McCormick, known for its line of herbs and spices, is going to do a redesign of its core red-cap-branded product packaging for the first time in nearly 40 years. It has designed the new packaging to better maintain freshness and minimize food waste while incorporating recycled content.
McCormick says the 50% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic bottles it’s rolling out this year have an approximately 18% to 23% smaller carbon footprint across sizes. The caps are not made with PCR.
The company also said the redesign features prominent product names and best-by dates on the lid. Furthermore, an “improved bottling process draws out excess air during filling, reducing the amount of oxygen inside, which can have an impact on freshness over time. “The new proprietary snap-closure lids will “audibly seal in flavour.”
McCormick sourced about 2.5% of its material from post-consumer recycled content. McCormick’s packaging-related goals include reducing its carbon footprint from the packaging by 25% by 2025 and achieving 100% circular plastics packaging (packaging that can be reused, recycled, or repurposed) in consumer products. Those goals are from the 2015 baselines. 2021’s progress was a 10.4% decrease in carbon footprint, and 84% of plastic packaging was considered circular.
The company said it is “removing all problematic plastics” from its products and developing more sustainable packaging. This includes the incorporation of recycled material into PET bottles and HDPE mustard bottles. Additionally, they are aiming for 80% recycling and recovery of solid waste from our facilities,” the report stated.