Smurfit Westrock has worked with Nestlé to launch an innovative, paper-based tub for its iconic Quality Street sweets this Christmas. The beautifully designed pack is the first of its kind to hit supermarket shelves.

Nestlé approached the packaging leader to create the trial pack as part of its ongoing initiative to reduce virgin plastic. The redesign also enables more boxes to fit on a pallet and has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions significantly.

The introduction of the paper tub follows on from Nestlé switching to paper wrappers for the Quality Street sweets back in 2022, which diverted over 2 billion wrappers from landfill. Now, both the box itself and the wrappers can be put into household recycling at the end of use.

Saverio Mayer, CEO of Europe, MEA & APAC at Smurfit Westrock, said: "The innovative new tub we created in collaboration with Nestlé is an excellent example of how a paper-based replacement can bring a host of benefits across design, functionality and of course sustainability. We knew that this iconic brand needed a stand-out solution that would look the part on shelf as well as seamlessly integrate into consumers' household recycling. It will hopefully appeal to the growing number of consumers who are seeking out more sustainable packaging for their favourite products."

Jemma Handley, Senior Brand Manager for Quality Street, added: "We're looking forward to seeing what Quality Street fans make of the paper tub. A lot of care and hard work has gone into the trial and we're proud to be the first major manufacturer to trial a paper tub at Christmas. The beautiful design has been devised specifically for a paper product and we love how it looks, and of course, shoppers can expect the same great tasting Quality Street sweets that they know and love inside."

The innovative new solution, which retains the signature hexagonal shape and purple colour, will be sold alongside the traditional plastic version in selected Tesco stores from this week. Both products are the same size and contain the same weight of chocolates.

Smurfit Westrock has considerable experience in creating paper-based solutions that have successfully replaced less sustainable materials such as plastic as part of its Better Planet Packaging initiative.