Welcome to the ketchup bottle of tomorrow

Heinz, maker of the world’s favourite ketchup and beloved condiments, is teaming up with Pulpex to develop a paper-based, renewable and recyclable bottle made from 100 percent sustainably sourced wood pulp. Innovating its iconic ketchup bottle, Heinz is the first sauce brand to test the potential of Pulpex's sustainable paper bottle packaging for its range of world-famous condiments.

For The Kraft Heinz Company, this collaboration is the latest step in its journey to reduce its environmental footprint. It progresses the Company’s sustainable packaging ambitions, in that it aligns with its goal to make all packaging globally recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. It is also an innovation that will help Kraft Heinz achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Heinz and Pulpex are developing a prototype to test how the cutting-edge innovation could be used for Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottles and other packaging formats in years to come. Pulpex's current data indicates that the carbon footprint of Pulpex bottles is materially less than glass and plastic on a bottle-by-bottle basis. Once used, they are also expected to be widely and readily recyclable in paper waste streams.

Miguel Patricio, Kraft Heinz CEO, said: “Packaging waste is an industrywide challenge that we must all do our part to address. That is why we are committed to taking steps to explore sustainable packaging solutions across our brands at Kraft Heinz, offering consumers more choices. 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.”

The next step in the process will involve prototype testing to assess performance before testing with consumers and bringing the bottle to market.

Rashida La Lande, Global General Counsel and Chief Sustainability and Government Affairs Officer at Kraft Heinz, said: “We hope to bring this bottle to market and to be the first sauce brand to provide consumers this choice in their purchasing decisions, as many consumers today are looking for more sustainable packaging options. We’re eager to continue discovering more sustainable packaging for our beloved and iconic brands.”

Scott Winston, Pulpex CEO, said: “We are delighted to work with Heinz to bring our patented packaging technology to such a famous name in food and are excited about the potential of this collaboration. 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.”

The pulp-based bottle would become the newest option available to Heinz Tomato Ketchup fans, joining the recyclable Heinz iconic glass bottle and plastic bottle, as well as plastic squeeze bottles with their 30 percent recycled content (available only in the E.U.) and 100 percent recyclable caps.

View the full, official press release from Kraft Heinz here