MasterFoods trials paper-based sauce packs in Australia

The new packs use 58% less plastic.

Australian brand MasterFoods has launched a trial for a recyclable, paper-based version of its popular squeeze-on tomato sauce packs.

The new packs, made at Mars Food & Nutrition’s Wyong facility, use 58% less plastic and can be recycled curbside, supporting Mars Australia’s circular economy goals and the country’s National Packaging Targets.

This innovation follows five years of development and a $3m investment to make the new packs as user-friendly as the original. Consumers can easily open, fold, and squeeze the pack, then dispose of it in recycling bins.

"This trial will allow us to better understand how this new paper-recyclable squeeze-on performs so we can take these learnings forwards," said Bill Heague, general manager of Mars Food & Nutrition Australia. "If we transition our full portfolio to this new format over time, Mars Australia would be set to eliminate around 190 tonnes of plastic from our value chain a year.”

The trial, run in partnership with the Australian Packaging Covenant Organization, will gather data to optimise consumer recycling of the new packs.