Food and Beverage Business
Packaging

Trial of Recyclable Paper Pot for Iconic Pot Noodle Snack

Trial of Recyclable Paper Pot for Iconic Pot Noodle Snack Iconic, paper pot, Pot noodle, recyclable, Snack, trial Food and Beverage Business

Pot Noodle, the instant hot snack brand, is introducing its most significant innovation in nearly 50 years with a trial of a new recyclable paper pot, made with FSC-certified paper. This move towards sustainable packaging aligns with the brand’s commitment to halve the use of virgin plastic.

The new paper pot, consisting of 90% paper, has been launched exclusively in Tesco, with an initial stock of 500,000 units of Chicken & Mushroom flavor. The trial aims to gather shopper feedback and, if successful, Pot Noodle plans to transition its entire product range to paper pots. This shift has the potential to eliminate 4,000 tonnes of virgin plastic waste annually. Insights gained from the trial will support scaling up the innovative packaging at the Pot Noodle factory.

Developing and refining the paper pot took over three years and was led by the R&D teams at Hive, Unilever’s Global Foods Innovation Centre in the Netherlands, in collaboration with packaging experts in the UK. The challenge was to reduce plastic usage in each pot while ensuring the packaging maintained its distinctive shape, delivering the same high-quality eating experience that Pot Noodle fans have come to appreciate.

Andre Burger, General Manager Foods (Nutrition) at Unilever UK & Ireland, acknowledged the challenge of improving the packaging of Pot Noodle, a beloved British brand for over 40 years. “Big packaging innovations require time, expertise, and collaboration across multiple teams and partners,” said Burger. “Despite the challenges, we remain committed to reducing plastic in our packaging and embracing a paper-based future for our pots, all while preserving the beloved Pot Noodle experience. We are excited to learn from this trial and aim to offer our paper pots to a wider range of UK shoppers in the near future.”

These new paper pots can be easily recycled at home alongside cardboard and paper waste, with on-pack recycling labels providing clear guidance to UK shoppers. To maintain ingredient freshness and protect the paper when water is added, a single layer of ultra-thin plastic film is used for barrier protection. Importantly, this film does not compromise the recyclability of the pot.

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