March 23, 2021
Following many corporate sustainability commitments dealing with packaging, Mars Wrigley is the latest company to announce its own plans. But unlike many of the new eco-friendly packaging plans, different manufacturers have put forward, this one doesn’t require much effort on the part of the consumer to help the planet.
Mars Wrigley has decided to start this initiative small — literally — by making packaging that it said is more likely to become litter rather than be recycled.
Biodegradable candy wrappers are the goal of a new two-year partnership between Mars Wrigley and Danimer Scientific, the companies announced. Mars plans to start creating biodegradable wrappers for Skittles. The company expects the new wrappers will be on shelves in late 2021 or early 2022.
Danimer Scientific has created a biodegradable packaging called Nodax polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), which is produced through natural fermentation processes using plant oils including soy and canola. The companies will work together to turn this material into a flexible package that meets the needs of the confectionery segment.
Many sustainability-minded food companies are looking at packaging improvements as a way to meet their goals. Several of these new packages are likely to hit shelves this year, including recyclable granola bar wrappers on General Mills’ Nature Valley brand, bottles made from 100% recycled plastic material for Coca-Cola and 100% plastic-free paper-based bottles by Diageo.Mars Wrigley has a goal of making 100% of its packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025. The Skittles wrapper is a good start toward that goal. The technology also could easily expand to other plastic-wrapped confections in Mars Wrigley’s portfolio. Once Danimer Scientific has been able to perfect this wrapping, it could be adopted by other CPG companies that rely on flexible plastic packaging.