Pringles make a major change to its tube packaging - and says it will prevent crisps from breaking too

Pringles make a major change to its tube packaging - and says it will prevent crisps. Most Britons will be familiar with the famous Pringles tube - but the crisp brand is now making a huge change to its packaging.

In a bid to be more eco-friendly, and following successful trials, the American stackable crisp firm has decided to ditch the steel base from its product in favour of a paper version.

The new tube is made from recycled paper and has a paper base, which means customers can put it straight in their home recycling bin. It will have a plastic lid that can also be recycled.

The packaging will land exclusively in Tesco stores and online from this week, before being rolled out to other supermarkets towards the end of 2024, but tubes can also be found in One Stop stores.

The eco-friendly Pringles tube will allow customers to more easily pop the packaging of their favourite crisps in with their household recycling.

The eco-packaging was tested by the company's packaging experts to make sure it protects the crisps and keeps them fresh for 15 months, just like the old can.

The move, which has involved an investment of GBP 86 million (USD 109 million) in new technology, follows the trial of a steel can in Italy in 2019 and a paper tube in the UK in 2020.

 

Pringles New Paper Tube (Courtesy: Sonoco Europe)

Chris Silcock, UK managing director of Kellanova - the company that owns Pringles:
 

"We know people want to reduce their impact to the planet and it's our responsibility to improve the recyclability of our."

"We've worked hard to develop and test a recyclable Pringles paper tube and we made significant investment in new technology to enable our factories to produce."

"Not only is it widely recyclable but it keeps the chips fresh and tasty and protects them from breaking which helps to reduce food waste."

Claire Lorains, Group Sustainability and Quality Director at Tesco:
 

"We want to make it even easier for our customers to recycle, so we are excited to bring them a product they love in a more sustainable way."

"Across our own brand products, where we can't remove packaging, we work to ensure it is recyclable, and actively encourage our branded suppliers to do the same."

"The new paper-based Pringles tube from Kellanova demonstrates the tangible environmental opportunities that exist across food packaging that work for customers and the planet."

"We hope to see other suppliers take similar steps to improve packaging across all the products we sell."

Paul Sanderson, CEO of the Recycling Association:
 

"It has taken a great deal of research and development to achieve a fully paper-based tube with a paper end that also keeps the Pringles crisps as fresh as before."

"It is a fantastic example of what can be achieved when manufacturers decide they want to create packaging that is easy for the consumer to recycle, and I hope others follow Pringles' example to help us all get closer to a circular economy."

The introduction of the recyclable Pringles tube made from 90 per cent paper forms part of Kellanova's commitment to make all its packaging being recyclable, reusable and compostable by 2025.