Kraft Heinz has launched its first fully recyclable bottle cap, which is being used for its famous product, Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottles. The new bottle cap showcases the collaborative efforts of Berry in supporting retail brands towards sustainable packaging solutions through innovative design and manufacturing capabilities.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup originally used silicone valves to achieve a consistent single squeeze amount, but silicone valves are typically difficult to recycle. Now, Heinz has partnered with Berry to produce a single-material bottle cap using PP material to meet recyclability requirements.

To ensure that the bottle cap balances functionality and sustainability, the project took eight years to develop, involving the creation of 45 prototype products and a total of over 185,000 hours. From concept to the creation of prototype products in Berry's internal laboratory, to the development of industrial production assembly equipment, Berry was involved in the entire process of bottle cap design and production.

Heinz strictly followed testing procedures to ensure that the bottle cap meets the highest quality standards. Consumer surveys confirmed that the new product is widely appreciated by the public because it still achieves the same single squeeze amount and does not affect the squeezability of the bottle.

In fact, research found that the new bottle cap allows users to squeeze out more ketchup when the bottle is nearly empty, validating Berry's efforts in thoroughly examining the overall solution to improve the performance and recyclability of the bottle cap.

The new bottle cap won Kraft Heinz the 2023 UK Packaging Awards Annual Hard Packaging Award.

Matthias Hermansen, Sales Director of Berry Food Markets, commented, "Heinz's approach was challenging: redesigning the bottle cap to be fully recyclable while not compromising the functionality familiar and loved by millions of people. We are very pleased with the final result as it exceeded initial expectations and enhanced the consumer experience."

Currently, these bottle caps are being rolled out in the UK for Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottles in sizes of 400ml and above, including 50% reduced sugar and salt variants. In the future, the bottle cap will also be introduced in more Heinz sauce products in the UK and Europe.

Heinz claims that using recyclable bottle caps will prevent 300 million plastic bottle caps from being sent to landfills worldwide each year.

Jojo De Noronha, President of Kraft Heinz Northern Europe, stated, "We know consumers care about their impact on the environment, and so do we. That's why we're delighted to see our innovative, sustainable bottle cap on Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottles across the UK. While the change may be small, it allows millions of Heinz users nationwide to use the product without environmental concerns—a small action with a significant impact."