The Pittsburgh-based Heinz company recently announced a partnership with a sustainable packaging technology company to replace its iconic ketchup bottle with a paper-based model made from wood pulp.
Heinz officials said in a release that the collaboration with England-based Pulpex is a step forward in the company’s goal to reduce its environmental footprint.
In a prior announcement, the company pledged to make all packaging for its entire line of condiments and sauces more environmentally friendly by 2025. The company currently packages ketchup in plastic, glass, and packets. Heinz is the first sauce brand to test the paper-based renewable and recyclable bottle.
Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio said packaging waste is a challenge that should be addressed by all those in the industry and that the company is dedicated to moving toward sustainability.
“This new HEINZ bottle is one example of how we are applying creativity and innovation to explore new ways to provide consumers with the products they know and love while also thinking sustainably,” he said in the release.
According to the release, the new bottle, which will still feature the company’s “57” slogan, is in the development stage to test how well the paper-based packaging holds up to ketchup and whether that packaging will work for other products in the Heinz line.
The partnership is working together on a prototype-testing phase before testing with consumers and eventually putting the new bottle on the market.
Rashida La Lande, Kraft Heinz’s corporate affairs officer, said in the release that company officials hope to become the first sauce brand to market products more eco-friendly and are “eager to continue discovering more sustainable packaging for our beloved and iconic brands.”
Pulpex uses patented technology to produce consumer goods packaging that the company says is cheaper and more renewable than glass.
“We believe that the scope for paper-based packaging is huge, and when global household names like HEINZ embrace this type of innovative technology, it’s good news for everyone — consumers and the planet,” said Pulpex CEO Scott Winston in the release.
According to Pulpex’s website, the company has collaborated with global companies Johnnie Walker, PepsiCo, and Estée Lauder on sustainable packaging initiatives.
In addition to its namesake products, Kraft Heinz manufactures other brands, including Oscar Meyer, Jell-O, Classico, and Maxwell House.
The H.J. Heinz Co. began producing products in 1869 in a Pittsburgh neighborhood, but it was not until 1876 that its iconic Heinz Ketchup was developed and sold. By the early 1900s, the product was the largest producer of tomato ketchup in the world.
By 1923, the company was selling 57 different products; that was when the iconic number started to appear on packaging. Today, the company produces hundreds of varieties of its products.
In 2013, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital bought the Heinz company, and in 2015, Heinz Co. purchased Kraft Foods Group to form Kraft Heinz Co.
