Consumer
to a profound impact and change across the category. “When we look back on this journey over the last few years, we learned it’s really case by case, because the products are very different. The impact of packaging in Smarties with its hard shells that protect the centre would be different to that of KitKat due to the soft wafer outside and chocolate covering. It would require a very different protection. “We then have to consider the long supply chain as we produce in our factories, then move to central warehouses and, finally, to customers via supermarkets or other shops. Even though we know today that paper is viewed more favourably, we cannot simply move all our confectionery into this packaging without further exploration, innovation and research. We have to be methodical and take each case individually, as every product will require adjustments and slightly different functional and performance needs. There is not a one- size-fits-all solution.”
Plastic reality
While the category impact was significant, the team that really lived and experienced this was the packaging engineering group that was responsible for making the change a reality, led by Bruce Funnell, head of packaging global confectionery. Funnell agrees with Von Maillot. “As Alexander mentioned, a change like this, impacting more than 400 SKUs is on a very significant scale. The first major realisation is the scale of what you are tackling. It gives us a chance to look across the globe at all the different formats we’re using, and makes you think, ‘Are they as efficient as they could be?’ ‘Is this an opportunity also to start to look at this?’
“For example, there was a major change in format; we have this core tube made of board with an end cap of plastic, and a cardboard end at the other side, and a tamper-evident sleeve all around. All this has to be tackled and led to a completely different format. Our new-look hexagonal tube, the closure moving from plastic to paper, all of these changes, to give us the manufacturing flexibility to provide consumers the format they want, requires a lot of engineering excellence to make possible.” “Of course, it’s our dream to sell a one-size-fits-all product in every market in the world,” continues Von Maillot, “as we could then have massive lines efficiently running 24/7, and no need to provide any flexibility, but the reality is that the local market dictates everything. What we provide needs to fit into the local consumers’ price point. There are many factors and variables that inform what material you use and need to be addressed when you make a packaging change, and they might not all be apparent.”
Such drastic changes and sudden shifts in supply chain and packaging vernaculars also necessitate an
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evolving understanding of machinery. Specifically, what type of production tools are needed to conform to the increasingly sustainable demands of consumers. “Typically, flow-wraps, pouches and bags run at a certain speed on the line,” explains Funnell, “and we can maintain that speed while ensuring the product is protected. We know how the packaging acts going down the line and how the product reacts inside it, so we can ensure it reaches consumers in the best condition. But paper is a very different material, and while it has some fantastic qualities it also has some limitations compared with plastic.” In response, Funnell’s team had to ask themselves quite searching questions, such as: how is the material made? Or, how does it move through Nestlé’s existing converting operations?
Opposite: The entire packaging range of Smarties, all of which is now paper.
“Every product will require adjustments and slightly different functional and performance needs. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution.”
Alexander von Maillot
“We had to account for the fact that paper is very absorbent,” he says, “and we did not want any issues from odour or taint affecting the finished product. We had to manage this right the way through, with factories ensuring that we can handle the paper throughout without damage – because paper is more at risk of rupture.” Funnell affirms Von Maillot’s mantra: there is no one-size-fits-all in packaging applications. “The packaging provides the service to the product; it’s the product that the consumer wants to eat. And we need to deliver the great taste and quality the consumer expects, and we have to do that in the most efficient way with the right amount of resources [without] creating waste anywhere in the value chain.”
Funnell is keen to point out the multifaceted and complex differences between plastic and paper – even though Nestlé has used the latter for packaging in the past. “Many people have commented that we were already in paper in the past and that this move took nearly two years to complete,” he confesses. “But even the very first format that we produced in paper started at relatively slow speeds. And we had to learn about the material behaviour down the line, and consider design features like no hard edges.” It was, according to both, a true team effort in the company, from everyone: the commercial teams, factories, R&D, suppliers and recyclers. Nonetheless, “it was a hugely rewarding project to be part of”, Funnell beams. ●
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