Princes has ditched plastic packaging on multipack tuna cans as part of a new trial in Tesco.
The canned food giant started rolling out recyclable cardboard packaging sleeves this week on a new eight-can tuna chunks in spring water SKU (rsp: £6.30).
Targeted at “heavy” shoppers in Tesco’s bulk pack section, the new line will initially be available in 75 Tesco stores nationwide.
It follows a move from PVC shrinkwrap to recyclable PET shrinkwrap on all Princes branded tuna multipacks in March, and a £5m rebranding of the entire Princes range from April – designed to bring “fresh energy” to the category and “drive a reappraisal of the brand”.
“While our multipack’s current plastic sleeve is recyclable, due to limitations around household recycling facilities, it is not widely recyclable,” said Princes commercial director Mat Lowery. “As such, we’re excited to introduce this trial launch in a widely recyclable cardboard sleeve.”
Some 99% of the plastic used in its UK operations was now recyclable, Princes said, with the average recycled content of its packaging currently at 45%.
The Princes Group as a whole has also committed to ensuring that 100% of its remaining plastic packaging is widely recyclable by 2025, while the company has also stated it will continue to assess plastic alternatives.
“We are constantly working on innovations to expand the packaging materials we use to improve our environmental impact,” added Lowery.
Comments