somewhat inconsistent. So they standardized and they standardized around this teal color, which is their signature color.
It serves a couple of purposes. It signifies sustainability as well as provides greater shelf impact. They also used bolder types type here to indicate the type of battery and the package count. And then I was told that they made it more approachable. So rather than the very technical, heavy battery packages of some of the larger brands, it’s engaging. It’s fun inside here, inside are the instructions for the battery path and it says, Hey there, fellow earth lover. Here’s the lowdown on how this all works. It’s easy Scouts honor. Another factor here is that it’s in both English and in French, which is required for the Canadian market. And speaking of fun, copy this little package here, itty bitty positivity committee. I love it. So thank you Better Battery Company for providing these samples and for sharing your story and your packaging details with us. It’s a really engaging story and a very innovative way to approach sustainability in the battery category. And thank you all for joining me for this show and tell. PW
